St. Martin's Press The Women: A Novel

This book is amazing! The love, the struggle, the details… OMG! So so so good!

Before reading this book, I knew very little about the war in Vietnam, especially the women who fought in it. Kristen Hannah brings to light so much about this time period and the aftermath of the war and its effects on men and women who were drafted. I read it in a few days – it's one of those books where you love the characters so much you feel lost when you finish it. After The Nightingale, this is my favourite Kristen Hannah book.

Excellent, as usual from Kristin Hannah

Book takes us through vietnam war and shows us the struggles of an army nurse both during the war and post war ....Makes us realize that in life each second matters ...

Frankie’s life is supposed to follow a certain path. Raised by conservative parents, Frankie can be a nurse until she catches the eye of a man who will marry her, then they shall make babies and maybe live happily ever after. But when her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, Frankie decides to diverge from the path her parents have laid out for her, and follow her brother’s instead. She joins the Army Nurses Corps and arrives in Vietnam, as green as green can be.Frankie’s experiences in Vietnam are harrowing for sure. The chaos and destruction is utterly overwhelming. It is remarkably easy to visualise these events in front of your eyes. Men who have lost limbs, who are bleeding from brutal wounds, who are calling out for their mothers while they lie dying in the middle of nowhere. Frankie quite quickly adjusts; she has very little choice; and realises being a nurse is definitely her calling. Along the way she makes friends with Ethel and Barb. Two very different ladies from different backgrounds, but this is a friendship forged in extraordinary circumstances and they will pull one another through on many occasions. In the midst of all this destruction, Frankie will find romance but heartbreak also.As distressing as it is to read about these atrocities, what really angered me was what happened when Frankie returned home. There is no heroes welcome. But more than that, there is no help available to her when she starts to struggle. “There were no women in Vietnam”. Not only were the male veterans forgotten, the female ones apparently didn’t even exist. This story isn’t just about Frankie. It’s about all the women who put their lives in danger, who made sacrifices and did their bit in a war many people were opposed to.‘The Women‘ is engrossing from beginning to end and often highly emotional. There were a few times where I thought I’d need a tissue. It’s naturally completely realistic and believable. Apart from the R & R, which I know happened, but it seems entirely surreal. To think you can go spend a week on a nice beach for a break while you’re supposed to be in the middle of a war. I can’t imagine the research that must have gone into this. Frankie and her friends are memorable characters, and even the romance angle had me hooked.Like with any other novel by Kristin Hannah I’ve read, I can never put into words why I love her stories so much and I’m definitely not doing this latest novel any justice. ‘The Women‘ is really and truly historical fiction from the top shelf. I wouldn’t expect anything less from Kristin Hannah. She’s an amazing storyteller and her beautiful writing is just captivating. This story is powerful, full of insight and immensely compelling. A story of survival, and undoubtedly a story that needed to be told for all the heroic women out there. Past, present and future. Highly recommended!