Yay or Nay: The Nightingale (Novel)

I'm back! It seems like it's been a very long time since the last time I reviewed something on here. A big thank-you to Olga for carrying the weight these passed few weeks! But now I'm done my master's, as two weeks ago I successfully defended my thesis! Now, I'll have some more time to review, as I search for doctoral programs to apply to, and find some part-time work! But, enough about my life, let's get on with the review! 

There are many words to describe this book. It's breath-taking, tear-jerking, wondrous, and tragic. Yet very few works such as these adequately express just how good this book is. Again, reading off of Olga's bookshelf-- this is one of Olga's favourites and I can completely see why. Sticking with the theme of historical fiction (and may I say, both mine and Olga's new obsessions for this summer and fall, so be prepared for many more similar ones. In two weeks I'll be reviewing Chanel Cleeton's Next Year in Havana #shamelessplug). So without further ado, this is my review of Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale. 

The Story 

Our story takes place in France 1940, during the time of Hitler's occupation of France. The story switches between 1940, and back to 1995, recounting the story of a mysterious old woman's move from the Oregon Coast to a retirement home, where she finds an old trunk full of momentos from her youth. Suddenly, we are thrust back to Carriveau, France, where the story tracks the lives of two young sisters, Vianne Mauriac, a family woman burdened with a past she'd rather not recount tries to ignore the signs of upcoming war, attempting to protect the life with a daughter and loving husband that she holds dear; in turn, Vianne's sister, Isabelle Rossignal, is the careless rebel of her family, getting kicked of out of boarding school after boarding school. Instead of ignoring the signs of upending war, she decides to face it head-on, finding herself part of the French Resistance, and wearing the code-name, "Nightingale". 

My Thoughts 

One of the things I really enjoyed about this novel was that it manages to capture life under Hitler's regime both from a domestic as well as warfront perspective. Quite often, novels that recount this particular time period in history do not focus on the everyday goings on of people living through the Nazi Occupation. Through Vianne you see the every day of a common household wife whose simply trying to keep her daughter, Sophie and herself, alive while they wait for her husband, Antoine (a prisoner of war in Nuremberg) to return home. All the while trying to tip-toe around a Nazi who is forcibly living in their home during the occupation. Through Isabelle, you see a woman whose upset that her country has surrendered so easily, and wants to be brave and fight back, in any way she can, despite constantly being told she is weak and a woman cannot do anything for the war efforts. In addition, the book also sheds light on the price these resistance fighters and soldiers had to pay for freedom, both mentally and physically, as it was far from easy for any of these people to do the brave things they did. It's a balance of the life of one at home, versus those who worked in the underground as freedom fighters and soldiers. 

One of the plot points that I absolutely found intriguing was the focus on Vianne's story and her billeted Nazi living in her home, because at some point this actually became a point of tension and possible romance between them. Her billeted Nazi, "Herr Captain" Wolfgang, is actually a really nice guy and one that comments frequently about the tragedies of war and how he does not agree with what Hitler and the Nazis are doing, nor the consequences of war, but he is one man among many. He actually attempts to help Vianne and her daughter Sophie when he can, smuggling them more food, travelling passes, or special rations, often apologizing for his existence and intrusion in their lives. He often comments that he truthfully doesn't know why his superiors ask him to do certain things (like making lists of the backgrounds of each person in Carriveau- you know where this is going), and he's often left in the dark and simply does what he's told. 

That's not to say he hasn't done anything wrong- but his story exists in a grey area. And I liked his character simply because he often shows that not all those in Germany 1) agreed with Hitler and the atrocities he and the Third Reich committed, and 2) that not a lot of Germans knew what was going on to the people in Europe as a result of Hitler's atrocities. Quite often they were left in the dark, as Herr Captain was. And I think that's something that readers should be aware of and that more historical recountings (fiction or not) should remember. A lot of people were left in the dark as things were censored and obscured. And I thought that with this, the author, Kristin Hannah really cornered off all relevant perspectives of the Second World War. 

Finally, I want to comment on the prose, which is damn good. It's some of the best I've read in a while. It's descriptive, yet simple, elegant, yet hits exactly what it's trying to get at. It's written in a way that you can understand very simply just how hard life was during this time, the atrocities that we've all been taught, and how life in Europe fell into this slippery slope towards tragedy. Truthfully, this novel is a masterpiece all around, and I don't think I can adequately tell-all about just all the things it does right. It's just that good

My Rating 

So I would absolutely give this a buy or a borrow! That's all I have to say! 

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Check it out!