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A review by ios_222
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

What do I even say? Well the first thing I said out loud was: “what a violently reflective story” , a bit dramatic but still truthful. 

I enjoy reading about “history” but this book allowed me to read about the memories associated with it. Even though the book was written as fiction, it is not hard to imagine that parts, if not all of this novel, could be true in some ways. Hope, duty, love or a combination of all three driving people to survive the isolation, pain, suffering and hate of war - I genuinely couldn’t imagine what it felt/feels like to fight so hard everyday to hold onto the fragments of your previous life, without knowing if you’ll survive to experience the future.

War, conflict, “destabilisation”, all destroy homes, not just the physical buildings, but the people who make up the home. This beautiful story does a wonderful job at illustrating to struggle of war on the civilian front. Exploring family dynamics and the want for a sense of normality in the chaos of everything. I genuinely enjoyed reading this book, and all the violent reflection it prompted.
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