Review: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
In World War II France, two sisters weather the war, and defy the Nazis, in different ways. A lot of ways. Like, an unrealistic amount of ways, maybe?
I def liked All the Light We Cannot See more, because (besides the fact that ATLWCS was FAR better as far as the artistic prose; The Nightingale’s writing style was nothing special) I had issues with Isabelle’s character, especially in the first half. She was so extreme so soon, without much insight to make her a believable, solid character. I needed more. She was 2D to me almost up until the very end. At first, she seemed so unrealistic that I was having trouble reading about her at all. Like, I’m the same age as Isabelle and I know I have more sense than her.
And also it was REALLY cliché and a tad unrealistic at a lot of times—like, no way all the stuff that happened to them (and without too many people dying/getting caught) would have actually happened. Basically every detail/anecdote which occurred during WWII in France happened directly to the two main characters. And I had a hard time believing it. I'm not trying to devalue or cast disbelief on the true deeds of WWII-era heroes, but based on how this fictional book in particular was written, I was not exactly convinced of Isabelle and Vianne's high statistics of success. Don’t get me wrong, it made for one heck of an emotional punch, and a super engaging read, but...gotta suspend your belief, big time.
But this book made me cry, and I always get so fired up with stories about people who do the right, heroic thing in the hardest of times. This author did a wonderful thing in trying to convey the spirit of the French Resistance and tell the stories of people like those who lived in real life. For real, the ending made up for all the book’s faults, in my opinion. I forgot about them all. Only after finishing and then reflecting back on the entire book from start to finish am I remembering the things that bothered me. (Sneaky author.) Some parts were SO poignant and heartbreaking, and others made me think I was reading some random romance-y YA book written to catch any reader’s attention with easy prose and flashy-yet-shallow plot points. (As others on Goodreads have said, sometimes it was well-executed, but reading The Nightingale mostly felt like watching a made-for-TV movie.)
To be honest, is it the author who made this book so impactful, or is it just the weight that naturally accompanies the truths and histories of that time where there was so much darkness and evil coupled with so much pure and miraculous light and goodness? I don’t know. Can you think about times like WWII without feeling something fiercely? Sadness, anger, hope, gratitude...I hope not. If anything, I am glad this book was written so that we may not forget.
So, yeah. 5 stars purely for the end—like the last 100ish? pages. The rest would be maybe 3 stars. As a whole, it was entertaining! But also frustrating, and, barring the emotional impact of the ending, it was nothing too special. I’ll leave my rating here as 4.5? But it is not going on my faves’ shelf.
P.S. The part that hit me the hardest was actually the scene about the yellow stars.
Check me out on Goodreads @ goodreads.com/hattiejean for many more (usually short & sweet) reviews!
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This was so emotional and I loved the themes and questions which lay beneath the events and characters. What an incredible story.I def liked All the Light We Cannot See more, because (besides the fact that ATLWCS was FAR better as far as the artistic prose; The Nightingale’s writing style was nothing special) I had issues with Isabelle’s character, especially in the first half. She was so extreme so soon, without much insight to make her a believable, solid character. I needed more. She was 2D to me almost up until the very end. At first, she seemed so unrealistic that I was having trouble reading about her at all. Like, I’m the same age as Isabelle and I know I have more sense than her.
And also it was REALLY cliché and a tad unrealistic at a lot of times—like, no way all the stuff that happened to them (and without too many people dying/getting caught) would have actually happened. Basically every detail/anecdote which occurred during WWII in France happened directly to the two main characters. And I had a hard time believing it. I'm not trying to devalue or cast disbelief on the true deeds of WWII-era heroes, but based on how this fictional book in particular was written, I was not exactly convinced of Isabelle and Vianne's high statistics of success. Don’t get me wrong, it made for one heck of an emotional punch, and a super engaging read, but...gotta suspend your belief, big time.
But this book made me cry, and I always get so fired up with stories about people who do the right, heroic thing in the hardest of times. This author did a wonderful thing in trying to convey the spirit of the French Resistance and tell the stories of people like those who lived in real life. For real, the ending made up for all the book’s faults, in my opinion. I forgot about them all. Only after finishing and then reflecting back on the entire book from start to finish am I remembering the things that bothered me. (Sneaky author.) Some parts were SO poignant and heartbreaking, and others made me think I was reading some random romance-y YA book written to catch any reader’s attention with easy prose and flashy-yet-shallow plot points. (As others on Goodreads have said, sometimes it was well-executed, but reading The Nightingale mostly felt like watching a made-for-TV movie.)
To be honest, is it the author who made this book so impactful, or is it just the weight that naturally accompanies the truths and histories of that time where there was so much darkness and evil coupled with so much pure and miraculous light and goodness? I don’t know. Can you think about times like WWII without feeling something fiercely? Sadness, anger, hope, gratitude...I hope not. If anything, I am glad this book was written so that we may not forget.
So, yeah. 5 stars purely for the end—like the last 100ish? pages. The rest would be maybe 3 stars. As a whole, it was entertaining! But also frustrating, and, barring the emotional impact of the ending, it was nothing too special. I’ll leave my rating here as 4.5? But it is not going on my faves’ shelf.
P.S. The part that hit me the hardest was actually the scene about the yellow stars.
Check me out on Goodreads @ goodreads.com/hattiejean for many more (usually short & sweet) reviews!
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