Reviewing The Women by Kristin Hannah is proving to be a hard task to serve this epic tale being published in February the justice it deserves. In Part 1, Frankie McGrath decides to join the Army Nurse Corps to go to Vietnam, inspired by the enlistment of her brother into the Navy as well as the importance her father places on being a hero. The narrative follows Frankie throughout her service with the Army Nurse Corps, with Part 2 dealing with her struggle to rejoin the world she left behind for Vietnam.

Frankie, who was raised on a walled and gated estate on Coronado Island in California, is unprepared for just how primitive all the facilities are when she arrives at her post in the Thirty-Sixth Evac Mobile Hospital in Vietnam in 1967. She is soon overwhelmed by the absolute horror in the aftermath of the wounded arriving in a background of screaming injured, shouting of orders by the nurses and doctors, and the smoke, all the smoke. Two nurses, Ethel Flint and Barb Johnson, school Frankie in combat nursing, and the three build a friendship that will take them into life after the war where people keep telling them, there were no women serving in Vietnam.

The war is raging during Frankie’s first tour of duty. Often the only thing she can do for injured soldiers is to hold their hands until they die. The damage inflicted by mortar and bullets is at first overwhelming, but Frankie, like all the other military nurses, is forced to step up and do things she was never trained for like removing a spleen and closing the operation. With only three doctors assigned to her location, she learns more and more under their direction. After her time is served, she extends her tour because she realizes with the shortage of medical personnel, she is sorely needed.

Romance enters the picture when Frankie is pursued by Dr. Jamie Callahan, one of the doctors she works with. When she learns that he is one of those “war bachelors” her father had warned her about, she shuts down the relationship before it blooms. The last time she sees Jamie, his helicopter starting his pathway home has been shot down, and he becomes just another soldier with devastating injuries that will most likely claim his life.

Soon after, Frankie is assigned to the Seventy-First Evac near Pleiku, nicknamed “Rocket City,” where the fighting is even heavier than her first posting. There, Frankie reunites with one of her brother’s Navy buddies, pilot Joseph Ryerson Walsh. After Rye swears he is no longer engaged to a woman in the States, Frankie allows herself to enter into a relationship with him, spending R&R together in Hawaii.

As if life in Vietnam is not hard enough, the women start hearing about how the homeland they left behind becomes divided by war and politics, how Vietnam heroes are not given the welcome back that they deserve. Barb becomes extremely active in protesting the war once she becomes a civilian again, and as often as she can, she includes Ethel and Frankie in the activities of the group, Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

While waiting for Rye to return to America, Frankie learns his helicopter was shot down, and there are no remains. Between the devastation to men’s bodies, the change of the Americans’ hearts about the war, and her own heart broken not once but twice, Frankie spirals down, becoming dependent on the pills, booze, and cigarettes she was introduced to in Vietnam. When she seeks help from the Veterans Administration, she is turned down once and then twice as only the men who fought in the war were recognized as veterans.

There is so much to unpack in this historical fiction that pays tribute to those women who served and sacrificed only to be overlooked by others except for those they nurtured and those with whom they served. One day, Frankie will visit The Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., which includes the names of eight women, all of them nurses.

Kristin Hannah started her writing career solidly in women’s fiction with books like Firefly Lane but she moved to combining her women’s stories with historical fiction, giving readers works about World War II in The Nightingale (2015) and Winter Garden (2010), and the Great Depression in The Four Winds (2018).

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting December 9, 2023.

I would like to thank St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Kristin Hannah has written about a fascinating topic not often mentioned in modern novels....the women who served their country in Vietnam. Hannah has followed Frankie McGrath from her enlistment in the army through the aftermath of returning home from Vietnam to a country that was not celebrating its soldiers as heroes. McGrath wants nothing more than to make her father proud of her, and follow in her brother's footsteps, Hannah explores the horrors of war, not from the soldiers persepctive but from those who cared for, rescured, and comforted the injured and the dying. The story continues after McGrath's return from war and her experiences with those who denied the existence of women in vietnam.. McGrath self destructs and finally finds a path healing.

I have read many Kristin Hannah novels and thoroughly enjoyed them.. This is not her best or my favorite, but definitely enjoyed it especially the topic which is so rarely (if ever) explored. There are a couple of twists (spoilers) that might be hard to swallow. Thank you for Netgalley for the ARC.

The Women was one of the best books I have read. I spent the first half of the.book with a lump.in my throat and the second half with tears in my eyes.

The Vietnam War ended when I was 24. This book brings back all of the emotions of that time. The writing is exquisite, bringing back all the emotions of that time This is a book that I will read.several more times.

#VietnamWar #Netgalley #KristanHiggins #StMartinsPress #Nurses #FrankieMcGrath #FamilyDynamics

I was a child in the 60s but the Vietnam war is a very vivid memory. Every night the news would tell the story of how many soldiers died. Or what villages the soldiers captured. It was never good. The Women is one of my favorite Kristin Hannah books because so little credit is given to the contribution of women during wartime. Hannah has given us the story of Frankie, a southern California girl who wants her life to be different. She's looking for adventure but also a change in expectations of women by society. She definitely finds more than she bargained for. Hannah puts us in in the middle of a bloody, brutal, meaningless battle that was the Vietnam war. But she also continues Frankie's story after the war. We are still seeing repercussions today of what that conflict did to the soldiers involved. And Hannah shines a light on the sacrifice and sorrow of the women that were just as involved in the war as the soldiers on the front line of battle.
I voluntarily received a copy of this book from Netgalley.

I have thoroughly enjoyed every book I’ve read by Kristen Hannah so far and that’s a pretty high number. This book was very interesting, the historical detail all rang true, and it doesn’t overshadow the story itself. The author manages to weave a beautiful synergy between the two which isn’t something every historical writer can do. I highly recommend this and I don’t want to give away anything in the story, but read this book.

#netgalley #thewomen

Excellent story that draws you in from the get go...This is my first book by Kristin Hannah, who I have heard nothing but rave reviews on her work, and when I saw this, I knew I had to read it. Frankie McGrath is a woman who is young, idealistic, innocent, and sees the joy her father has in her brother, Finley when he signs up for the Vietnam war. Frankie decides to follow her brother, much to her fathers dismay and her mothers horror, only to realize as soon as she's there that she has absolutely no idea what she's doing and that signing up was a huge mistake that she can't take back. What unfolds next is her bonding with other women nurses, their journeys as they serve their tour in 'Nam, the aftermath of when they come home and step back into the lives they left behind, and deal with the fallout of loss, love, grief, trauma, and emotions in their own ways. A fantastically written story that pulls you in and doesn't let you go. Your heart goes out to Frankie. Highly loved this story!
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

This book is like no other history fiction book I read this year. It was gripping, and I was immediately immersed in Frankie’s world. The first part was about her time in Vietnam, and the second part was about the aftermath of the war and the struggles she went through. The writing was so descriptive that it was easy to imagine the horror Frankie had seen as an Army nurse in Vietnam. My heart went out to Frankie for the entire book. She was a tough, resilient, courageous woman and a true badass. The ending left me wanting a tissue with a few tears in my eyes.

Also, I applaud Kristen Hannah for the intensive research on the Vietnam War for this book. Not only did she feel obligated to tell about the heroic women of the war, but she spent years making sure she did the story justice. She also wanted to educate readers about the war and what veterans go through after coming home. I highly recommend reading for the upcoming year!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my copy of the book.

An extraordinary story that needs to be told. The women who went to war in Vietnam fought a battle much different than the men. They suffered and were just as traumatized. Just like the men, upon their return they were shunned. Here is a great story that every woman should read.

The Women by Kristin Hannah unfolds a poignant narrative set against the turbulent backdrop of the 1960s in America. The story revolves around Frankie McGrath, a nursing student who, inspired by changing times and familial ties, joins the Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War. This novel brings to light the often overlooked sacrifices and courage of women who found themselves on the front lines, both in war and a politically fractured nation. A profoundly emotional and richly drawn narrative, this story stands as a testament to the heroism of women in an era where their contributions were too frequently forgotten. The audiobook version of this book is equally fantastic, featuring an outstanding narrator.

I saw the audio book available, and wanted that version beings that it was available so I will give full review for that. Thank you.

Frankie McGrath is a young woman, living on Coronado Island in California in the late 1960s, during the years of the Vietnam War. In The Women, Kristin Hannah examines the experience of being a woman serving in the Army Nurse Corps in Vietnam during the war, and the treatment the received as returning veterans, often overlooked and denigrated and told "there were no women in Vietnam". Frankie is our main protagonist, a recently graduated nurse, eagerly joining the ANC to be closer to her brother who has enlisted with the Navy.

Frankie's time in Vietnam is violent and frantic, but she also bonds with those she works alongside, making lifelong friends in her fellow nurses. Upon her return to the United States after serving for 2 years, Frankie struggles to find her place in the world as she is looked down upon by the citizens of the US, with the popularity of the war on the decline, but she is also not recognized as a peer of the other returning veterans and struggles with her own mental health as a result.

While this book felt somewhat formulaic and predictable, I think reading it and understanding that women are just as lucky to experience PTSD and the resulting addiction and emotional disorders as men who have served is important. It highlights how underserved women were upon returning from the war, left to fumble their own way to recovery. The writing is well done, both descriptive and informative and certainly presents a timeframe that is not as commonly written about in Historical Fiction.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

Frankie impulsively joins the Army as a nurse to follow her brother to Vietnam. She is unprepared for the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the trauma of coming home after.

Another wonderful Kristin Hannah read. She always hits it out of the park and I just know I’m in for a ride. I loved how she took the female nurse perspective for Vietnam. It was truly a perspective I’ve never read before and important to learn about, as they were overshadowed by politics and misogyny. It was such an interesting time with political turmoil and counter culture change in the air. I loved every moment of this book; including the war time and Frankie’s homecoming.

“There was no winning in war. Not this war, anyway. There was just pain and death and destruction; good men coming home either broken beyond repair or in body bags, and bombs dropping on civilians, and a generation of children being orphaned.”

The Women comes out 2/6.

I haven’t read many books set during the Vietnam War and I felt that this novel was very well researched. I found particularly poignant the contrasts between the protests in the US and what it is was really like to serve in Vietnam. Of course, the real strength of the story is about how it’s told from the perspective of “the women”. Kristin Hannah did a masterful job in giving us enough details to really feel like we were there, without becoming too over-sensational. I think it was also a good representation of PTSD in all its forms. We really feel the full gamut of emotions through the main character, Frankie. I was pleased with the satisfying ending, solidifying why Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite authors.
#NetGalley #KristinHannah #StMartinsPress

3.5

I have thoroughly loved previous works by Kristin Hannah before (The Four Winds and The Great Alone) so was very excited to read The Women. However, it took me about 100 pages to truly get into the story, and even then, I remained lukewarm toward the characters throughout the book. While the historical setting was interesting (I know very little about the Vietnam war), I found the characterization to be too predictable. Many readers will love The Women and the unique story it shares, I however, would have preferred things to be a bit grittier and less formulaic.

I think Kristin Hannah's writing is just not my fave. The pacing of this one felt off to me, and there was just too much going on, like Hannah was trying to say too much and was a little too on-the-nose. Still, I was super interested in the plot, and the setting is well-researched. I learned a lot about women who served in the Vietnam War, which is something I've heard next to nothing about before.

DNF at 25% | Unfortunately, I found this new Kristin Hannah installment to be incredibly difficult to get into and follow. Even a quarter through the book, I felt that all the characters were incredibly flat and didn't have enough foundation for me to actually care about their development. The stakes of the setting (a warzone!) were also not very high, which ultimately caused me to lose interest and put the book down.

When someone tells me they want to start reading historical fiction, I always direct them to two authors: Kate Quinn and Kristin Hannah. For historical fiction, Kristin Hannah is easily one of the most talented authors of the genre for this generation. I can always count on her novels to be hard-hitting, beautifully written, and impactful. Her books are powerful and timeless. The Women by Kristin Hannah is a novel that will live in my mind for a long time. It is an enjoyable but also heartbreaking read, one which brings light to a time of American history that has long been in the dark.

Frankie McGrath’s father has a “heroes wall” in his office. Photographs and news clippings of men who have served in the armed forces to protect the United States and all it stands for. She wants to make a difference, too, to earn her father’s favor, so she joins the Army Nurse Corps. Shortly after, she’s in Vietnam, hoping to meet up with her brother who is already in-country. From the moment she steps onto sweltering Vietnam soil, Frankie faces the horrors of war. Home is far, far away. With the help of her friends, she fights through each day to keep her boys alive.

But The Women by Kristin Hannah does not end in Vietnam. She returns to a United States filled with citizens who hate the Vietnam War and the troops that fought in it. The novel is deep. It features PTSD, alcoholism, and drug abuse. Additionally, Hannah shines a spotlight on how veterans—nurses included—could not get help. How so many believed there were no women in Vietnam. How the POWs returned with applause and parades while others spat upon and swore at veterans coming home.

I have been to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. On multiple occasions. It is a dark, granite wall with names carved into it. When you stare at the surface, your own face reflects at you. Over 58,000 names cover the stone. Even at night, you can see your face, eerie in the glow from the pavement below. From above, wall looks like an unhealed scar, forever imprinted into the ground. Nearby stands the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, which depicts three nurses cradling and treating a wounded soldier.

While reading The Women by Kristin Hannah, the memorials filled my mind’s eye. Because this novel hurts. For me, “happiness” is no requirement for a good novel. The Women broke my heart because of its realism. Frankie’s story is not inimitable. So many hurt—in the past and now—just as she did. So many go unrecognized. So many need help but do not access it, for whatever reason. And so many come home to sneers instead of thanks. To empty tarmacs instead of smiling and hopeful faces.

These nurses are no longer missing or forgotten. They are the women, and we owe them our sincerest thanks. The Women by Kristin Hannah is a novel I will read repeatedly—not only because of her astonishing storytelling but also to remind me of all I must be grateful for.

I spent a lot of time wishing Frankie could catch a break, it was almost too much trauma. Overall though I enjoyed this and the ending had me in tears

This is one of the best books I have ever read. I seem to read a lot of books about wars and usually it’s about WWII. So when I saw the title, and then the description of this book on NetGalley, I wasn’t sure that I would even like it. It’s hard for me to read books about a time that I have lived through. I am not sure why but it just is. But this story captured my heart almost immediately. I felt drawn to Frankie, Ethel and Barb. They are the main characters in the story. Frances McGrath, better known as Frankie, is the main character. She is a registered nurse and kind of as a whim, decides to join the Army and serve in the Viet Nam war. I want Frankie to be my best friend. I want to be friends with Ethel and Barb. I want to serve with them and have the memories that they have. It was a hard time for our country during that war. We were losing soldiers every day and we had people protesting the war. It seemed everyone was taking a side and felt very strongly that the others were wrong- in some cases dead wrong. The author captures all of that raw feeling. I didn’t want the story to end. The book was very well written and the characters were realistic. I am sure that some form of them actually did serve their country. This is truly a very good book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy for my honest review.

Very few authors write historical fiction as well as Kristin Hannah. In The Women she takes on a part of history that hasn't been explored much in women's fiction. She writes an enthralling story with beautifully developed characters. I highly recommend this book!