
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is a historical fiction novel set in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. The story follows two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, who navigate the challenges of resistance and survival in the face of the Nazi regime. The book delves into the experiences of French civilians, resistance fighters, Jewish individuals, and even German soldiers, providing a compelling and believable portrayal of the time period. Through well-developed characters and a gripping plot, the author weaves a tale of bravery, sacrifice, and the strength of women during wartime.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Triggers/content warnings for The Nightingale include themes of war violence, death, child loss, sexual violence, and trauma.
Has Romance?
There is a significant romantic subplot in The Nightingale, particularly involving Isabelle and her love interests.
From The Publisher:
A #1 New York Times bestseller, Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Year, and soon to be a major motion picture, this unforgettable novel of love and strength in the face of war has enthralled a generation.
With courage, grace, and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of World War II and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women's war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France-a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.
Goodreads Best Historical Novel of the Year
People's Choice Favorite Fiction Winner
#1 Indie Next Selection
A Buzzfeed and The Week Best Book of the Year
Praise for The Nightingale:
"Haunting, action-packed, and compelling." -Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Absolutely riveting!...Read this book." -Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff, Director of the University of Miami Holocaust Teacher Institute
"Beautifully written and richly evocative." -Sara Gruen, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"A hauntingly rich WWII novel about courage, brutality, love, survival-and the essence of what makes us human." -Family Circle
"A heart-pounding story." -USA Today
"An enormous story. Richly satisfying. I loved it." -Anne Rice
"A respectful and absorbing page-turner." -Kirkus Reviews
"Tender, compelling...a satisfying slice of life in Nazi-occupied France." -Jewish Book Council
"Expect to devour The Nightingale in as few sittings as possible; the high-stakes plot and lovable characters won't allow any rest until all of their fates are known." -Shelf Awareness
"I loved The Nightingale." -Lisa See, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Powerful...an unforgettable portrait of love and war." -People
Ratings (286)
Incredible (110) | |
Loved It (116) | |
Liked It (36) | |
It Was OK (12) | |
Did Not Like (9) | |
Hated It (3) |
Reader Stats (510):
Read It (286) | |
Currently Reading (1) | |
Want To Read (173) | |
Did Not Finish (6) | |
Not Interested (44) |
21 comment(s)
I’m not crying ... you’re crying.
Everything!!!
I was expecting to like this more than I did, maybe because I've had such a strong streak of amazing reads lately.
The Nightingale tells a strongly plotted story of the German occupation of France alongside a complex and heartbreaking family saga. Isabelle and Vianne are the daughters of Julien Rossignol, who returned from the Great War a broken man. When their mother died, he abandoned them with a governess. Vianne soon met Antoine, the love of her life, and moved on to make her own family; Isabelle was not a part of that, and became even more adrift.
As the Germans approach France, Antoine goes to the Maginot Line, which no one believes will fall. As we know, it does, and Vianne and Isabelle end up living together in Vianne's country cottage. The sisters fight as Nazis take over the town, and Isabelle ends up returning to Paris to fight in the Resistance, while Vianne faces the challenge of billeting German soldiers in her home with her small daughter.
Hannah addresses all the right questions and issues in a book of this type: what is morally right in consequences of war? what should we sacrifice, and for whom? when it comes down to it, what kind of a person are you? Isabelle and Vianne, while very different, turn out to be more alike than either believes.
I have to say this book kept me up late to finish the last eighty pages. Once the war is underway, the story is riveting. However, I found Hannah's prose lacking, given more to telling than showing. Having just read Dennis Lehane, who can give complete insight into a character with just a glance, I grew impatient with Hannah telling me for the fourth or fifth time that Isabelle is impetuous and acts before thinking. The complex family dynamics could have been pared down into sparer, more powerful scenes.
I don't know how many stories I have read on WWII. This was one of them. But it didn't show the horrors of WWII, I thank the author for that. This book is a portrayal of struggle of French women who tried their best to help to free their country. Its based on a true rebellion that really took place in 1940's (I came to know about it very recently though).
The narration goes back and forth between 1995 and 1940. Two sisters who with their contradicting nature stand by their family and help their nation in their own small way. The narration do not tell us how cruel the WWII was, maybe as it was concerning the women of France who were at their home helping out and not about the men who went into the war. Even though this is about WWII, Love is in the air. Author took help of this love between siblings, spouses and parent-kids to narrate the story and she did her work well.
SYNOPSIS:
Two sisters, Isabelle & Vianne, are living in Nazi-occupied France in WWII, and we follow their two different stories & experiences during this time.
There is also some chapters with an unknown narrator in 1995, who appears to be looking back on the time in France.
MY THOUGHTS
This one lived up to the hype.
Kristin Hannah has quickly become one of my favorite authors. This is my 3rd read by her. Previously, I read The Great Alone and The Women, so this is my 3rd read by her.
Hannah’s writing is vivid and captivating. Even though this is a fairly lengthy book (around 570 pages), I found myself not being able to put it down, and I got through it pretty quickly. By the end of the book, I felt like I had been on the journey with the characters.
Since this involves WWII, the topics are heavy. This isn’t an easy read. It is a harrowing, heartbreaking, and emotional story. Although there are a lot of sensitive topics involved, Hannah did a great job at not going overboard with grotesque descriptions. In fact, the lack of descriptions made it even more horrifying, as your mind can easily close the loop on what is happening.
I loved the complex characters and the family dynamics. Throughout the book, we learn that the sisters are essentially estranged at the beginning of the war. They are very different people, and they have different stories. I enjoyed seeing the two sisters grow, and they learned a lot about themselves & each other. I could feel all the women were sacrificing & putting on the line.
I can only imagine all the research that Hannah had to undertake while writing this, so hats off to her.
Hannah masterfully shows readers a wide range of challenging situations that folks faces during this period of time. Since this involves WWII, I figured there would not be a happy ending. Although it is not a happy ending, it is a satisfying one.
I loved having two strong, capable women as main characters.
This book will stay with me for a long time. It is emotional & powerful, and the characters face unthinkable situations. Although it is historical fiction, it is moving reminder of what real people went through in WWII, and it is a tough pill to swallow.
TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️historical fiction about 2 sisters in Nazi-occupied France in WWII. Heartbreaking, harrowing, emotional, and powerful.
This is a gripping story of the brave women in France who survived the German occupation and participated in the Resistance. This is an important story and one that is unfortunately not often told. The impact that war has on the innocent civilians is not one we often want to think about. The reason that I bumped it to 4 stars is I do not think the characters have an authentic French voice (they sound VERY American to me!) and it got a tad sentimental, even though it worked, I cried the last probably 2 hours of the book.
A completely different type of book that I would normally read but honestly this is one of those books that if you read, it will change your perspective on everything.
The way it’s written, what it’s about, just everything. It took me some bloody time to get through it that’s because I read it over Christmas and some parts where really hard to read.
I feel like this is a book everyone needs to read in their lifetime. The strength and resilience these women went through during the war is next to none.
Read this book for the weekly Drip Book club, When I first started the book I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it. I am not the biggest fan of flashbacks and multi POV's in audiobooks as it's not always clear who's perspective you're listening to. After about 5 hours we really got into the meat and bones of the book, Isabelle and Vianne's stories were intertwined so perfectly to help paint a photo of French citizens during the Nazi occupation.
Sad to see the movie adaption basically died when the pandemic hit, hopefully it is picked back up one of these days and the story is shared!
Bravery of Women
All I can think to say about this book is that a beautiful story surfaces from an ugly war. Every bit of my heart felt for the characters
About the Author:
Kristin Hannah is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the The Nightingale, soon to be a major motion picture directed by Michelle MacLaren. Her latest novel is The Great Alone, set in Alaska. Hannah is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers Firefly Lane, Winter Garden, Night Road, Fly Away, and Home Front, which has been optioned for film by 1492 Films (producers of the Oscar-nominated film The Help) with Chris Columbus attached to write, produce, and direct. She is the mother of one son and lives with her husband in the Pacific Northwest.
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