The Nightingale. Kristin Hannah. 608 pp. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2017.

Kristen Castner, Secondary English Education, Spring 2018

The Nightingale has graced the “Most Popular” shelves of libraries and bookstores for months. For this bookworm, the novel held little alluding quality because so many people were reading and raving about it. I wanted to wait for the swell of popularity to fade before picking up the novel. When I did finally read it, however, I was so thankful I did.

A fictional story set in France amidst World War II, The Nightingale tells the tale of two sisters, Vienne and Isabelle, and their wildly different approaches and responses to the onset of World War II. Hannah intentionally sets the novel’s setting from the perspective of French women in World War II, and writes from a third person perspective, engrossing the reader in both Vienne and Isabel’s thoughts and feelings throughout the duration of the story.

Vienne, the 24 year old, older sister, fulfills the roles of wife and mother to her husband and daughter, whereas her younger sister, 19 year-old Isabelle, acts foolishly and impetuously, constantly expelled from several boarding schools. With their relationship strained and stretched taut, Vienne and Isabel strive to live together at the start of the war while the men are drafted to duty. While Isabel longs to serve the war efforts, Vinne tries to manage the house, her daughter, and Isabel’s impulsive behavior while adjusting to the Nazi-governed changes within their French community.

The sister’s relationship continues to change over the years as the war continues on, along with the surrounding countries and landscapes. Isabel serves the resistance, and Vienne, too, participates in anti-war efforts, though in an entirely different way.

This novel is spectacular, from start to finish; you just have to read it.

Heartbreaking, beautiful, and raw, Hannah employs diction and themes that hook the reader from the first chapter. Although numerous book tell of World War II’s atrocities, few speak to the resistance effort that occurred in European countries. The Nightingale includes the horrors of World War II, while also including accounts of European resistance efforts.

For a taste of Hannah’s superb writing and storytelling, preview the quotes below:

“If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: in love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.”

“Men tell stories. Women get on with it. For us it was a shadow war. There were no parades for us when it was over, no medals or mentions in history books. We did what we had to during the war, and when it was over, we picked up the pieces and started our lives over.”

“Today’s young people want to know everything about everyone. They think talking about a problem will solve it. I come from a quieter generation. We understand the value of forgetting, the lure of reinvention.”