The Women by Kristen Hannah is a powerhouse historical fiction that occurs before and after the Vietnam War. The novel examines the unsung roles that women had during the Vietnam War. 10,000 women served as nurses during the war. When the male soldiers came back from the war they were despised but the women were forgotten. The novel deals with the trauma of war and finding your place after it. Hannah is a writer who does not shy away from complex emotions. She also trusts the reader to see the hurt and sometimes unlikable characters. We get taken on a wave of emotions from hope to heartache. The novel is an emotional roller coaster of emotions. The pace is steady throughout. I liked the war scenes. I felt they moved faster. After the war, the character was a bit directionless. I felt this in terms of pace. The question of the novel is who is a hero? And what does it take to be a hero? The recurring theme is a hero’s wall and who goes on the wall. The ending of the book was perfect for the story and where the novel stops in history. The history in the novel was great it nailed the societal concern at the time. The clothing, music, and events were well chosen and used very well in the novel. The Women won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction of 2024. This is my second Kristin Hannah book. The Four Winds was my first. I remained blown away by her sometimes difficult character choices. The Women was published on February 6, 2024.

Plot Summary: Frances “Frankie” McGrath throws a party. Her older brother Finley is off to join the war in Vietnam as part of the Navy. Frankie who is a nurse gets inspired by her dad’s wall of war heroes in the family. She talks with Finley and feels him losing a little moral. Frankie gets the idea to join the war as a nurse. She decides to join the Army. It only requires a month of basic training. In contrast, the Navy requires 2 years of Naval medicine. Her parents are devastated and say war is not for women and want her to withdraw. Frankie is determined to serve, but when she arrives in Vietnam she gets way more than she bargained for. The casualties are massive and the nurses and doctors are severely understaffed. Frankie finds personal strength she never knew she had as she faces death at every turn.

What I Liked: The historical aspects of the book got it right. The way songs are used. She will give the hook to the song and let the reader fill in the rest which worked. The writing is incredible I didn’t know always where the character was going, and I liked it. Hannah should get credit for showing the ugly side of the character. She writes a character who messes up her life severely. You feel compelled to reach through the pages and try to fix her. I’m not a woman, but this book made me feel as if I lived in a man’s world. I did not like that world. I felt it whenever Frankie went for help and was turned down because she was a woman. I love the way the women bonded. They formed a unit that the characters will rely on for the rest of their lives. I thought this novel was going to be all about war and nursing in the war. When it reached 50%, Frankie was coming home. At first, I was a little bummed. I liked the war scenes. But then the novel is about trauma and dealing with everything that character went through in the war. In the war, Frankie had no time for trauma. When she is back in the real world, she has time to think. She also has time to deal with everything she repressed. The novel had some good twists and turns more than I was expecting.

What I Disliked: The Rye and Jamie stories were too close. I did not mind it as much in the beginning, but towards the end, it was too close. I did not like how gullible Frankie was towards the end. When a new man came back into her life, she needed to do some background research on his relationship. She had gotten burned a couple of times before.

Recommendations: The Women is a fantastic read that will send the reader on an emotional roller coaster. I was too young to have lived through the Vietnam War. However, this story made me feel like an observer of history. I had always wondered why the majority of people turned on veterans of the Vietnam War. This novel has shed light on a big part of where the anger came from. This is not an easy book some readers will not like it. I felt the novel was a big swing in terms of characterization. The novel goes to dark scary places in the mind and stays there for a bit, which everyone is not going to like. That being said I found the book very impactful and emotional. I highly recommend The Women by Kristen Hannah. I have to say I enjoyed The Four Winds more but this is another amazing novel from Kristen Hannah.

Rating: I rated The Women by Kristen Hannah 4.8 out of 5 stars. The Women as of right now is my 2nd favorite book of 2024.