43. The Women by Kristin Hannah

listened on Libby
480 pgs. (14:56) read by Julia Whelan

2024
Adult Historical Fiction
Finished 5/11/2024
Goodreads rating: 4.67 (you never see them this high, and there's a reason!)
My rating: 5+
Setting: first half: Vietnam, 1967-1969; second half Coronado Island, southern California (and other places around the US) from 1969 - 1982, ending at the dedication of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. in November of 1982.

My comments:   Oh my.  Once you start this book, there's no putting it down.  I had very little idea of what it was about, which is probably best because I don't think I would have read it.  I was in high school at the time this book was set.  I was a young married mom when it the war was "over."  This story, about the women of the war in Vietnam is potent, real, all-consuming, and beautifully written.  I didn't shed a tear until I listened to Kristin Hannah read her acknowledgements.  This was a very powerful, masterfully written story that I don't imagine I will forget.

Goodreads synopsis:  An intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over- whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.