Reviews tagging 'War'

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

628 reviews

maggieschaper's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense 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

4.5

Read via audiobook 🎧 4.5 on StoryGraph. 

I guess I’m now a Kristen Hannah girlie? Definitely not a light read. This was one of those books that I talked about throughout the day with people. I was comparing it now to the times we live in. When would I leave? Where would I go? Cuz I would be handmaid for sure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and War

fablemoss2424's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I just finished the book and can’t quite articulate all the thoughts in my head about it. Vianne and Isabelle are wonderfully written, vivid, flawed, beautiful characters and following their two very different paths through surviving WW2 in occupied France was tense and intriguing, but also heartbreaking. Excellent character development, even for background characters. I thought the beginning was too slow, and some scenes seemed extraneous or sort of randomly slotted in amidst the greater plots, but on the whole, I do think the scenes helped develop Isabelle and Vianne. The Nightingale thing was interesting (though if their last name means Nightingale and the Nazis speak French, I wonder that they didn’t make the connection but needs must for plot), and I liked how vivid Carriveau and Paris felt. The ending destroyed me, even if it felt really rushed compared to the rest of the book. Like we built up to the end of the war and then sort of sped run through it in about 60-70 pages which, for a 500+ page book, was a bit annoying. 

This isn’t a higher star rating for me because I could put it down and walk away instead of having to keep reading to find out what happened next (plus pacing issues, some plot point grievances especially with the ending) but I think that’s a good thing given the nature of the book. At times, especially the last maybe 150 pages, it got pretty brutal. The book doesn’t shy away from the horrors the Nazis committed during the war, and the ending made me ugly cry because it was just so…sad, and bittersweet,  do also rage-inducing *SPOILERS* because Isabelle’s ending and Ari’s story and being taken away, while realistic, made me so freaking angry *SPOILERS*

A really good book, and one I do recommend if you like her writing and WW2 historical fiction, but keep in mind that, like I said above, the book doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war. Especially at the end when the story really picks up steam without enough time to really explore it all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Antisemitism, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Rape, Torture, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

becg's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Grief, Murder, and War

shbrt252's review against another edition

dark hopeful inspiring medium-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? No

5.0

My first book that I’ve read by Kristin Hannah, but will definitely not be my last. This book is about France during WW2 and the Nazi invasion and occupation and the life of two sisters attempting to survive this to the other side. There are raw scenes of sexual assault, the murder of children, and an alcoholic father so be warned. I’m glad she involved those things however as often forget what war entails; violence. With both sisters being so opposite, it was lovely to see how well they connected, how much love they have for one another. I cried at the very end, just wanting to hug everyone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, and War

rorlav22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and War

Moderate: Rape

katewhite77's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

A Read You Cannot Forget 

The content is hard to read, but the quality of the writing and the gripping plot made it very hard to put down. 

We follow two sisters as they find very different ways to navigate their way through the Nazi occupation of France in World War 2. Vienne is a proud mother, wife, and rule follower living in the Loire Valley. She refuses to believe that there will be a war at all right up until her husband Pierre is called up.  Isobelle, meanwhile, is eighteen and has just been chucked out of the latest in a long line of boarding schools and is rebellious to  her core. Just as she arrives back in Paris, she is ordered by her troubled and  overbearing father straight back out again to join her sister. We also follow a 1990s timeline of an older woman remembering but wishing she didn’t have to. 

Like I say, this is not an easy read as it does not shy away from the horrors of war waged far from the front line where women and children endured a different kind of hell. The book captures so well how a child's innocence can be so utterly shattered in a war.

Sadly, this novel is all relevant in 2024.  When will the human race learn?

This is easily my book of the year so far, and Kristin Hannah is a new author to me, which is very exciting, and I can't wait to read more. I also recommend this for fans of The Eighth Life by Nino Haratchiwili.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, War, and Deportation

Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Minor: Cancer

cmason101's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

debinox's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Rape, Violence, Antisemitism, and War

uselesspirateraven's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Minor: Terminal illness, Medical content, Death of parent, and Abandonment

mboutlaw's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-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

4.75

This book wrecked me. As a mother of two young children especially, it hit HARD. It was triggering to a point of me almost marking it DNF. I used a whole box of tissues and gave myself a headache in the reading of certain scenes. 

However, I kept reading because I felt a need to find closure of this story and I am glad that I did. Truly. Isabelle/Vianne’s story of loss, hope, and unending compassion was life-changing. By this book, I will forever be reminded of the thousands of stories of the small (and yet huge) acts of kindness, love, and rebellion during times where people were forced to look into the very face of evil.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Infertility, and Miscarriage

This is a book about WWII, it will describe war crimes against Jewish people and those suspected of helping them. It describes multiple graphic instances of child death at the hands of Nazis. Would not recommend this book to anyone sensitive to any of these themes and moreover would encourage mothers of small children to avoid this book.