The Nightingale by Kristin HannahMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Time taken to read - in and out over 5 days
Pages - 564
Publisher -
Source - Bought
Blurb from Goodreads
In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are.
France, 1939
In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn't believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne's home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.
Vianne's sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others.
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.
My Review
World War two, two sisters, very different people and very different experiences. France, Vianne the older sister is married, has a child and her husband has to leave to do his part. Isabelle is the younger sister, eighteen, rebellious, passionate and wants to play her part. Vianne is in the village where the Nazi soldiers are taking over and one has moved into her home. Both face their own dangers, struggles and do what they have to to survive this war.
Guys, ooft, the crimes committed we all known were beyond barbaric and this book tackles some of that by taking us through the atrocities people living in France experienced during the war. The two sisters live very different lives and their experiences differ greatly. Both experience danger, abuse, trauma and see how horrific humans can be first hand.
It is not an easy read, we all know the horrors committed during this time so please check your triggers and prepare. Not an easy read by any means and whilst these are fictional characters we know people did live, die and suffer through these barbaric times so it does hit you in the emotionals. 4/5 for me for this one and it is coming out as a movie too so we will absolutely be checking that out too!
