Cover to Cover: The Women
Title: The Women by Kristin Hannah
Rating: ★★★★★
Summary:
Genre: Historical Fiction, Coming Of Age Story
Publication Date: 6th February 2024
No. Pages: 464 Pages
Keywords: Vietnam, Historical Fiction, Friendship, Love, Grief, Trauma, Fiction
Content Warnings: Miscarriage, Drug/Alcohol Addiction, Death (Children & Adults), Graphic Blood, Grief, Gore and Injury, War, Infidelity, Attempted Suicide, Mental Health Issues.
Format: Hardback, Audiobook
Cover Credit: Pan MacMillan 2024
Review
It is unputdownable, but it is emotionally challenging and even more so when you learn Hannah researched everything from the era to the politics of the time.
Born into a wealthy, conservative family and raised on Coronado Island, California, 20-year-old Frances Grace McGrath (Frankie) is everything 1940’s America expects from it’s young women. Well dressed, well-spoken and polite. Although she is a nursing student, her future is already mapped out - marriage, children, a housewife. We first meet her at a lavish going away party for her beloved brother, Finley, who is leaving to fight in the Vietnam war. Here, a stranger tells her ‘Women can be heroes’ and these four words have a profound impact on the course of her life. Not wanting to be away from her brother and seeing how proud her family are of him, Frankie takes the daring step of volunteering to be in the Army Nurse Corps in Vietnam.
We are immediately pulled into the depths of the Vietnamese jungle and the war that it engulfs. Hannah’s writing is so illustrative, it almost feels as if you are amidst the stifling heat, can smell the damp clinging to your clothes and feel the oppressive red dust that sticks to every surface. The book instantly draws you in to feel invested in the life of Frankie, our naïve, kind-hearted, hopeful heroine trying to find her feet amidst the horror of her new reality.
We follow Frankie as she learns to navigate a war-torn Vietnam and upon returning home to America where she tries to find her feet in a country which is not the same as she left it. It is a beautifully written story of a girl who, facing adversity as a woman, comes of age through trauma, grief and love. This book is not a blow-by-blow account of her time in Vietnam as expected. Instead it is a fast paced read that spans two decades of her life, weaving in family, love and friendship that lays out the horrific truth of war and the realities many veterans were faced with on their return home.
It is unputdownable, but it is emotionally challenging and even more so when you learn Hannah researched everything from the era to the politics of the time. The intertwining of fiction with historical accuracy makes it all the more stunning and a deeply moving read. While beautiful, this is not for the faint-hearted reader as the book starkly confronts the fragility of the human mind with the strength of the human spirit.
The Round Up
Standout Quote or Moment: “Look at me”.
She exhaled slowly and looked up at him.
“No fear, McGrath. You can do this.”
No fear.
“Right. Yes,” she lied. “Yes of course.”
Read If: You enjoy books that transport you completely from your reality and leave you feeling like life could never be the same once you’ve finished.
Similar Books: A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini, Absolution – Alice McDermott
Lasting Impression: A harrowingly raw, emotional story of one women’s path to womanhood through trauma, love and friendship. Gripping from the first page, this story will stay with me for a long time.
Written by Megan Lee
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