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Viann and Isabelle have always been close despite their differences. Younger, bolder sister Isabelle lives in Paris while Viann lives a quiet and content life in the French countryside with her husband Antoine and their daughter. When World War II strikes and Antoine is sent off to fight, Viann and Isabelle's father sends Isabelle to help her older sister cope. As the war progresses, it's not only the sisters' relationship that is tested, but also their strength and their individual senses of right and wrong. With life as they know it changing in unbelievably horrific ways, Viann and Isabelle will find themselves facing frightening situations and responding in ways they never thought possible as bravery and resistance take different forms in each of their actions. Vivid and exquiste in its illumination of a time and place that was filled with great monstrosities, but also great humanity and strength, Kristin Hannah's novel will provoke thought and discussion that will have readers talking long after they turn the last page.… (more)
Cecilturtle: The book from which The Nightingale is "deeply inspired" (read: practically identical except for the ending); itself, ironically, "deeply inspired" from Gone with the Wind - Desforges was brought to court for plagiarism and initially found guilty even though she was later absolved.… (more)
This is the first book that I've read by this author and I'm glad I did. I was hooked right from the beginning. It's a dual timeline but there is very little in the present. I really enjoyed the voice of the narrator in the present day storyline and almost wished there had been a bit more present day. I was very invested in the characters and really wanted to see what choices they made. It gave me a lot to think about as well. The two sisters took different views about what was happening. I wondered how much my view was colored because I knew the outcome. Would I have felt differently if I was in that situation? For example one sister thought everything would be over once the Germans occupied France and I wonder if she was just fooling herself or if she truly believed that. Honestly, I've been getting a little tired of WW2 books but this felt like a fresh take on it. I don't know if it was because it took place in German occupied France which I haven't read a lot about it. I found it very interesting as I wasn't aware of some of the things that happened there. The author did a great job of drawing you into the story and although there were parts that were difficult to read, I think she did a great job of telling the story without getting too graphic. That said, there was a lot of heavy subject matter. A young child is shot, a woman is raped repeatedly although it is not graphic, and then there is the descriptions of the concentration camps. There is also some language - approx 7 uses of blasphemy, F-word 3 times, approx 20 other profanity. I would highly recommend this book, even though I did shed a few tears at the end and I don't normally like book that make me cry! This book was reviewed on the Literary Club Podcast episode 67 https://www.buzzsprout.com/1984185 ( )
A fictional story with a factual background. A beautiful story that is difficult to read, because I know that things like this happened. What do you do when all your choices are bad? My heart ached for these two sisters, and for occupied France, and all the victims of the Holocaust. It just missed five stars for me because it dragged slightly in the middle. Kristin Hannah is/was a Romance author, and there were a few hints of that in the writing style, which also jarred a bit. But overall a very good read. ( )
I had forgotten I entered this great story as a "want to read". I read it last year, and thought it was her best thus far, which isn't at all to say that any of her previous books were at all lacking. It's historical fiction -- France in WWII with two strong female lead characters. ( )
Haunting. The moral decisions each character makes in the face of relenting deprivation and social breakdown. The terrible brutality and cost of war. ( )
The lights are going out all over Europe; We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime. ---SIR EDWARD GREY, ON WORLD WAR I
Asking yourself a question, that's how resistance begins. And then ask that very question to someone else. ---REMCO CAMPERT
If you're going through hell, keep going. ---WINSTON CHURCHILL
Dedication
To Matthew Shear. Friend. Mentor. Champion. You are missed. And to Kaylee Nova Hannah, the newest star in our world. Welcome, baby girl.
First words
If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.
Quotations
I know that grief, like regret, settles into our DNA and remains forever a part of us.
The stairs unfold from the ceiling like a gentleman extending his hand.
"I think, as this war goes on, we will all have to look more deeply. These questions are not about them, but about us."
"We are all fragile, Isabelle. It's the thing we learn in war."
If I had told him the truth long ago, or had danced and drunk and sung more, maybe he would have seen me instead of a dependable, ordinary mother. He loves a version of me that is incomplete. I always thought it was what I wanted: to be loved and admired. Now I think perhaps I'd like to be known.
"Men tell stories," I say. It is the truest, simplest answer to his question. "Women get on with it. For us it was a shadow war. There were no parades for us when it was over, no medals or mentions in history books. We did what we had to during the war, and when it was over, we picked up the pieces and started our lives over."
Viann and Isabelle have always been close despite their differences. Younger, bolder sister Isabelle lives in Paris while Viann lives a quiet and content life in the French countryside with her husband Antoine and their daughter. When World War II strikes and Antoine is sent off to fight, Viann and Isabelle's father sends Isabelle to help her older sister cope. As the war progresses, it's not only the sisters' relationship that is tested, but also their strength and their individual senses of right and wrong. With life as they know it changing in unbelievably horrific ways, Viann and Isabelle will find themselves facing frightening situations and responding in ways they never thought possible as bravery and resistance take different forms in each of their actions. Vivid and exquiste in its illumination of a time and place that was filled with great monstrosities, but also great humanity and strength, Kristin Hannah's novel will provoke thought and discussion that will have readers talking long after they turn the last page.
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Vianne and Isabelle have always been close despite their differences. Younger, bolder sister Isabelle lives in Paris while Vianne lives a quiet and content life in the French countryside with her husband Antoine and their daughter. When World War II strikes and Antoine is sent off to fight, Vianne and Isabelle's father sends Isabelle to help her older sister cope. As the war progresses, it's not only the sisters' relationship that is tested, but also their strength and their individual senses of right and wrong. With life as they know it changing in unbelievably horrific ways, Vianne and Isabelle will find themselves facing frightening situations and responding in ways they never thought possible as bravery and resistance take different forms in each of their actions.
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5
I was hooked right from the beginning. It's a dual timeline but there is very little in the present. I really enjoyed the voice of the narrator in the present day storyline and almost wished there had been a bit more present day.
I was very invested in the characters and really wanted to see what choices they made. It gave me a lot to think about as well. The two sisters took different views about what was happening. I wondered how much my view was colored because I knew the outcome. Would I have felt differently if I was in that situation? For example one sister thought everything would be over once the Germans occupied France and I wonder if she was just fooling herself or if she truly believed that.
Honestly, I've been getting a little tired of WW2 books but this felt like a fresh take on it. I don't know if it was because it took place in German occupied France which I haven't read a lot about it. I found it very interesting as I wasn't aware of some of the things that happened there.
The author did a great job of drawing you into the story and although there were parts that were difficult to read, I think she did a great job of telling the story without getting too graphic.
That said, there was a lot of heavy subject matter. A young child is shot, a woman is raped repeatedly although it is not graphic, and then there is the descriptions of the concentration camps.
There is also some language - approx 7 uses of blasphemy, F-word 3 times, approx 20 other profanity.
I would highly recommend this book, even though I did shed a few tears at the end and I don't normally like book that make me cry!
This book was reviewed on the Literary Club Podcast episode 67
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1984185
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