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chillyb3an 's review for:
The Women
by Kristin Hannah
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Tldr; the sections depicting Frankie's struggles after the war were fantastic, but overall the book felt too dramatized for a historical fiction novel.
I have mixed feelings about this book. Starting with positives. I appreciated the author's use and acknowledgement of first-hand accounts from women that served during the Vietnam War. I also thought the end of the book was great and felt mostly realistic(besides Jaime suddenly not being dead. I still don't know how I feel about that decision, felt unnecessary and kind of implied Frankie needed a romantic relationship to fully heal and be happy.) ; depicting Frankie's PTSD, addictions, etc. and her journey of overcoming those struggles. Her character development was great and wasn't so straightforward.
The middle is more what I struggled with. This is the third book of Hannah's I've read and I've noticed a pattern of piling tragedy after tragedy on the protagonist. I get that this story takes place in a very tumultuous time and I do expect there to be several traumatic experiences, but it felt like the author took every story from real people she spoke with and put them all into one character's life. Not only do readers need some time to breath with any genre, but with historical fiction I find it more important to not dramatize too much. Makes it feel inauthentic and almost parody-like. I know that's not the intention and didn't think The Women crossed into that territory, just think it's something authors should be more mindful of.
Side note for the audiobook version: if you don't like when narrators use voices for the characters (deeper voice for men, accents, etc.), I would get a physical copy. I didn't mind it, and actually thought she did great on emotional scenes for Frankie, but my husband found it distracting and laughable.
I have mixed feelings about this book. Starting with positives. I appreciated the author's use and acknowledgement of first-hand accounts from women that served during the Vietnam War. I also thought the end of the book was great and felt mostly realistic
The middle is more what I struggled with. This is the third book of Hannah's I've read and I've noticed a pattern of piling tragedy after tragedy on the protagonist. I get that this story takes place in a very tumultuous time and I do expect there to be several traumatic experiences, but it felt like the author took every story from real people she spoke with and put them all into one character's life. Not only do readers need some time to breath with any genre, but with historical fiction I find it more important to not dramatize too much. Makes it feel inauthentic and almost parody-like. I know that's not the intention and didn't think The Women crossed into that territory, just think it's something authors should be more mindful of.
Side note for the audiobook version: if you don't like when narrators use voices for the characters (deeper voice for men, accents, etc.), I would get a physical copy. I didn't mind it, and actually thought she did great on emotional scenes for Frankie, but my husband found it distracting and laughable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gore, War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Sexism, Grief
Minor: Confinement, Forced institutionalization