A review by znvisser
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

The ratings prepared me for a big emotional saga but the writing felt very sentimental from the start (sprinkled with some unnecessary French words here and there too) and that immediate took me out of the story. I saw a different reviewer say: “it prompts emotions from you in the least intellectual way possible” and that covers how I feel about this too. Once I feel like an author is actively trying to manipulate my emotions I oftentimes resist - although there are definitely exceptions when I did fall for it (damn you Backman and Yanagihara). 

There is a lot going on in this story

- these two sisters experience as many WWII challenges as possible -

and I was often confused by little inaccuracies in the plot or just because I couldn’t believe how something played out

(e.g. German soldiers patiently explaining to a random French woman where all the Jews were being deported as if that knowledge was out in the open at that point; or how easy it appeared to become a leading figure in the resistance as a teenager, etc)

.

However, it turned out it was interesting enough to pull me through all these pages, and although both sisters were a bit stupid at times in their own authentic ways, in the end I did start to feel for them and their family. Will probably not remember a lot from this in a few days tho.