LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
From the brutalities of war, government cover-ups and sexism, to love, lust, sisterhood and surviving the worst, Kristin Hannah’s The Women is at once deeply intimate and richly sweeping.
Sharing the coming-of-age story of a young army nurse in Vietnam, and painting a broad and detailed portrait of the war and its aftermath, it’s a immersive emotional story that shows “Women can be heroes, too”, along with the costs of such heroism, and the value of friendship and sisterhood bonds.
In 1966, Frankie lives a seemingly charmed life in California, with wealthy parents who seem to want the best for her, and a brother who seems set to become a hero when he heads to fight in Vietnam. Then, when a handsome guest at a family gathering tells Frankie “Women can be heroes, too”, she signs up as an army nurse, against her parents’ wishes.
On arrival, Frankie is thrown into a dark and devastating deep end, and quickly realises that the folks back home are being spun lies about the numbers of American casualties. At the same time, she’s thrown a lifeline by newfound female friends, with love and romance also on the cards.
After finding her vocation, Frankie signs up for a second tour, but when she eventually returns home, she battles PTSD while being forced to face the hostilities of anti-war protesters and hostilities from her family, amidst very complicated matters of the heart.
Putting paid to the lie that “There were no women in Vietnam” (a statement Frankie and friends hear a lot during protests), The Women weaves a deeply affecting personal story that shines a glaring light on this brutal, complex chapter in American history. It’s also laced with the love of a lifetime, and shot-through with the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
Joanne Owen
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The Women Synopsis
From the worldwide bestselling author of The Four Winds, The Nightingale and Firefly Lane (a Number One series on Netflix),The Women is a story of devastating loss and epic love.
It would be the journey of a lifetime . . .
‘Women can be heroes, too’. When twenty-year-old nursing student, Frances “Frankie” McGrath, hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on California’s idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different path for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurses Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the young men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed America. Frankie will also discover the true value of female friendship and the heartbreak that love can cause.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781035005673 |
| Publication date: |
15th February 2024 |
| Author: |
Kristin Hannah |
| Publisher: |
Macmillan an imprint of Pan Macmillan |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
471 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Modern and Contemporary Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Press Reviews
Kristin Hannah Press Reviews
Wow. I have been left with a bursting heart . . . a story of love, family, unbreakable bonds, bravery and hope. I will never forget the characters, what they endured and how they hoped and loved. I feel that I will be forever touched by them. I loved this book so much! -- Christy Lefteri, bestselling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo on The Four Winds
Astonishing. Compelling. Powerful -- Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing
A powerful, stirring, wind-swept tale set in Depression-era America that makes your heart break and soar in equal measure. An escape into the past with timely echoes to the present. Kristin Hannah is a classic storyteller and The Four Winds sees her at the top of her game -- Matt Haig, bestselling author of The Midnight Library on The Four Winds
A real page-turning read. Best book I’ve read all year -- Martina Cole on The Four Winds
I didn’t just love this book, I became obsessed with it . . . The characters were flawed and vulnerable, strong and naive, and Hannah has delivered a masterclass in all the different ways love can both save us and destroy us -- Karen Swan on The Great Alone
Epic . . . By the end, I was surrounded by snow-drifts of tissues damp with my tears -- The Washington Post on The Great Alone
Great characters, great plots, great emotions: who could ask for more in a novel? -- Isabel Allende on The Nightingale
Movingly written and plotted with the skill of Greek tragedy. You’ll keep turning the pages until the last racking sob -- Daily Mail on The Nightingale
A rich, compelling novel of love, sacrifice and survival, as epic as the Alaskan landscape it so vividly describes -- Kate Morton on The Great Alone
You would be hard-pressed to find a book club that has not discussed one of her novels - The New York Times
Author
About Kristin Hannah
Kristin Hannah is the New York Times bestselling author of eighteen novels including FIREFLY LANE, TRUE COLORS and WINTER GARDEN. A former lawyer turned writer, she is the mother of one son and lives with her husband in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.
Author photo © Deborah Feingold
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