The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – A Book Review

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah was so intense that it left me with a feeling of “wow” when I completed it. I listened to this historical fiction novel via Audiobook and the narration was quite remarkable. It took a little over 17 hours to complete, which for me is long though it went by quickly because I could not stop listening to it. Audiobooks tend to take me awhile to listen to because I usually only listen to them in the car. The Nightingale was so good that I listened while I was doing just about everything from showering to cooking and cleaning. I finished the audiobook in less than a week which is record time for me.

My typical book genre is cozy mystery or clean rom-com romance, basically if it could be a Hallmark movie then that is my genre, so this was an out of the norm read for me. It was highly recommended by my dear friend Nikki, and she promised that I would like it and boy did I! There is a movie adaptation coming out and I am eager to watch it.

The book follows the lives of two sisters during World War II and is narrated by one of them though you do not know which until the end. It starts off in Oregon 1995 with an old woman facing her mortality and reminiscing about her past while looking through an old trunk. It then switches to 1939 France with Vianne who has been left alone with her daughter as her husband goes off to fight the Nazi’s and Isabelle, her younger, rebellious sister having been expelled from boarding school. As Germany invades France the two women’s lives take drastically different paths as they are left to survive on their own.

As a mother, I can relate to Vianne’s story. The heartache of her husband leaving, the struggle of raising her daughter alone, the fear of living with the enemy and the courage to persevere. Having lost her own mother as a teenager, Vianne’s sole focus is to stay alive and to protect her young daughter. The choices she makes and the risks she takes to protect her family and friends are astonishing and admirable.

Isabelle’s adventurous nature speaks to me as I too am a rebel at heart. Growing up Isabelle naturally fights against the status quo and in doing so bounces from boarding school to boarding school. By the beginning of the war, Isabelle has aged out of school and worn out her welcome, forcing her to move home to her reluctant father. Isabelle meets a rebel fighter, and eventually joins the underground resistance and risks her life to help downed ally fighters cross back into Great Britain and Spain.

There is much conflict between the two sisters partly because of their personalities, though both are headstrong, but mainly because of age and where they are in life. When their mother dies, their father essentially abandons them, and a teenage Vianne is left to parent an incredibly young Isabelle. Though their differences often leave them in dispute with one another, their love and devotion to each other never ceases. The bond of sisterhood is evident throughout the book.

Kristin Hannah does an excellent job developing the main characters, describing the evil persecution of the Jewish, the struggle for everyone’s survival not just the French and the Jews, and the loyalty and betrayal of family, friends and even the enemy without putting the reader in a total funk. Though the novel was detailed and at times graphic, the author kept the most traumatizing to a minimum, which I appreciated.

World War II was such a horrible time in history. So many men fought and lost their lives trying to protect and defend humanity. This novel tells that story but from the view of the women, not just Vianne and Isabelle, but others who also fought and lost their lives standing for truth and defending the defenseless. It is hard to capture the depravity and hardships incurred during this time period and I do believe the author has done this in a tasteful manner.

There are a few inconsistencies, inaccuracies and probably some implausible actions in the story. However, I take the stance that a fictional book or movie is for entertainment purposes and base my rating on whether I was entertained or not. Kristin Hannah’s writing was very descriptive, and the narration of the Audiobook superb thus allowing me to imagine the landscape, smell the scenery, and feel the characters emotions. The story is full of heart and the ending satisfying. I was thoroughly entertained thereby I give The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah an A- rating.