The Women

This is my first novel by Kristin Hannah and I am truly impressed with her storytelling and her talent to describe life in a military hospital during the Vietnam War which in itself is a very complex historical time. The second half of the book which is set in the U.S. at a time of riots, protests, and war veterans not being welcome in their own country was just as captivating. Can’t wait to read more of her work

Das Buch ist wirklich toll und sehr emotional. Vorher hatte ich mich überhaupt nicht mit dem Vietnamkrieg beschäftigt, aber das Buch bietet einen guten Einblick – besonders in die Rolle der Frauen während des Vietnamkriegs. Kann ich auf jeden Fall empfehlen!

As a German, I never really had any particular interest in the Vietnam war besides the obligatory two-hours history class and the hippie movement. This is my first book by Kristin Hannah and I can admit I'm pleasantly surprised. What I first expected to be a glorying rah rah story about US troops and the women who aided them in-country turned into a critical and devastating account of Vietnam war. It deals with the physical and mental mark the war left on the soldiers and the hostile environment veterans had to return home to in a sensitive way. War crimes, misogyny and hypocrisy. I loved Frankie's character development and her very real struggles during her time in-country and post-war. She was perfectly flawed and what I imagine to be a very realistic depiction of a female vet in the 1970s. The book sometimes was redundant in its messages and could have somewhat shorter. What I didn't like was that I felt the author had thrust Frankie into unbelievable amounts of trauma to capture the range of fates that have befallen veterans. Also, the story was sometimes a bit clichéd and predictable when it came to the romances. Still a very entertaining and educating book about Vietnam war.

Don‘t listen to anyone that tries to tell you that there were no women at war. They were there! Fighting the good fight of keeping as many men, women and children alive as possible. I wanted to read this book out of two reasons: Frist because of all the praise it got on the internet and second because of my lack of knowledge about the war in Vietnam. Even though I didn’t learn much more about the war it was interesting to read about the nurses life at war and then back home in the USA. The book only gets four stars from me because I felt like it was a bit too long.

With every book I read by Kristin Hannah, I have the feeling that I am immersed in the history of times gone by. She tackles topics that have been forgotten and don’t shy away from the work of thorough research. Her drive for perfection is palpable while reading, and I find her ability to combine fiction and real events masterful. It wasn’t just the story that won me over, but also Frances McGrath, who truly embodies a strong personality to match the fateful plot. A harmoniously successful novel despite the tragic subject matter.