Review: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

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Betty56
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Review: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Post by Betty56 »

There are so many books written about the Holocaust that I am somewhat burned out on them. But every now and then a new one comes out that just is not like all the rest. This holds true to “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah. Ms. Hannah has the gift of articulating the complexities of families and relationships. The reader can feel the struggles the characters are encountering – the pain of emotions felt and beatings taken, the fear of being found out and of losing the ones you love most in the world, the agonizing hunger felt each day. You are right there standing next to the characters; you are pulled into and become a part of the story. I thought she couldn’t get any better than her book “Home Front”, but this one is just as good, if not better

In “The Nightingale” the sisters Viann and Isabelle live in the “Free Zone” in France. But this Free Zone soon becomes Nazi-occupied. It is difficult to read of the burdens the French people had to deal with each day for several years. People did what they had to do to survive. Some people were brave enough and humane enough to make attempts to save the Jews. Others, in self-survival mode, looked the other way. Others sadly joined the Nazis in their atrocities. The story here is very real. It reminded me of the book “A Woman in Berlin” about what the women had to do to survive, and they guilt and self-loathing they felt afterwards. One statement in “The Nightingale’ really hit me – “Men tell stories…Women get on with it…We did what we had to during the war, and when it was over, we picked up the pieces and started our lives over.”

The characters are very human with their strengths and their weaknesses. I loved them, I hated them, I feared for them, I rejoiced with them. Now the book is over but the characters live on in my mind.
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baileymm1978
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Post by baileymm1978 »

I can't get enough WWII fiction, but I know what you mean about this one. I devoured The Nightingale in two sittings, finishing in the wee hours of the morning. I woke up the next day with an emotional hangover from the book, wondering how the world was just turning like it always does! Aside from the fact that it tells a story I hadn't heard before, it was so well written that I felt as though I was with each character, in each situation. I loved it (even though it made me cry so much) and have recommend it to everyone I know…not because it is an easy read, but because it tells a story people should know, and it opens hearts and minds.
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ashley_claire
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Post by ashley_claire »

I really like Kristen Hannah but haven't seen this book yet. Sounds like a great read. My favorite book by her is Winter Garden. I read it a few years ago and still can't get it out of my head sometimes.
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bookowlie
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Post by bookowlie »

I enjoyed reading your review. The book sounds interesting. Adding this one to my reading list!
"The best way out is always through" - Robert Frost
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cndreli35
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Post by cndreli35 »

This is an awesome book that will leave you emotionally drained yet wanting to read it again. It is a real eye opener about what the times were like during the Nazi Regime. Love love love this book!!!
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TammyS
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Post by TammyS »

This is the first book of Kristin Hannah's I've read. I could not put this book down as the characters (the sisters) become a part of you. They were so different, yet so alike. This book is about WWII which is one of my favorite time periods to read about. This book in particular made me genuinely rethink history's perception of the Nazi party and how it affected many people's lives on both sides. Approaching this subject from a different point of view was a daring and bold move by Kristen Hannah. Her writing is compelling and her narrative voice locks you in from the moment you start reading. Loved this book and would highly recommend it to anyone.
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Rizbi
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Post by Rizbi »

I just added this on my TBR list. I know that there are already tons of stories from WWII, but, good authors still manage to come up with refreshing angles from it.
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anamshaikh
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Post by anamshaikh »

Rarely does any book strike me so hard with its brutality and honest that leaves me in tears. But when it does, I make sure to recommend it to every second person on the street. Okay, that’s taking it a bit too far, but you get the idea.

One such book has been The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah which questions humanity, kindness, friendship and family ties. It teaches that actual kindness and friendship is helping a person because they are human, not because they belong to the same nationality as you. It also reiterates the age old belief that friendship aside, nothing comes in the way of family.

It is a tale of love and belonging at the time of war, the war here being the Second World War. It is a tale which answers the question ‘How far will you go and how much will you sacrifice for your country?’ It is a tale which spans the past and the present, love and hate, Germans and French, set in France and America. It is a tale about the Rossignols(French for Nightingales) and how their belief in a free France leads them to aid the French, save Jews from concentration camps, spy on the Germans, help the French, American and Canadian RAF pilots to cross the difficult and treacherous Pyrenees, lie to their loved ones, and even commit murder.

The whole book can be summed up in the first line of the book itself

‘In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we really are’



This book will be the best book you’ll ever read. Keep a few tissues handy.
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Kourtney Bradley
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Post by Kourtney Bradley »

I'm glad to see the positive views on this book! I have had it on hold on my Overdrive account for a while, so I'm excited to get to read this one!
Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light. :techie-studyingbrown:
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Post by mmandy38 »

This was such an amazing book! It is not my typical read, but I wanted to see what everyone was talking about. I'll admit that after I got into it I couldn't stop. It tells such beautiful stories of love and loss, friendship and family, and pain and suffering. Highly recommended.
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Lyndsey Herzog
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Post by Lyndsey Herzog »

I was truly blown away by this book. I finished it faster than I have ever finished a book, I felt like I could never put it down. What an unbelievable mix of love, war and plot twists. I cannot get enough of WWII fiction! I love how much insight this book gave me, even though it was a fictional story, based off of true times in history. I am so excited to start reading more of Kristen Hannah.
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