In five words: Vietnam War, Friendship, Dire, Uplifting
The amount of people that have told me to read this book is high considering it just came out in February. What tipped me over the edge to get it ASAP was the recommendation from a person who generally hates historical fiction and said this was the best BOOK they had ever read. Full stop. That got my attention, so rather than wait for who knows how long for this literary hot potato, I ventured to an independent bookstore and got a copy of my own. I yet again found Hannah to be an engaging storyteller who puts her characters backs up against the wall to see what their made of.
In this novel she has chosen the Vietnam War as the backdrop, which I found super compelling as it isn’t a part of history I’ve read a lot about (Comparitively I still haven’t read The Nightingale because I can’t bring myself to read something else about WWII). Not to mention I have never read a story or seen a film from the POV of women during this war.
Francis “Frankie” McGrath is chafing against the expectations of her conservative parents and the inevitable life she sees spooling out before her, so when her brother enlists to serve, she finds a reason to see if she too can become a celebrated family hero. Her parents are horrified, contrasted with their pride and joy when her brother sets his course, but she is not diswayed and is determined to bring her budding nursing skills to where they are most needing. Vietnam is a shock, nothing like what she has expected, and we follow her through the war and beyond as she tries to make sense of her time in the military, and a world that isn’t ready to treat any Vietnam veteran, and especially women, as heroes.
If you have read anything other Hannah, you won’t be surprised that Frankie is put through the ringer, multiple times over. This novel is a tough read, not just because of the Vietnam setting, but because of the many no-win scenarios Frankie is put through and mountain of bad decisions she makes, which is sort of Hannah’s hallmark. This novel lands at a strong four for me because it felt too cluttered, with Frankie put through about two more tragedies than I had the stomach for. It seemed like every idea Hannah had for this book made it in.
If you stick with it until the end (which shouldn’t take long becuase you won’t want to put it down) you’ll be left with a bit of hope and buyoyed by the strength of Frankie and the other women throughout the novel.
