Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Die Nachtigall by Kristin Hannah

17 reviews

mattiedancer's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Writing: 4.75⭐️/5 

The writing is quite stunning. The prose is beautiful, weighted, and eloquent. There were some truly stunning standalone lines, but it also had a nice cohesion. Beyond that, it wasn’t a challenging writing style to read and was well-woven into the plot. 

Characters: 4.5⭐️/5

The characters were highly motivated and flawed, which meant that they felt uniquely human to me. The characterization of the Nazi soldiers was particularly detailed and complicated, leading to moments of pathos for these villains. At times, it felt like certain characters made very weird choices, but it was usually justified later. This just led to a slower understanding of characterization than I might have liked, but it wasn’t too jarring.

Plot: 4⭐️/5 

I know that this is kind of a fan-favourite book, so I’m reluctant to say this, but at times it felt like the author used trauma a bit reflexively to address human moments. Too many times did I know that a terrible scene was coming and, when it came, it was witnessed by one too many characters who we had grown to love, no matter how illogical it might be that they would have ended up witnessing it. I appreciate that this is dealing with the reality of war horrors that took place during WWII; however, at times, it just felt a bit too neat in how directly the trauma continuously happened. That being said, the overarching plot was really well done. I loved the story-within-a-story format that the grandmother at the beginning set up. Overall a solid plot with just a lot of trauma at the end. 

Post-Reading Rating:  4⭐️/5

The ending felt fine: necessary and complete. 

Who Should Read This? 

• Fans of WWII novels
• Fans of historical fiction
• Fans of Kristin Hannah
• Fans of real-life trauma books or books focusing on horrific moments

Final Rating: 4⭐️/5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Misogyny, Racism, Antisemitism, Death, Violence, Sexual violence, War, Blood, Child death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Grief, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, and Cancer

Minor: Alcohol, Homophobia, Chronic illness, Addiction, Infertility, and Abandonment

patslibrary's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Gaslighting, Antisemitism, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, and War

Moderate: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Death, Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Hate crime, Homophobia, Vomit, and Excrement

Minor: Animal death, Religious bigotry, and Cancer

nicole_g_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Murder, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, War, Child death, Addiction, Cancer, Confinement, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

shibaunited's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Genocide, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Abandonment, Vomit, Trafficking, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Infidelity, Infertility, Gun violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Chronic illness, Child death, and Cancer

itisthelaw's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad

3.75

I feel kind of bad rating this on the lower end because I think it's main crime was just being not really my thing (it was a gift). This book is impressive in it's scope. From the French soldiers going off to war to the aftermath, every moment is so detailed. I would say this book is more about creating a vivid picture of life in WWII France than it is about the plot or characters. (I did feel that the characters, and particularly their relationships to each other, were the weakest part of the book). My guess is that you will like this if you like historical fiction, because it is beautiful, engaging, and well-crafted.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Antisemitism, Child death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Mass/school shootings, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Miscarriage and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Terminal illness

alishakohn's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, War, Violence, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Infertility, Infidelity, Hate crime, Gun violence, Grief, Genocide, and Gaslighting

scarlettreadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

It took me a while to get into but by the end I adored this story. Not many books have made me cry but I did tear up at the end; it was incredibly emotional and there was so many heartbreaking scenes. My favourite character was definitely Vianne - she felt like the most realistic. I also learnt so much from this book, from the resistance to collaborators, and the treatment of French citizens during the War. 

I’ll definitely be picking up more from Kristin Hannah! 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Infertility, Xenophobia, Violence, Torture, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, and Miscarriage