Book Review: The Women

Kristin Hannah’s latest release is one you’ll stay up late to finish and think about long after you’re done!

I’ve probably been a little unfair to Kristen Hannah in the past. 

A friend who knew I loved historical fiction recommended her to me years ago, and the first book of hers I picked up was The Four Winds. Which I hated. 

Maybe “hate” is a strong word, but I found the characters hard to relate to and didn’t love the ending. I’ve since read a few more of Hannah’s books and liked them, especially The Great Alone, which was set in Alaska. Several friends had recommended The Women to me, so I was excited to jump in—and I’m so glad I did. 

The Women is the story of Frances “Frankie” McGrath, a privileged young woman who ends up serving as an Army nurse in Vietnam, the conflict that claimed the life of her brother. The novel follows her service, the camaraderie she builds with the doctors and nurses she serves with as well as the soldiers she cares for and serves alongside. After two tours, Frankie comes home, but life isn’t the same. She’s haunted by what she saw and experienced in Vietnam, angered by the lack of acknowledgement for the sacrifice and service of women during the conflict and disappointed by a country she can’t seem to relate to anymore. 

Having grown up with parents who remember the Vietnam War well, I’ve heard a lot about the conflict. Of what it was like to see the numbers of military service members killed each day on the nightly news. Of seeing footage of soldiers in a jungle, over and over, and not understanding the battle they were fighting and why. Of watching draft numbers get called up all around you and wondering if yours would come next. I even took a class about “20th Century American History” in college and learned so much about the politics behind the Vietnam War, but unlike World War II, Vietnam can still be a tough subject in America. So many veterans were welcomed home from the warfront with scorn and hatred, and the scars run deep. So, this was the one of the first times I got to “experience” the war, and I’m glad I got to do it through the eyes of a woman. 

Was The Women a good book? Absolutely. Was it an easy read? Not so much, in that it deals with difficult subject matter and if you’re empathetic, it’s going to make you cry, likely more than once. For those of us who’ve only seen the Vietnam War through the eyes of our parents or the pages of our textbooks, it was enlightening and well worth the time it took to read the novel. 

Like all of Hannah’s books, The Women spans several decades of Frankie’s life, bringing her from young woman to Army nurse to veteran and, eventually, counselor. It’s a book about the beauty of deep friendships forged in fire, enduring love and the price we pay for loving each other as well as our country. It also pays homage to the brave men and women who served their country during a much-debated war and brings much-needed attention to the forgotten women at the warfront. 

 I highly recommend reading The Women, just listen to some Creedence while you do! 

The Bookery Rating: 📙📙📙📙📙

A beautiful story of friendship, love and sacrifice set against the Vietnam War, the conflict that defined a generation. Powerful, memorable and emotional. 

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