A review by stephs_cozycorner
The Women by Kristin Hannah

5.0

𝙒𝙤𝙬!

This book will be one that stays with me for a very long time.  

Kristin Hannah can tell a story that has you so fully engrossed from the first words on the page. Her characters are filled with so much depth that you cannot stop thinking about them days, weeks and even months later.  

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 is one of those stories.  

Hannah takes us back to the mid-sixties during the Vietnam War.  In 1965 the world is changing, Frances “Frankie” McGrath decides to follow her brother and enlists with the Army Nurse Corps and is shipped off to Vietnam.  She quickly learns the true horrors of this war and every day becomes a battle of life and death.  

War was just the beginning for Frankie and her war veteran friends, as they return home to a divided America, angry protesters and people who want to forget Vietnam. 

This book covers many heavy topics with graphic depictions of war, death, politics, communism and PTSD.   The way in which these women and Vietnam War veterans were treated was just absolutely appalling and heartbreaking.    

Frankie learns very quickly that she is being forgotten along with her fellow nurse corps friends.  When they tried to reach out for help, they were told they weren’t there (in Vietnam) and didn’t serve, and was offered no help as they struggled with the aftermath left to their own devices. 

But through it all these women banded together.  Determined to have their voices heard for themselves and the men who sacrificed so much for their country. 

While a work of fiction, Hannah writes this story with such vivid descriptions you are left feeling such a connection to these characters.  

A story of found family, deep friendships, determination and courage, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 is a book not to be missed.  

"𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙮𝙚𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙩.  

𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 - 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚." 

I can safely say this will be one of my favourite books of the year and I cannot wait to grab a hard copy for my forever shelf.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and War