The Nightingale: A Novel

Kristin Hannah has written a significant novel concerning the German occupation of the town of Carriveau in France during WWII. Kristin highlights the lives of Vianne Mauriac (who twice had German officers billeted at her home; one a somewhat gentleman, the other a nightmare) and her rebellious younger sister, Isabelle, who eventually joins the French Resistance and acquires the code name...The Nightingale. With Kristin holding the number of main characters to about six people, she created great empathy for all involved. This novel was the most sentimental and tragic story that I’ve read in along time. Of course all books or novels involving the German occupation are sad, but this novel is noteworthy. I recently read Tilar J. Mazzeo’s The Hotel on Place Vendome (see my review of 5/4/2014) and Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See (see my review of 12/30/2014). Although these novels were very engaging, they didn’t leave me with the woebegone feeling that I had when I finished Kristin Hannah’s novel. Great job, Kristin. Okay, enough...what’s the story about? In 1939 France, war is in the air. Vianne, her husband Antoine and daughter Sophie enjoy life in the country until Antoine gets notice from the Vichy government headed by Marshal Phillippe Petain (WWI hero) that he is in the army now. Vianne can’t believe that the Germans will invade France, but they do. Marshall Petain, for some undefined reason, gives in quickly. Meanwhile, Vianne’s sister is expelled from school again. Isabelle became rebellious after her and Vianne’s mother died and as their father lost interest in them and began to drink heavily. Isabelle leaves her father and Paris to move in with Vianne. On her way to Carriveau, the Germans drop bombs and Isabelle meets Gaetan, a French Resistor who thinks she is too young to fight. Isabelle arrives at Vianne’s home the same time the Germans arrive in town. They are in the “occupied zone”, while the surrendering Marshall Petain is in the German friendly “free zone”. A German Captain Beck decides to billet at the sister’s home. He tells Vianne that her husband Antoine is a POW and she will never see him again. Isabelle is defiant to Capt. Beck, while Vianne wants no trouble in the house in order to protect her daughter Sophie. Isabelle meets French Communist Resistor, Henri Navarre, who talks her into secretly distributing “mutinous flyers” from Gen. de Gaulle, who is operating out of London. Vianne, a local teacher, is asked by Capt. Beck to list the names of the teachers at her school who are Jews, Communist, Homosexuals, Freemasons or Jehovah’s Witnesses. Not wanting trouble, Vianne gives him the names including the name of her best friend and neighbor, Rachel, who is a Jew. She regrets giving Rachel’s name to Captain Beck, but realizes that he would have found out anyway, which would have caused her family grief. Isabelle heads to Paris to get involved in the French Resistance and moves in with her father who objects. On page 161, “she had delivered her first secret message for the Free French.” Isabelle is now using the name, Juliette Gervaise and her contact is a weird woman named Anouk. When Isabelle finds a downed RAF pilot, her modus operandi is born. This is where the story ignites all the way to the finish line. There is so much sadness in the ensuing pages, but also a feeling of satisfaction as the French underground continues to befuddle the Germans. There is so much to tell the readers, that I wish this was a book report instead of a book review. But the good thing is that the readers can now go out and get themselves a copy of Kristin Hannah’s scintillating novel to read over and over again. This is the best novel that I’ve read this year, but we still have almost three months left this year. As Vianne might say, “nous verrons.” (we shall see)

Heartbreaking, powerful, and beautifully written, it tells the story of two sisters in Nazi-occupied France and the different, courageous ways they fight to survive and resist. The emotional depth is incredible — I laughed, cried, and had to stop more than once just to process what I was feeling. The characters are unforgettable, especially the strength of the women at the center of the story. Kristin Hannah does an amazing job showing love, sacrifice, and resilience during one of the darkest periods in history. This is a must-read if you love historical fiction that hits you straight in the heart. Absolutely deserving of five stars. 💔📚

This book was so heartbreakingly beautiful... A story about 2 sisters living completely different lives and surviving in their own unique ways. They both learn to love and help people. Isabelle was probably my favorite character apart from Sophie who was Vianne's daughter. I found it so interesting to see the future while flasbacking to the past most of the book. This is a story of love, strength, and resilience. These 2 sisters at odds learn to love each other and help each other! This book is a must read! This is my first historical fiction I have ever read.

I came across this book by accident, but I liked both the premise and the period (WWII was the first history to intrigue me, and although I've discovered dozens of other fascinating periods since, there's nothing like your first love), although I'll confess to a lack of familiarity with the author. Apparently she's quite popular for her fiction, although the other few books I've looked up seem to be more contemporary chick-fic, which would explain why I hadn't read them. This one is set in German-occupied France, although in some misplaced bow to modern political sensibilities, the author insists on referring to the Germans as "Nazis" about twice as often as "Germans." The good: Ms. Hannah is a fine writer. Her prose alternates between lyrical and sweet, and hard-hitting action. She does a good job with both. I especially liked her chaotic description of the roundup of Jews in various towns and cities. She brought home the anguish of the victims as well as the confusion of the bystanders. Her characters are pleasing: the two sisters who are the book's protagonists (as well as the modern-day narrator, one of the two sisters, but much older, and seeming almost like a different character entirely. You don't find out which sister it is until the end, although there are both valid clues and red herrings thrown in to keep you guessing) are vividly drawn, and you can easily understand their motivations and what drives them. Their father is harder to get to know, but then the daughters didn't get to know him that well either, so it works. Isabelle, the more "in-your-face" of the two girls, starts off overpowering--I wanted to slap her a few times early on, just because she was more annoying than the "impulsive and spirited" girl you're supposed to believe she is. But she gets better. Vianne, the older, "responsible" sister starts off ordinary but comes out of the coccoon beautifully as the book progresses. Both the sisters end up working with the French Resistance in different ways. One of them is code-named "the NIghtingale"--hence the book's title. Minor characters--Isabelle's lover Gaetan, Vianne's husband Antoine, Vianne's best friend Rachel, and the two German officers who billet in Vianne's house, are well-drawn. The first one, especially--although it's never explicitly stated, he's one of the Germans who isn't a Nazi, and who finds himself conflicted about the things he has to do in his role as an occupation officer. Other readers have complained about anachronisms. There are a few. One of the sisters said "hassle" at one point, which threw me entirely out of the story; the OED states that the word didn't come into being until the mid-1940s and was almost exclusively a US expression, so why the heck a French girl was using it in 1940 is beyond me. Someone else griped about Isabelle's familiarity with driving. I don't have a problem with that. My mother grew up during WW2 and she could drive; so could her sister. That's not a big deal. The biggest problems for me, the things that keep me from giving the book all five stars, are these: 1. At some point Isabelle starts sounding like Errol Flynn on steroids. The whole "it's a rotten job, but someone's got to do it" business. (No, the quote is not used, but it's clearly implied.) Oh, I've crossed the Pyrenees 27 times, three times in the last month alone. Better get a cup of coffee before I cross them again. Okay, let's go. 2. It's hard to keep the chronology straight, especially where the children are concerned. Sophie and Sarah are best friends, and I believe the same age, but Sophie seems far older. And Ari is constantly described as "the baby" and he usually seems to be asleep. But when he leaves in 1945, he sounds far older than he should be. 3. The German hunt for the Nightingale intensifies to the point that when one of the sisters is picked up by the Gestapo, the girls' father decides to turn himself in, claiming to be the Nightingale. Now picture this: an old drunk smelling of brandy staggers in and says "I'm the Nightingale, the person who single-handedly set up an allied airmen escape route through all of France and ran it for two years." The Germans instantly believe him. They don't question the smell of booze, they don't even interrogate him. Let's get this straight--the real Gestapo would have spent days torturing him until they got the location of the escape route and every safe house, coffee house, and outhouse along the way. These guys just said, "Oh, okay, you're him. Well, I guess we need to shoot you now." If I'd had the book in paperback I probably would've thrown it across the room at that point, but fortunately, it was on Kindle, so I kept reading, and despite that hiccup I did enjoy the book. There is a little violence, mostly implied but some is pretty graphic. There's also sexual content, but it's minor and toned-down. And hey, it's a war, there's bound to be some violence, right? The ending feels a tad rushed, but if you go back and read it again it's pretty satisfying. So the good outweighs the bad.

Eins der schönsten bucher die ich jemals gelesen habe. Kann es nur jedem empfehlen. Sehr berührend.

Beautiful!! I got so invested in the story and characters that made me weep!! I really enjoyed and recommend this book!

The ending truly got me and now I'm craving for another book. 10/10, don't read the end in a public space, tears will flow.

A brilliant read, even had me crying at the realistic rendering of the war story.

Uma ótima história sobre a II Guerra Mundial.