Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Graphic: Addiction, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Racism, Police brutality
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, War
Moderate: Drug use, Infertility, Misogyny, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Self harm, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail
Hannah’s portrayal of Frankie, a young woman who naively enlists in the Army Nurse Corps to be close to her brother, highlights both the innocence and complexity of her character. While I hated her father’s wall of heroes and how it pushed Frankie toward an unjust war, I appreciated how the book didn’t glorify the conflict. Instead, it acknowledged the atrocities committed by the U.S., the lies fed to troops and civilians, and the disproportionate burden borne by people of color whose options stateside seemingly left them with no choice but to serve.
The Vietnam chapters are the strongest part of the book. They showcase the camaraderie, the trauma, and the resilience of the nurses who faced unimaginable situations daily. Frankie’s growth from an inexperienced, wide-eyed nurse to someone who can handle the relentless chaos of war is one of the most compelling aspects of her story. The friendships she forms and the mentorship she receives ground the narrative in humanity, even as the backdrop is one of horror and loss.
However, the book loses its footing when Frankie returns home. Her struggles with reintegration are raw and realistic, but her sense of entitlement to respect—despite warnings from her friends and family about the reception awaiting Vietnam veterans—was surprising. Her father’s shame over her service and her mother’s refusal to engage with her experiences are heartbreaking, but they also contribute to a frustrating pattern in Frankie’s character: an inability to process the world as it is, rather than as she wishes it to be.
Frankie’s descent into addiction, exacerbated by her mother’s manipulation, mirrors the plight of many veterans whose service was often denied or dismissed. While Hannah handles these themes with sensitivity, the narrative begins to feel overly dramatic and weighed down by misfortune upon misfortune.
The book’s ending, however, was the real disappointment for me. After a powerful buildup, the events surrounding the Vietnam memorial unveiling felt cloyingly sentimental. Everything that had haunted Frankie was resolved in a way that felt too neat and convenient. It undermined the complexity of the story and left me feeling let down.
That said, The Women has its strengths. It doesn’t shy away from the brutality of war or the challenges of rebuilding a life afterward. There are moments of levity and hope woven throughout, both in Vietnam and stateside.
While I had significant issues with certain aspects of the story, I can’t deny the impact of Hannah’s writing in capturing the emotional and physical toll of the Vietnam War on those who served. Readers who can forgive an overly sentimental, emotionally-manipulative ending might find more to love in this novel than I did.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Glad that this is my last “READ” book for 2024.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, War
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, War, Injury/Injury detail