A review by dtursi
The Women by Kristin Hannah

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

A gut-wrenching, often infuriating, account of women vets in the Vietnam War and following their return home. Challenging and hard to read at times, simply because of the content, but this is Kristin Hannah at her best. No one writes female friendships and chosen family like her. I loved reading about how the women supported each other when no one else, particularly the US government, did. It was also incredible to immerse myself in a period of time I didn’t know much about before. 

My only qualm is the focus on Frankie’s (the protagonist of the story) many, many love interests. I recognize that this is a part of life, but I would have been much more interested to read the details of Barb’s activism than Frankie’s pining away for a yet another narcissist. However, this book has opened my eyes to these stories, and I’m looking forward to reading some other historical accounts of female Vietnam vets. 
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