Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - The Women

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The Women by Kristin Hannah

255 reviews

nehaanna's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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laurenmkayyy's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Kristin Hannah’s books are always powerful and thought provoking, and this one did not let me down. I learned so much about the Vietnam War & women’s roles, even though this book was a work of fiction. My favorite part was that we followed the main character, Frankie, through every season - before, during, and after her service in Vietnam. We see her change for the better and for worse, and even when some of the plot twists were predictable, I was still so engrossed by the journey that it didn’t matter to me. I loved that the main thread throughout was her friendship with her fellow nurses, Ethel & Barb - a beautiful picture of women & the importance of friendship!

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oliviastieler's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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samstillreading's review against another edition

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emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Women is an absorbing, affecting and emotional story of a woman who was a nurse on the frontlines in the Vietnam war and her struggles after she returns home to America. It’s brutal at times, but an accurate representation of history.

Frankie has always been a good girl in her well-off family. She’s never really thought about women having the power to do and change things but at a going away party for her brother, an offhand comment changes that. She plans to follow him to Vietnam as a nurse and is soon on her way. Vietnam isn’t what Frankie thought, and her training helps very little. It’s learn on the job, and learn fast as the wounded keep appearing. Frankie makes some good friends and learns quickly. But Vietnam is also an emotional rollercoaster and the staff do nearly anything to forget. Frankie falls in love, but soon that is taken away. When it’s time to return home, America has changed a lot. The tide has changed from America saving the world. People are against the war and actively hostile to those who took part in it. For Frankie, there is no debrief or ongoing help. She spirals out of control multiple times, only to be refused help because ‘there were no women in Vietnam, dear’. It’s frustrating to watch as Frankie tries and fails to cope, made harder by all the curveballs thrown at her. Can she ever truly move on from Vietnam?

The novel is highly emotional and to be blunt, Frankie has all her darlings killed and then some. There is a lot of overt sexism with women being put in their place repeatedly (the only place it doesn’t happen is Vietnam, where the nurses pull their weight). PTSD, illegal drug use and mental health are explored as are the consequences of war from the battlefield to the memories afterwards. It isn’t helpful for Frankie that her parents are unable/unwilling to help her, thinking ignoring her time in Vietnam and downgrading it to a European holiday is helpful, or by buying her a house and car. Agent Orange is touched on, but I would have liked to have seen more described about the long-term effects. Frankie is left with her friends to help shoulder her trauma, and they are the best at it, as they are the ones who understand. The majority of others don’t seem to be able, or choose not to. A strong theme throughout the book is the power of friendship, and just being there when needed.

The writing is sound. It’s not the type of novel where you pause and savour every sentence, this is the kind of novel about the story and drama. It’s a little cheesy at times, but the strength of the fast-paced story makes up for it. The story is one that hasn’t really come to attention in fiction. I guess that’s because humidity, mildew and war aren’t overly romantic but it’s still a story worth telling, particularly in the current political climate. War isn’t pretty, and has a multitude of long ranging consequences.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com

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bendercath's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I have not read many books about this era—despite having been alive during this same time—and I learned a lot.
At first, I found Frankie’s character to be rather flat and I did not feel that she was believable … yet as the book continued, Frankie became quite complex. This seemed intentional.
Sadly, I read another review which had a spoiler,

and this ruined the ending for me. Even though it was just a comment about Kristin Hannah’s tendency to “bring the dead back to life,” I kept expecting Rye, Jamie, or Finley to pop up out of the grave … and it ended up being two out of three on that. I did not think that Jamie needed to come back to life at the end. It was enough for Frankie to make a new life for herself. I thought the progression of her relationship with her parents was well written and felt real.

Overall, very much worth reading. I appreciated all the research that went into this story.

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