This is my third Hannah book and I was really nervous to start it. I’d read Hannah’s The Four Winds earlier this year and I didn’t love it. I felt it was slow and the characters weren’t compelling. But after two different people recommended this book to me, I caved. I’m so glad I did.
The Women by Kristin Hannah
Publication Date: Feb 2024
Length: 14 hours and 57 minutes on audio
Other books by Hannah reviewed on this blog:
The Nightingale (4/5) and Book Club Reflection
The Four Winds (3/5)
From a MASCAL in the jungle to PTSD in California, this book takes readers along the shocking journey of the women who were there in Vietnam and what it was like when they came back.
Summary from Amazon:
Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets―and becomes one of―the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.
But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.
The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.
I haven’t cried this much or this often while reading a book in a long time. I was fascinated by Frankie’s time in Vietnam and the fast paced plot of that section. I was disappointed when she she came back because I didn’t know the roller coaster I was about to go on. I loved Frankie, Barb, and Ethel and the different ways their service impacted them was a great way to tell the story. I had no idea how Vietnam Vets were welcomed (or not) when returning so that was really surprising to me. This book led to a really eye opening conversation with my mom about what she remembered from that time.
I had very strong feelings about almost everyone in this story. Frankie was amazing. I loved how strong and smart she was and I thought the way she crumbled when she got home was very realistic and spoke to how hard it was for veterans. Barb was also amazing and I adored how good of a friend she was for Frankie. I aspire to be that good of a friend to someone. I also really hated a certain male character I won’t name to avoid spoilers (but if you’ve read this book, you probably can guess who I’m talking about). That level of dislike only comes from good writing. Hannah has won me over again, I’ll be trying another one of her books again soon.
Image via USA Today
I was surprised how early in the book I was when Frankie returned home. I thought more of the book would take place in Vietnam but I never lost interest with how compelling the plot was. Things shifted, but the engagement stayed high. I was invested in the fast-paced life of Vietnam, but I was also invested in the return journey of Frankie and the other girls. I had some major issues with the very end, though, that I want to vent about here. So please skip to the next paragraph to avoid those. OK, that final scene at the memorial almost made me knock off a star. I could understand that one of the three men she mourned wasn’t actually dead. Information was limited and communication was strained- it happens. But two? Jamie being alive was almost a disappointment for me. Was Finley coming back, too? I would have preferred she run into Rye and realize how much she’d healed. It was just a bit too much. Ok, rant over and spoilers done.
I loved the setting Hannah brought together in this story. In her acknowledgements section, she talks about all the research she did for this book and it shows. The Evac Hospitals are so easy to picture and the reaction to Frankie upon her return felt very deeply and richly drawn. I love a historical fiction book that doesn’t hit you over the head with facts and reads not horribly different from modern fiction. Hannah did this wonderfully. Frankie felt like she fit in well with the changing times she lived in, not like a modern person plopped into history. This was an absolute joy to read.
The audiobook was read by Julia Whelan. I was really sucked in by her reading. I think she narrated the terror, fear, and sorrow Frankie felt very well. This was a highly emotional book (I cried twice on the drive to work one day) and Whelan took me on that journey. I was very impressed. I just looked at the book I’m considering listening to next and she’s part of the full cast and I’m excited.
PTSD was just beginning to be studied with Vietnam Vets. This book takes us into the jungle where the trauma occurred and walked us through how it felt to live with that trauma. I appreciated that Hannah spent so much time with both sides. She showed how Frankie and the girls had to adjust to horrible situations on a daily basis and find a way to push through. Then they were sent home, scorned, and told to forget what they’d seen. While PTSD didn’t develop in the 70s, it was just starting to be understood and I loved seeing the beginnings of the treatments available. Now it’s commonly understood that folks who see combat are at an elevated risk and seeing Frankie’s journey and understanding her mental state, it’s easy to see why.
Writer’s Takeaway: Hannah’s research for this book was incredible. She details in her acknowledgement section how many folks she spoke with and all the effort she put into her in-country locations and operations and it showed. I had a lot of respect for the vivid images she was able to conjure, even if I didn’t love them being stuck in my head. There are scenes she described that I think will stay with me for some time (water skiing in Vietnam?!) and there are some images of war that I want to forget as badly as Frankie does.
This was one of the best reads I’ve had in a while and I’m so glad I gave it a chance. Five out of Five Stars.
Read Alikes: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddy Ratner, The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
Until next time, write on.
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