Hannah has a Knack for Nailing It!
As a man and Marine Corps veteran who rarely reads fiction or a woman historical author, this is my second Kristin Hannah book (the first being Four Winds). I have to say, that she does an excellent job writing about the military. The service is a different world, and each branch has its own unique culture; for example, the Marine Corps, being amphibious and under the Department of the Navy, has a “language”, customs, and courtesies it shares only with the Navy. For example, Marines always remove their “cover” (hat) when inside. They pass through a “hatch” (door), hang their cover on the “bulkhead” (wall), and look outside through a “porthole” (window). A soldier in the Army remains covered and salutes inside – Marines never do. As a servicemember, failure to heed the local service’s customs and courtesies is done at your own peril because, at the least, it makes you look unprofessional and, at worst, makes you look disrespectful and results in a public ass-chewing. An author only looks unprofessional. Hannah rarely gets it wrong; this historical novel is right on the “miliary” money – accurate, realistic, visceral, believable, and most importantly, entertaining! ( )

Excellent. Really covered how the nurses who were in Viet Nam were treated. They were totally forgotten and this saddens me.

This book had me sobbing. Pls read if you want your heart ripped out and out back in. ( )

Loved this book. Women of Vietnam. Not predictable, lots of surprises. Looking forward to reading some of her other books. ( )

Historical fiction at it's best gripping and page turning. It deals with issues like:
- were there Woman (nurses) in the Vietnam War (this narrative were in my opinion slightly overused)
- did they experience combat?
- how were they received when they returned, a heros welcome back or were their country and families ashamed of them?
-were they debriefed and did they know where to get help? ( )

4.5
This is a really important book that takes as its context the approximately 10,000 women who were in Vietnam during the war as nurses, doctors, air traffic controllers, etc, and focuses it on the life of one Frankie McGrath. Motivated by her brother's service in the Navy, a twenty-year-old Frankie (almost 21!) finds herself at an Army recruitment office, eager to put her nursing skills to use as part of the war effort. She longs to be on her father's "Wall of Heroes" and after a short and successful stint in boot camp, bounds off to serve as a nurse in Vietnam.

The book is as much about what happens upon her return home as it is what happens over there, but Hannah manages to create characters and relationships that are so vibrant and recognizable in their messy truths. Hannah definitely honors these women who were so crucial to helping the injured, and while the narrative does get a bit preachy at times, there are plenty of raw and unadulterated ugly-cry moments. I have not yet read The Nightingale, but I was reminded of Hannah's The Four Winds in how multi-dimensional and real the women characters are. The lack of conflict between Frankie and her two best friends didn't always ring true for me, and I found myself slightly annoyed at Frankie's naivete, but that's a lot of privilege on my part. ( )

DNF

https://www.instagram.com/p/DD5dSc2PdCZ/

Kristin Hannah - The Women: Both historically significant and a slow-moving train wreck. You get to decide which wins out. #cursorybookreviews #cursoryreviews ( )

I served in the Army during the Viet Nam war, thankfully far away from that misbegotten war. Many of those I served with had just returned from the war, including a few WACs (Women’s Army Corps). Since I was a part of the uniformed clerical corps of the army, I didn’t have contact with any of the thousands of WACs who served as Army nurses in the war, but I along with many others were well aware that women served in Viet Nam. This is one of what I consider to be urban myths in this book. I’m sure that many Americans didn’t realize there were women soldiers in the war, many in combat as support personnel, but Hannah’s book seems to suggest that most Americans didn’t know this. I just don’t that that is so. Another myth that Hannah continues to perpetrate is the claim that soldiers returning from Viet Nam were routinely spat upon often in the airports they traveled through. This is nonsense. Of course, it happened, but to hear Hannah tell of it, it’s was the typical way soldiers home from Viet Nam were “welcomed.” This simply isn’t so. I often traveled during the war TDY (temporary duty) in my uniform, and I never experienced this or so much as a snide remark about my service. Occasionally, I received a “Thank you for your service, soldier” comment, which I appreciated. And the main reason people have the impression that Viet Nam veterans were never welcomed home is because, unlike modern conflicts and wars, soldiers during Viet Nam didn’t come home as units; they came home individually since their units stayed even after individuals’ 12-month tours were over. So there were no airplane hanger doors opening to hundreds of loved ones welcoming entire companies back from war like we’ve seen on the news in the recent past. By and large the American people didn’t blame the rank and file solider for the war he or she had to fight. Americans placed blame squarely where it belonged: at the feet of elected officials and misguided high ranking commanders. These were the individuals who sent primarily lower class and/or minority Americans to fight their wars. As Kristin Hannah states in her acknowledgments at the end of the book, she was in elementary school during the Viet Nam war. That doesn’t mean she didn’t interview many of the men and women who were there. It simply means that she is writing about a time that she didn’t really live through in a meaningful way that would allow her to accurately write about those events firsthand. The story will undoubtedly make a reasonably interesting movie, hopefully more accurate that the book that spawned it. ( )

The hype is real. This book has been everywhere, topping the New York Times best sellers list for weeks and still holding strong at number 5 after 20 weeks. Given the American war themes and how Kristin Hannah's "Four Winds" left me wrecked, I was apprehensive about picking this one up. But I ended up loving it. This book has that irresistible "just one more chapter" energy that kept me up late and made me want to cancel plans. The writing is exceptional, and while I might have sensed what was coming, I had no idea how it would unfold, so I just had to keep reading. It's so well-researched and rooted in history, that I could feel the authenticity in every page. Each character is fully realized and I fell in love with them over and over. There were jaw-dropping moments and plenty of times when I cried, but it was all so rewarding, especially seeing the main character, Frankie, grow so much. As a non-American, I can't fully grasp the military connections, but the mix of pride and criticism was refreshing. As a woman and a feminist, I related to the frustrations and the powerful sense of sisterhood overcoming pervasive misogyny. I felt everything. This book is for everyone, though maybe not for the squeamish. I wish I could read it again for the first time, but a reread will have to do. ( )

This very buzzy 2024 book is making the rounds of book clubs and coffee shops. It is historical fiction about the women who served in Vietnam. It was a compelling but tough read. Hannah writes with lots of emotion, usually too much for my taste, but the history is accurate and heartbreaking. I have watched and read other sources on this topic so I didn’t learn anything new, but the way the events unfolded in these fictional lives was a vivid reminder of the heartache. Since I still remember clearly the nightly broadcasts, I would recommend this more for anyone who isn’t familiar with the trauma that the veterans experienced both in country and upon their return. It is always worth being reminded. This was such a sad chapter of our American story.
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This book was amazing but very emotional. I had to actually stop reading it because I couldn’t read through the tears and just needed a break from the rawness of the story. The author does an amazing job of telling the story of a young woman and her life from being a privileged daughter to serving our country in the Vietnam war to coming home and no one recognizing that women were in the war. The emotions, heartache, pain and helplessness these women went through is just horrible. The book was amazing just keep tissues nearby. ( )

What a beautiful story that shares a part of Women's history and the Vietnam War of which I was completely unaware. ( )

We read this as a Once Upon a Book Club choice (mom, sister and me). My Dad served two tours on the front line in Vietnam during the war and finished his 23 year military career as an Army nurse recruiter. Needless to say we were all very interested in this story. It's incredibly frustrating that the soldiers who served came home to disrespect and hatred and the women weren't even acknowledged as being part of the war efforts, even by their own VA.
The story itself is heartbreaking and also fun. The characters are written so strongly, you can feel the bond between the women. Just when you think another bad thing can't happen, it does. Then Kristin Hannah hits you with a joyful surprise. It's a roller coaster for sure. ( )

Frankie has been raised in the shadow of a wall of photographs of her family’s military heroes in her upper class home.

When her brother enlists and heads to Vietnam, Frankie determines to join him as a nurse. The army is the only military branch that will enlist nurses without several years of nursing experience, so that is the branch where Frankie, fresh from nursing school, enlists.

She is thrown into the midst of a front line hospital unit – seeing the horribly wounded, developing friendships among the personnel there and seeing her skills increase exponentially as she fills in for tasks that would be routinely done by doctors in a less demanding situation.

Not everyone she loved made it home.

Frankie did make it home, though, only to find that there are no veterans’ support groups open to her as ‘there were no women in Vietnam’. The authorities refuse to admit that nurses could suffer from the as yet unlabeled PTSD symptoms as well as the men combatants.

She discovered that her father was so ashamed that she enlisted that her parents told friends that she was on an extended European tour.

Besides her nightmare experiences and loss, Frankie struggles with her military experience being unrecognized and having to begin on the lowest rung of civilian hospitals. She is haunted by memories of those she lost – especially after one returns from a POW camp, meeting Frankie on a sea of lies.

I had guessed the outcome of the book – which doesn’t mean it didn’t bring sniffles and Kleenex. We’ve been aware of how badly the male Vietnam vets were treated and left unsupported when they returned home to an American divided by the war. This is a fresh story of how the women were treated and how they had to cope. ( )

Excellent story. My 1st Audible....loved it. Beautifully narrated. ( )

Terrific story about nurses during Vietnam war. ( )

I was really drawn into this story. It was good to be reminded how male-dominated our society was 50-60 years ago and to think about how it is reverting to that mind-set again in some ways. There is just no end to the ways that some people think they have the right to dominate others, but enough of that! It was also good to be reminded that PTSD was not the well-known fact that it is today and to remember the emotional toll that war and other catastrophic events take on those involved. I loved the way that Frankie's women friends came through for her and supported each other. It did seem a little contrived when both Rye and Jamie came back "from the dead" so to speak, but I'll forgive that bit of fiction and just enjoy the fact that Frankie was no longer tied to that scoundrel Rye. Again, it was a bit contrived, but I liked the way the author tied up the ending with Frankie running a ranch for women who were emotionally damaged by the war. All in all, a good read.

I thought Part I was better than Part ll. About half-way thru Part ll, I was so tired of hearing about Frankie's traumas, I skim read my way thru it. As usual, I felt the book was too long; I did like reading the history of the war, tho. I remember it pretty well . . .as well as possible with a baby born July 1967 !! Her parents never asked her anything about what she did there. Her father told everyone she was studying in Florence! A male dominated society is right. The way she had to dress on the flight there! Rye and Jamie were not really dead, could a sequel be planned? One thing I hate to admit: no one [in our group] knew there was a Vietnam Women's Memorial in D.C. What would we do without our girlfriends? I hope Frankie succeeds with the ranch, it is much needed. ( )

OMG THIS WAS SO FREAKING GOOD! Why is Kristin Hannah the literal best?! Solid gold. EVERY. TIME. Don't believe people when they tell you there were no women serving in the Vietnam War, because they were and my goodness were they overlooked and undervalued. The Women follows Frankie McGrath, an affluent young woman who decides to enlist as a nurse in the war so she can join her big brother overseas. Frankie has no idea what she signed up for. The war will overhaul her entire life. The first half of the book focuses on her service and the second half focuses on her transition back to civilian life and the awful treatment she received from both her country and her family. Heartbreaking and eye opening. I had no idea. What an impactful and resilient book! ( )

This book is really great. I can see why everyone loves it. It's a well developed story. There's multiple parts of it. I'll admit the first part I was mostly indifferent about. As the novel continued though I was thoroughly invested. ( )

I enjoyed this book, particularly the parts set in Viet Nam, and also the chapters chronicling Frankie's struggle with PTSD but, having said this, I felt there were many times the book could have ended satisfactorily. It was a good story about women in wartime, spoilt by too many romantic interludes. Apart from this I really can't think of anything else to say about this novel, apart from the fact it was a missed opportunity to highlight the Nurses in Viet Nam, and the work they did. ( )

Some reviews say it doesn't have enough depth. The writing is pedestrian. The story is unbelievable and unrealistic. I just don't care. I read this 460 + page book in about 4 sittings and teared up multiple times. A story that can emotionally grab me is a good book. The part 1 was superior to part 2 in many ways. You can make up your own minds. For more reality and fleshing of characters read nonfiction. My opinion. ( )

I decided to read this because Kristin Hannah is a popular author, it had good reviews, and I thought the subject matter would be good. I give her credit for the subject matter but that's it. The writing was very basic, the characters were cliches and stereotypes. It was basically a soap opera plot that used stock characters, constant tragedies, unreal situations and on and on. Really 2 men were killed in plane crashes but somehow weren't, she signs up to go to Viet Nam without talking to her parents. Her parents say she is in Florence studying instead of Viet Nam. Really??
Her friends Barb and Ethel are given no depth except they are great friends. In the late 60's they fly off to California whenever Frankie has a sniffle. Really!!. Her Dad doesn't tell his only child that her mother had a stroke. Every man she meets falls in love with her. She goes to the beach and there is Rye. Everything is beyond belief. She gets a DUI for hitting man on a bike and then later goes to. his house to pay for the broken bike(she should have been sued). Her Dad gets her out of the DUI(rich white man bails out rich white daughter). Everyone love Frankie. Sorry this book strains credibility. I doubt if war protestors were showing up at baggage claim to spit at young women nurses. I bet every Hannah book uses the same road map. I am glad that everyone thinks this is a great book. Maybe I am a literary fiction snob but trying reading Barbara Kingsolver, Ann Patchett, Louise Erdrich, and many great women writers if you want to. know what a good story with unique characters and creative plots are. This was hallmark tear jerker about a young white woman in Viet Nam when most of those over there were poor drafted minorities. That is who Hannah should write about. ( )

Frankie McGrath at 21 years old decides to follow her brother into the Vietnam war as an Army nurse. Shortly after she signs up, they learn that her brother has died.

The first part of the book covers her time serving in medical evacuation units under the worst of military conditions. The horrors of war and the development of close, essential relationships is depicted in the narrative and is compelling reading. Frankie is naive about romantic relationships which contributes to her undoing.

The second part of the book deals with the treatment of Vietnam veterans on their return home and the denial that there were women serving there. The spiraling into PTSD for Frankie is believable. But the author seemed compelled to insert romantic drama by resurrecting characters which were thought to be dead. That is what made me reduce my rating from 4.5 to 3 stars. ( )

Recommended by Carol of Moody Lane. Apparently the women who served (as medical personnel) were told, when they came home, that they weren't Vets... women were not in Vietnam.