Title: The Women
Author: Kristin Hannah
Source: DRC via NetGalley (St. Martin’s Press) in exchange for an honest review
Publication Date: February 6, 2024
Synopsis: Goodreads
Purchase Link: Amazon

Other books by this author: The Four Winds

Why did I choose to read this book?

I think it’s possible that Kristin Hannah is one of the greatest historical novelists of our time, and at the same time one of the greatest women’s fiction writers. Her writing is so evocative, compelling, and just goddamn GOOD that you almost have to be brave and courageous to read her work. She doesn’t pull punches and will leave you emotionally drained (in a good way) and better informed about the world. I know this section is about why I chose to read the book but really it wasn’t a choice, it was a necessity.

What is this book about?

I have tried to write what this book is about like, 5 times now. The synopsis of it is included in both the Goodreads and NetGalley links above, but this book was so many different things that I don’t know how to put them all into words. I found that I had to read this book during alone times because I was just quietly crying the entire time I was reading it. I finished it last night in bed and I was just crying onto my pillow right through the very last words. I think this book is the kind of book that will speak to each reader individually (women especially) and your experience will be different depending on your personal life experience.

What is notable about this story?

I think this is the saddest book I have ever read other than Lily and the Octopus by Stephen Rowley or An Untamed State by Roxane Gay. I am not sure if I cried every moment I was reading, but I know there were times when I had to set the book down or I would start crying, or I was already crying and the husband was about to come into the room. I felt this book, deep in my bones, every step of the way and I’ve never even been in the military. There was something deeper here, more raw – pure grief, exhaustion, determination, resilience (I hate this word), submission, acceptance – it’s like all the emotions were thrown in a pot and melted together to make this book. I want to read it again right now. I haven’t felt that way about a book in a long time, but I want to read it again knowing how it ends to see if I feel anything differently. This book is a journey everyone should want to go on. What a fucking triumph. Kristin Hannah out here putting out banger after banger and I just sit back and say thank you ma’am may I have another.

Was anything not so great?

I know that the focus of this book was on Frankie (Frances McGrath) but I could have done with a bit more about Ethel and Barb, her two fellow nurses from Vietnam that mentor her and help her acclimate to wartime nursing. They are fast friends through the war and afterwards, and Barb and Ethel show up time and again for Frankie, no questions asked. I wish I could have known more about those other two women. This isn’t a critique, just a wish. They were so fabulous in their own right that I wish I could have spent more time with them.

What’s the verdict?

First 5 star review of the year and I cannot recommend this book enough. If you are a woman, you need to read this book. If you were alive during the Vietnam era you need to read this book. If you are a Vietnam veteran, this book honors you and if you can read it please get it. If you are a millennial like me and grew up with the Middle East as the focus of many wars, you should read this book so these memories and events aren’t lost with our parents and grandparents. Kristin Hannah is always going to be a highly recommended author here at Angry Angel Books, so just get out there and read her work. You won’t regret it.

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