The Women by Kristin Hannah

The Women by Kristin Hannah

I have been on the waitlist for Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale and The Women for what feels like ages. It's no surprise, Kristin Hannah is an incredibly popular author whose work I have never before read, although I did watch (and mostly enjoyed) Firefly Lane on Netflix - inspired by her work. Her books have been New York Times bestsellers, book club picks, Goodreads Best Historical Fiction of the Year picks, and even the Best Book of the Year by Amazon. Part of The Women takes place in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, so it deals with war, injury details, fire injury, blood, torture, and violence, as well as addiction, cancer, death including that of children, drug abuse, gore, pregnancy and miscarriage, self harm, suicidal thoughts and attempts, forced institutionalization, medical content, and some vomit.

Frankie McGrath's brother Finley has just left for Vietnam and Frankie is inspired by him and her father's "Hero Wall" - she signs up to be an Army nurse, but only after being turned down by the Navy and the Air Force for having too little experience. Being in Vietnam is different than she ever could have imagined. She finds friends, she finds love, and she sees atrocities that she will never forget. She finds her calling as a surgical nurse as she helps to save the lives of the soldiers that she can and holds the hands of the soldiers that she can't, making sure that they do not die alone. After two tours, she returns home and is shocked by the way she is treated, by the way all of the returning veterans are treated. They are called names and even spit on for serving in an unpopular war. She struggles mentally and when Frankie tries to get help, she is repeatedly told - including by fellow veterans - that there were no women in Vietnam. Only after reaching the lowest point in her life does Frankie start to rebuild her life and even helps other Vietnam women do the same.

I really loved this book. Kristin Hannah took an incredibly difficult topic and told it with a tenderness and care that does not overwhelm the reader while also giving realistic depictions of what the characters are going through. It takes a hard look at the difficulties of serving overseas as well as the difficulties of coming home to a world that expects you not to be changed by what you've lived through and does not offer nearly enough support for returning soldiers. The main character Frankie is naive in every way when she reaches Vietnam, and is battle worn but still naive in many ways when she returns. The Women follows her story through enlistment, two tours, her return to the States, several failed relationships, to finally receiving the help she needs. Although Frankie is gullible, I still found her likeable and relatable. I liked that we followed a character that struggled but still found her way through. I did not like the relationships that Frankie had, I wish it had focused less on her romantic entanglements at times and felt like it painted all soldiers in the same light. The book was fast paced for the first half, and although the story in the second half progressed more sluggishly, the writing style still allowed me to read forty pages in a sitting without feeling it. I still wish I knew what happened to Coyote.

I'm giving The Women by Kristin Hannah 4.75 stars out of 5. I really enjoyed it. It was an easy read for a topic that is so hard to hear about, but it did not seem like it was too casual about the topic. And I appreciated the postscript from the author that explained she came up with the idea for this book thirty years ago but didn't feel like she had enough experience at the time to do it justice.

For more about Kristin Hannah, see her website at https://kristinhannah.com/

Pairs well with Salisbury steak and taking your chances when they come.