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kjlewis494's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War
dkamada's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Genocide, Antisemitism, and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Excrement, and Fire/Fire injury
katewhite77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The content is hard to read, but the quality of the writing and the gripping plot made it very hard to put down.
We follow two sisters as they find very different ways to navigate their way through the Nazi occupation of France in World War 2. Vienne is a proud mother, wife, and rule follower living in the Loire Valley. She refuses to believe that there will be a war at all right up until her husband Pierre is called up. Isobelle, meanwhile, is eighteen and has just been chucked out of the latest in a long line of boarding schools and is rebellious to her core. Just as she arrives back in Paris, she is ordered by her troubled and overbearing father straight back out again to join her sister. We also follow a 1990s timeline of an older woman remembering but wishing she didn’t have to.
Like I say, this is not an easy read as it does not shy away from the horrors of war waged far from the front line where women and children endured a different kind of hell. The book captures so well how a child's innocence can be so utterly shattered in a war.
Sadly, this novel is all relevant in 2024. When will the human race learn?
This is easily my book of the year so far, and Kristin Hannah is a new author to me, which is very exciting, and I can't wait to read more. I also recommend this for fans of The Eighth Life by Nino Haratchiwili.
Graphic: Rape, Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, War, and Deportation
Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Minor: Cancer
jeggert10's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Deportation
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Confinement, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Terminal illness, Blood, Excrement, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs
madisonrose1519's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I have been WAITING for that ravenous, all-consuming feeling of not being able to put a book down for years. I started it on a Saturday night and had finished all 564 pages before bed on Sunday! The last time I was even remotely as absorbed in a book was while reading The Silent Patient.
The Nightingale follows a regular flaw-filled French family from the rumblings of a potential German invasion of France through the release of the innocent people held in concentration camps. The familial love, hate, and idiosyncrasies—and the friendships and love affairs mixed in—are engaging and relatable. The courage, cunning, and athleticism of Isabelle and the strength and development of Vianne are enthralling.
The only reason I had to deduct a quarter star from my rating is because I felt like the ending tied things up in a bit too neat a bow. How can you write an entire 500 page novel evoking such visceral reactions to the gruesome suffering and risky sacrifices people were actually enduring during this time period, and then have as satisfying an ending as this book did? I know it’s historical fiction, but the last 40 or so pages didn’t sit right with me, despite how much I enjoyed them.
Grab your tissues, make sure you don’t have anywhere to be for the next 24-48 hours, and buckle up. The empathy this story stirs up is going rattle you.
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
stephmcoakley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
baearles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, and Deportation
Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, Infertility, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Miscarriage, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
ladybug12793's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Deportation
livlaughlit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I thought the writing style was somewhat unsophisticated and repetitive, with Hannah often implying something and then immediately clarifying what she meant, just in case we hadn’t picked up on the nuance. Regardless, the pervasive anachronisms were the real bug-bear for me. On every other page, there was an error that made me roll my eyes (oral antibiotics? A Flemish farmer smoking like a true Frenchman? The flippant mention of concentration camps on official warnings?). This read as Historical Fanfiction, rather than a well-researched piece of Historical Fiction. It was also extremely forgiving of Vichy France’s passing antisemitic legislation independently of Nazi requirements.
Too often, the characters were reduced to flat stereotypes, and the development of the romantic plots were poorly paced (especially between Isabelle and Gaetan). I was also unconvinced by Isabelle and Vianne’s relationship, which seemed not to develop much at all.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, and Miscarriage
ldod's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War