Book Review: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Based in France during the Nazi occupation of WW2, this novel tells the story of two sisters - Vianne and Isabelle- who navigate their survival and their strained relationship in very different ways. We read about their friends, their family, their personal struggles, their strained relationship with each other and their father, the horrendous side of war and particularly the Nazis, deportation of Jews and anyone who the Nazis deemed a threat, the heroics of the women, the French Resistance, and so much more.

This novel will break your heart, and crush you over and over again. While this is a book of fiction, many of the stories are based on true accounts. You will read about strong women who gave up their children as they were being deported to concentration camps and the French women who took them in to save them. You will read about women part of The Resistance, and women who endured unimaginable atrocities to survive and help others survive. You will read about those who made it out of the camps alive only to die not long after due to physical abuse, starvation, and disease. And you will get a small glimpse into the horrors of war, and the magnitude of loss that generates for generations.

Be prepared to cry, cry hard, and cry harder because somehow - through loss after loss of every kind - you will see the beauty of love, life, and hope.

An absolute must-read.

10/10 recommend.

Get your copy here.