My Take — The Nightingale (Kristin Hannah)
The Nightingale is not just a historical fiction; but carries with it the essence of war, plights and struggles of family, community, and housewives left to fend for themselves amid chaos, quest for rebuilding life during and after the war. What clicks me more within the book is how the everyday struggle of people and family under despotic rules in a nation overtaken by another one is brutal. The process of takeover of country, rebel forces banding together without tarry to seek respite from war and reclaim their territory is akin to what’s unfolding in Ukraine, Syria, Middle East, Palestine- Israel border, etc. today.
The novel offers a blend of emotion, philosophy, societal norms, cultural ethos, professional ethics, morality, and bold perspectives of every stakeholder involved in the war. The dialogues between the characters, pace of storytelling from the start of war to conclusion of war ; and spiraling after-effects have been succinctly clarified here. The novel carries with it additional differences between the generations that became direct, and bold victims and participants of the wartime; as well as those being indirect and bland ones knowing no more about the horror of war. The true horror of war including brutal killings of civilians, military capture of a territory with bloodbath, faith and fate of those captured as Prisoners of War (Pow), rationing and access to meagre foods, looting of high quality foods, grains and fine materials by Nazi forces per requisition approach, billeting of occupying military in country/ territory under siege, forceful sexual tensions and brutal rape of womenfolk by the soldiers in return for safety, privacy and protection of their identity, scenario concerning Jewish people with identification tags and persecutions, as well as painful torture meted out to captives are described with great gusto. The narrative element , pace and storytelling is so vividly descriptive that one becomes a direct character affected by the war. The dynamic experimentation with character development, scenario depiction, moving emotional ups and downs experienced during war and trysts, are vividly ultra realistic.
The Nightingale is a telltale of brave courage, untold struggles, and contributions made by womenkind with delivering messages, the rescue of trapped military men, humanity, brutality, socio-political chaos, self-esteem, inspiring anecdotes, and so on. The novel packs a punch and proves why it is regarded as one of the greatest works of historical fiction. I especially adore how there are parallel stories enmeshed in the novel: the story of France under German Nazi invasion during World War II and gradual bonding of estranged sisters; with them and with their father (utterly broken by the horror of war), the story of rebel forces waging war against their invaders across different frontier, etc. The storytelling is of such caliber that readers are not only bound to fall in love with Kristin Hannah’s writing style but feel the pain. Furthermore; as Nepal endured a ten-year-long civil war; some portions of the story remind me of how it was a blessing in disguise to stay alive for one more day; amid bombing, terror attacks, and traps set.
Apart from these aspects, the novel shows how much emotion can stay under the radar during wartime, how much pain a person can endure, and how much struggle one needs to keep his soul, family, and life intact. The strong element of this novel is to show that women can make as much difference and impactful role in the war; as much as men can. If a man can help save his nation through engagement in brutal fighting, then women have extra fights, more than fighting for the country. A woman has to fight to safeguard her wards, keep her home safe and running, fight to acquire means and resources to sustain lives, fight to keep herself from getting exploited and harassed, fight to keep her soul and body in unison and fight to hide her pains, plights and emotional weakness. But their fights, courage, and contributions are often not tallied into the whole picture. And; only the exploits of MAN are given due credit and priority. Also; the differences between sisters (Vianne and Isabelle) in terms of their attitude, emotions, personality, and characteristics traits are well explained; along with their relationship dynamism. Love every part and parcel of this gem of a novel from war scenario, struggles and courage shown by the women, the perks and plights of HUMANITY, and the reconnection between the sisters in the climax.
Final verdict- No regret in picking this book up and reading it. The book shows the readers the true essence of LOVE, FAMILY, STRUGGLE, EMOTIONS, and so on. This novel will set up a benchmark for other World War HF to follow in the future. The title aptly justifies the overall book as Isabelle makes her greatest contribution and sacrifices in WW II just as Florence Nightingale did during her time.
