In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.
Kristin Hannah ~ The Nightingale
Synopsis
France, 1939
In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says good-bye 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 Gaëtan, 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.
Review
In summer 2021, I started buddy reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.
My friend loved it, but I gave up after 150 pages as I couldn't get into it. I'd also read a few similar books about women in the resistance in 2021 so needed time away from the genre.
However I knew I would go back to it one day and - six months later - in January 2022 I picked it up again.
And I'm very glad I did because it's a beautifully tragic tale.
Hannah has a lovely way of telling stories, making sure each character resonates with the reader. Their development and interaction with others is engaging and believable, making them vivid and real in my mind's eye.
It's extremely well-written, with several really emotional chapters and, although I rarely cry, I can see why people are affected so much by her books.
A slow start, but overall a wonderful story of love, courage and determination, that shows there are many ways to be heroic and protect our future.
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