The Women
Lotte’s Review:
I love this author’s storytelling. If you want to read a book that truly transports you, then turn to Kristin Hannah. Frankie’s brother has just enlisted for the Vietnam war, and she decides to follow as a nurse, age 29 and having lived a sheltered life in sunny California. The book follows her experiences taking care of the wounded, living in horrible conditions, and making lifelong friends. She learns to love, and deal with anger and heartache. The second half of the book sees Frankie returning home, struggling with PTSD, depression and finding her way in life. It is an amazing story that went straight to my heart. One of the best fiction books this year.
When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over- whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.
But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.
The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.
