Book Review of The Women by Kristin Hannah
The Women by Kristin Hannah
California 1966. When Frankie’s beloved brother joins the Navy to serve in Vietnam, she enlists as an army nurse. An innocent, she is dropped into an inferno of death and destruction. Somehow, with the support of fellow army nurses Barb and Ethel, Frankie discovers hidden strengths and a talent for saving lives in a field hospital. She suffers repeated heartbreak and loss but takes pride in her nursing skills.
On her return to home and family in California, instead of being praised for her service she is dismissed, even reviled as public concern grows about the Vietnam war. A traumatised Frankie struggles to adapt to civilian life. Barb and Ethel, now also demobbed, once again sweep in to help her find a sort of peace.
The first half of the novel is set in Vietnam and is at times a harrowing read. A relentless sequence of mass casualties interspersed with moments of camaraderie among medics isolated in jungle warfare. The author has based scenes on first person accounts of army nurses and this shows.
The second half, as Frankie returns to civilian life, is equally harsh and unflinching. Like many veterans, untreated trauma and public disapproval make a lethal cocktail. And army nurses, as women, were excluded from charitable support for male ex-combatants. The novel prompted me to reflect on a lost generation, biased towards working class and black veterans, who lacked the connections to dodge the draft.
Frankie undergoes a transformation from pampered ingenue to competent trauma nurse to verging on alcoholism with her life and relationships crumbling. Her former comrades Barb and Ethel have to rescue her several times too often, stretching credibility. My usual niggle with Ms Hannah is that the dialogue is more 21st century America than the 1970s. Perhaps she does this to make the novel more “accessible” but it did jolt me out of the era. The descriptions of 70s fashions, however, were spot-on.
But the shocking detail of young people thrust into a lawless war zone is genuine enough to make this a must read. With intractable wars consuming Ukraine and other parts of the world I fear that our leaders have not learned the lessons of history.
I picked this up in an airport bookshop before a long-haul flight and it was compelling enough to keep me away from in-flight movies.
Author website: https://kristinhannah.com/
Enjoyed this book review?
Join my book club for monthly updates on recent reviews and a behind the scenes look at writing historical fiction.