The Nightingale: A Novel

Beautiful written. A book everyone should read.

A moving tribute to the women of the Resistance who dared to lose everything to save Jewish children and downed Allied airmen in WWIII Nazi-Occupied France. This novel begins gorgeously: "If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: in love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are. Today's young people want to know everything about everyone. They think talking about a problem will solve it. I come from a quieter generation. We understand the value of forgetting; the lure of reinvention." Some reviewers here have delved into the storyline with some wonderfully evocative summaries, which you can read to get a real sense of what this book is about. Others have preferred to structure their review more traditionally, in a critique, which I will also endeavor to do. This book is so fabulously rich in its narrative, its characters and its subject matter. It is no easy read, in the sense that because the author is so very adept at bringing the setting and characters to us (the backdrop being Occupied France during the horrors of the Nazi occupation of WWII) all but the most insensitive readers will feel the harrowing pain of the situation down to their bones. There is the physical pain of the privation of an entire people--French citizens--particularly women and children. There is the fragility yet incredibly enduring strength of very many different kinds of love, and the destitution of lost or fragmented love. And perhaps most of all, there is the emotional agony of choices made, and those that are not made. And as we discover, sometimes a seemingly simple decision takes on monstrous enormity while some really huge choices are often more easily made. So often it is easier to act when the situation is black and white, rather than so many shades of grey. This story may in essence be about two young women and their own reactions to the occupation of France, but it is most of all the story of the immeasurable bravery of the real-life French people, so many of them women, who took a stand against the Nazis and saved Jewish children and downed Allied airmen who bombed the Nazi occupation and eventually forced Hitler's retreat, surrender, and cowardly suicide. The central question the reader is confronted with time and again is: "could I, would I dare to do even a fraction of what these incredible women were able to do?" Can you love your country enough, and believe against all seeming odds in her ultimate survival, to risk your life and the lives of your friends to bring these downed Allied airmen to a distant safety that they may continue the fight? Can you love your child so much that you risk everything to try and ensure she does not grow up in a place, among a people, in which no neighbor or friend will even try to save a Jewish child? The two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, go on very different journeys to find their way to the Resistance: the younger, Isabelle, is described as impetuous and from the beginning has a remarkable will and need to fight on the behalf of the Free French--but how, and what can she do as a woman of the time? Vianne is drawn into the Resistence much more slowly, unwillingly (and for good reason; she is protecting her daughter), but is ultimately just as courageous as her sister precisely because of the circumstances that are part of her life. I cannot say enough about how thoroughly well developed and believable each character is (and I include here not only Vianne and Isabelle), and how much you come to care for them. Like several other reviewers, I read this story in one sitting, riveted and unable to put the book down. This book is fiction, and yet here we see the beating heart of history; the true stories of the French Resistance. It is an incredible testament to the skill of this author that the reader can hear not only the fictional characters distinctive voices, but the many voices from the journals and accounts she used to construct this novel. This book will undoubtedly make you cry at times, but the journey through this most painful of historic times to see these triumphs is so well worth it.

SIMPLY WOW!!!! Absolutely on the top of my list of the best books I have ever read. I also enjoyed that I was traveling through Europe during the time of reading so it really came alive. I have since read the author's "The Women" and it was also a moving novel. I look forward to reading more from her and cant wait to see the films. Her writing style is captivating and brings the story to life. Well done!

The story was a little hard to follow in the beginning. It took a little while for the author to flesh out the characters so you can understand who is who. However, after the first few chapters, the story started to make sense and I was able to understand who is who. I’m glad a stuck with the rest of the book because the story got really interesting. I realized the beginning just gave the background info on the characters and then it all flowed well together in the end. If not for the confusing beginning, I would have given 5 stars. It’s still an excellent story that’s worth reading. I got glued to the book once the story started to make sense. It’s very touching and made me learn a lot about World War 2. Because of this book, I realized that historical fiction, specifically WWII historical fiction, has become my favorite genre. It got me back into my old hobby of reading after not doing much leisure reading for the past few years. I look forward to reading more of this author’s novels. They are on my reading list.

I have picked up this book many times, trying to finish it. It’s so wonderful, complex, sad, frightening and hopeful all at the same time, I kept taking breaks to read it all the way through. I’m so glad I did finish it finally. Kristin Hannah is a master storyteller, highlighting the story of so many brave women throughout history, with World War II the backdrop of this amazing book. I loved the complexity of sister’s relationship set against the backdrop of occupied France. I hated the atrocities the Nazis committed and cringed because they were true…that part was not fiction. Hannah painstakingly shares the horrific reality so many endured during the war. This book beautifully written but is not an easy read due to the subject matter. It is one that will stick with me for a very long time.

That novel was an amazing culmination of stories celebrating heroic women during one of the worst times for humanity in history. The book gave great insight into the reality of those times. It was an amazing read that made me not want to finish because I was afraid to know the ending.

Excellent story telling with compelling characters that are based on true events and real people during WW II. I liked how it follows 2 sisters and how they dealt with the war in different ways yet were each heroic in their own way. Highly recommend.

Great writing. Loving the story. Recommended to me by a nurse along with The Women. This is a great work of historical fiction taking the reader to Paris and the countryside of France just as the Germans are invading during WW II. The struggles of the people leaving Paris are heart wrenching. Two sisters at the center of the story have different attitudes about coping with the invading Germans. Just started. Can’t wait to see how it all pans out. A real page turner and quick hook that starts with an elderly woman reflecting on her past while looking through an old trunk in her attic. Very well researched work on the part of the author.

Eins der schönsten bucher die ich jemals gelesen habe. Kann es nur jedem empfehlen. Sehr berührend.

One of the best books I’ve read based on WW2. The incredibly moving.

brilliant book and very descriptive of life during the occupation

Beautiful!! I got so invested in the story and characters that made me weep!! I really enjoyed and recommend this book!

Berättelsen utspelas under andra världskriget och är mycket fängslande och känns väldigt trovärdig. En härlig men sorglig berättelse, som berikar våra erfarenheter och manar till eftertanke. Mycket välskriven!