Scan barcode
A review by curlywiggles
The Women by Kristin Hannah
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This started off strong and I thought it was going to be a 4 or 5 stars (I love The Nightingale) but it lost me about a third into the book. Once she gets home from Vietnam it gets repetitive.
The main character is very privileged and makes so many flawed decisions, it's hard to root for her. I wanted to know more about Ethel and Barb, the book would have been better if it had focused more on them and less on the romances. The topics are obviously heavy, and important, but there's not enough hope or lightness to balance the story. It's just a trauma pile on.
Don't get me started on the romances and the ending! There were too many unrealistic things happening. Guys falling in love with her at first sight, her friends travelling across the country at a moments notice every time she fell apart.
3 stars because I was interested in the part set in Vietnam and it was pretty fast paced. I did want to stay in the time period (like not literally in a war, but learning more about that period of history, which is a sign of a good historical fiction for me. I'm glad that women veterans stories have a wider audience because of this book. And that it highlights the lies the US government made during and after the war.
The main character is very privileged and makes so many flawed decisions, it's hard to root for her. I wanted to know more about Ethel and Barb, the book would have been better if it had focused more on them and less on the romances. The topics are obviously heavy, and important, but there's not enough hope or lightness to balance the story. It's just a trauma pile on.
Don't get me started on the romances and the ending! There were too many unrealistic things happening. Guys falling in love with her at first sight, her friends travelling across the country at a moments notice every time she fell apart.
3 stars because I was interested in the part set in Vietnam and it was pretty fast paced. I did want to stay in the time period (like not literally in a war, but learning more about that period of history, which is a sign of a good historical fiction for me. I'm glad that women veterans stories have a wider audience because of this book. And that it highlights the lies the US government made during and after the war.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy