By: Kristin Hannah
“Having discovered her own failings, she was less inclined to judge others.”
Kristin Hannah, The Women
I am not one to gravitate towards historical fiction but this was a suggestion to me by a friend of something that I had to read. I won’t say that it is a “must read” but it was more entertaining and engaging than I thought it would be. I also chose to listen to it as an audiobook which I think made me enjoy it more. It was almost like watching a movie as opposed to reading a book and this story fairs very well in that format.
*This post contains spoilers for The Women
Overview:
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.
The Women
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed 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 first portion of The Women is super captivating. Frankie has to adjust to Vietnam and quickly learns that it isn’t what the average American was led to believe. It is a fish out of water story where a privileged girl gets thrust into a world that she is ill-prepared for.
It is also just interesting hearing the story of these field hospitals that had to take care of the wounded soldiers and civilians during this conflict. Honestly, I wish that there was more of Frankie and the other nurses experience contributing to the war efforts.
Where the story falters is the second half where Frankie comes home. Unfortunately, this is supposed to be the meat of the story and really what the whole theme is resting on. The story is supposed to be mostly about the women who served in Vietnam coming home and not having a place in society. However, this is the weakest half of the book and doesn’t hold the readers attention as much as the first.
I wish the story would have focused more on the other female characters. Learning the backstory of Barb or Ethel and their experiences would have rounded out the story well.
Also, I don’t think the story of Frankie and Rye was necessarily needed. It just served as another reason to kick Frankie while she was down and the story does that without Rye returning. The romance plotline diminishes her struggles from the war because it makes it seem like being with the man she “loved” would solve her PTSD.
There also is a plot hole with Rye being a POW. Frankie volunteers for the organization of women whose husbands are POWs. They have lists and of everyone being held. How is it that Frankie never looked just as a curiosity to see if Rye or anyone else she knew was on that list. It is highly unlikely that she didn’t look over the information the organization had or never stumbled across his name.
Overall,
I know that had I read the book vs listening to the audiobook I would have enjoyed it less. This genre is not really something that can keep my attention in book form. However, the overall story was good and written well so I am basing my rating on those factors.
The main problem with the book is that the story builds up to an ending multiple times without actually ending. As a reader you are ready for the conclusion but have another 100 pages and many more story lines before it concludes. This took me out of the story and lead to a lesser rating.
Also, as discussed above, the first half is much stronger than the second half.
Rating: 3/5 stars
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