Book Review - The Women by Kristin Hannah

Title: The Woman
Author: Kristin Hannah
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 2024
 
Description: “Women can be heroes”. 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 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 Vietnamn to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed 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.
 
Review: Kristin Hannah had the idea for “The Women” back in the late 90s, but she didn’t think she was ready to write about such an important subject then. Fortunately for us, she did eventually write it and I loved this novel.
 
Hannah is a very popular author, known for her historical fiction novels. I had never read from her, but after “The Women” I feel like I need to read more of her backlist.
 
Everyone has read about the Vietnam war at some point in their lives. Read stories, articles, seen movies and documentaries. Talking about the men that fought for their country. But no one ever talks about the women that were there. Because there were no women in Vietnam, they didn’t see combat. Hannah wrote the story, from the perspective of combat nurse Frankie McGrath, for the whole world to know about all the brave women that have saved many of these soldiers. They made sure many of these men got to return home.
 
After two tours in Vietnam, Frankie returns home, not knowing that her own war is just beginning. Where she thinks all the Vietnam veterans will be welcomed back with open arms, as heroes, she comes home to a divided America.
 
Hannah managed to portray Frankie respectfully. Starting out as a naïve girl, thinking she can be a hero and change the world, coming back broken, damaged and lost. I loved reading from Frankie’s perspective, I liked her as a character, felt empathy for her and understood her.
 
“The Woman” is a big book, the only reason I could not give it a perfect score. It felt a tad too long for me. 

If you like reading historical fiction, “The Women” is a wonderful pick. I’m definitely going to make my mom read this, she will love this.  
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5