The Women by Kristin Hannah no

Book BlurbIt would be the journey of a lifetime . . .

‘Women can be heroes, too’. When twenty-year-old nursing student, Frances “Frankie” McGrath, hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on California’s idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different path for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurses Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the young men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed America. Frankie will also discover the true value of female friendship and the heartbreak that love can cause.

My Review
I have been a Kristin Hannah fan for a lot of years so was really excited when the lovely people of Pan MacMillan sent me a copy of her new book The Women. Kristin always focuses on women facing adversity, showing their strength to overcome all that is put in their path. The Women takes this theme to another level in the story of three nurses in the Vietnam war and how they were treated when they came home.

The Women seems such a simple title, but as you read this book and and the stories of Frankie and her friends Barb and Ethel, the power of the title becomes obvious. As mentioned before Kristin Hannah is known for her wonderful female characters and Frankie is no exception. Frankie has had a privileged upbringing with wealthy parents who just want her to find the perfect husband. It is after the death of her brother in Vietnam that she decides to register as a nurse, and serve in the field hospitals hoping to make her family proud. What Frankie experiences is a baptism of fire, seeing things that no should see in a life time, the horrors of the operating theatre and the children burned by napalm. It is her friendship with fellow nurses Barb and Ethel that get her through both in Vietnam and on her return. It is hard to believe that women in their early twenties went out to Vietnam, thinking they were serving their country only to be treated with disdain and rejected by society on return. The strength of Frankie and her friends is not only in their nursing skills but also coping with the nightmares cand trauma on their return, what we would call PTSD. Their stories are shocking and inspiring at the same time.

Kristin Hannah is a masterful storyteller, paying attention to the detail that makes her books so engaging. She doesn’t shy away from the horrors of the Vietnam War, the difficult conditions for the nurses and doctors, and the horrors they faced on a daily basis, the death, maiming, burns and injuries not only of the soldiers but also the families of Vietnam. I admit it was difficult reading in parts, but fascinating at the same time. But what is more shocking is the way the American Government lied about the war and it’s casualties and how nurses were treated on their return, by their families and society. Kristin Hannah has obviously researched this extensively, and this is conveyed in her detailed prose, brining the story of not only Frankie, Barb and Ethel to life, but also the experiences of all the women who served in Vietnam.

I am going to go out on a limb and say that The Women is Kristin Hannah’s best novel yet. This is such a powerful a book, that shows both the strength and vunerability of these women, what they had to endure both in Vietnam and back in America. It is an emotional read, the highs and the lows that ebb and flow in Frankie’s life, and I did have tears in my eyes at times which is unusual for me. Simply stunning on all levels, The Women is an impressive and compelling read, and a must for fans of Kristin Hannah.