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maryrosehite's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-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? No
4.75
spottledot's review against another edition
challenging
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
5.0
One of the best books I have ever read
dessiewessie's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
don’t really read historical fiction but i loved this! i enjoyed reading the silent strength and power of women in their covert roles, the bonds that blossomed through suffering in war and death. not quite 5 stars as it was a bit hard to get into, it wasn’t until 50% in that i was truly invested. nevertheless— heart-breaking, thrilling, inspiring. i cried >.<
keista_skaitytoja's review against another edition
5.0
Va čia tai knyga, kurią skaitant ašaros upeliais tekėjo...
Tokia istorija... taip gal dar kažkam atrodys, kad dar viena istorija apie antąjį pasaulinį karą, bet K.Hannah karo ir šeimos temas sugeba pateikti naujai ir stipriai.
Ir dar viena jos knyga, kurią vertinu geriausiais įvertinimais ir nedaugžodžiausiu apie knygą, tiesiog patys turit ją perskaityti.
Tokia istorija... taip gal dar kažkam atrodys, kad dar viena istorija apie antąjį pasaulinį karą, bet K.Hannah karo ir šeimos temas sugeba pateikti naujai ir stipriai.
Ir dar viena jos knyga, kurią vertinu geriausiais įvertinimais ir nedaugžodžiausiu apie knygą, tiesiog patys turit ją perskaityti.
laaurajayde's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
4.0
j2j89's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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? No
4.0
cidhayhurst's review against another edition
After a slow start which may of had to do more with the fact that I have read too many books set in WWII lately than the story, The Nightingale grew on me. I was especially interested in the author's notes which said that she wanted to tell the stories of women in the war and the vital yet unsung contribution they made and I believe Hannah has done her characters proud in telling their stories. The two sisters had such different experiences surviving the war and both were valid even though they each misunderstood the other's motives, actions and experiences. Isabelle helped many Allied airmen get out of France so they could continue to fight the Germans and Vivanne hide a number of Jewish children from the Nazis. Their stories are, I'm sure, similar to many other women's all over Europe and ones which need to be shared.
jmpage01905's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful and compelling read; easily one of the top books of the year. I'd give more stars if I could
brandonpytel's review against another edition
4.0
This isn’t usually a book I would read, but it was strongly recommended by a friend, and it didn’t seem too much of a commitment, so I went for it. About 50 pages in, I was a little skeptical. It’s not that the subject matter isn’t interesting — a book set in France during the outbreak of WWII is as interesting as it gets — but it definitely had a best seller vibe that trended toward popular fiction and away from (and how can I say this without sounding like a snob?) literary.
Love stories are hard to write without defaulting toward cliché, but Hannah’s dialogue is sometimes cringy and her themes aren’t necessarily subtle: “Why was it so easy for men in the world to do as they wanted and so difficult for women?” That and the cliches seemed to muddle what could’ve been a richer relationship between Vianne, our protagonist, and her husband, Antione.
But what it lacked in literary flourishes, it made up in a fast-moving plot. As the war unfolds around them, Vianne and her more rebellious sister Isabelle try to both survive and contribute — Isabelle who dons the name Nightingale, becoming entrenched in an underground liberation movement that transports downed Ally airmen; and Vianne who raises Sophie and eventually several Jewish children, despite Nazis lodging in her home.
Ultimately a book about memory and past, love and loss, the fast-pace plot keeps you invested in the book while forgiving some of its more cliché approaches to emotions. And when Antione does return, Hannah seems to fall into a more natural description of human connections, one that is tragic and real than the earlier parts of the book: “In the months since Antione’s return, they were placating at love and both of them knew it.”
What started as a journey of endurance, ends as a tale of survival, with Isabelle being sent to a concentration camp, Vianne suffering near-starvation, amid her efforts to save Jewish children. The horrors start piling up, and death, violence, and cruelty seeps through each page, in a way that was only surface level earlier on.
The book becomes one of memory, bookended by an older Vianne, recounting her sister’s heroism and her own struggles: “She was crying for all of it at last — for the pain and loss and fear and anger, for the war and what it had done to her and to all of them, for the knowledge of evil she could never shake, for the horror of where she’d been and what she’d done to survive… ‘I have spent a lifetime running from it, trying to forget, but now I see what a waste it all was.’”
The final 50 pages or so is what bumped this up a star, from another bestseller to a book that cuts through emotions, telling the story of two innocent sisters that have gone through World War II and all its horrors.
Love stories are hard to write without defaulting toward cliché, but Hannah’s dialogue is sometimes cringy and her themes aren’t necessarily subtle: “Why was it so easy for men in the world to do as they wanted and so difficult for women?” That and the cliches seemed to muddle what could’ve been a richer relationship between Vianne, our protagonist, and her husband, Antione.
But what it lacked in literary flourishes, it made up in a fast-moving plot. As the war unfolds around them, Vianne and her more rebellious sister Isabelle try to both survive and contribute — Isabelle who dons the name Nightingale, becoming entrenched in an underground liberation movement that transports downed Ally airmen; and Vianne who raises Sophie and eventually several Jewish children, despite Nazis lodging in her home.
Ultimately a book about memory and past, love and loss, the fast-pace plot keeps you invested in the book while forgiving some of its more cliché approaches to emotions. And when Antione does return, Hannah seems to fall into a more natural description of human connections, one that is tragic and real than the earlier parts of the book: “In the months since Antione’s return, they were placating at love and both of them knew it.”
What started as a journey of endurance, ends as a tale of survival, with Isabelle being sent to a concentration camp, Vianne suffering near-starvation, amid her efforts to save Jewish children. The horrors start piling up, and death, violence, and cruelty seeps through each page, in a way that was only surface level earlier on.
The book becomes one of memory, bookended by an older Vianne, recounting her sister’s heroism and her own struggles: “She was crying for all of it at last — for the pain and loss and fear and anger, for the war and what it had done to her and to all of them, for the knowledge of evil she could never shake, for the horror of where she’d been and what she’d done to survive… ‘I have spent a lifetime running from it, trying to forget, but now I see what a waste it all was.’”
The final 50 pages or so is what bumped this up a star, from another bestseller to a book that cuts through emotions, telling the story of two innocent sisters that have gone through World War II and all its horrors.