The Women
Finished: March 2024
Book Source: Library
Book Publication Date: February 2024
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.
Trigger Warnings:
Murder, war, miscarriage, death of children
Characters
- Frankie – main character, joins the army to be a nurse after one of her brother’s friends tells her that women can be heroes too
- Finley – Frankie’s older brother
- Barb and Ethel – Frankie’s ‘roommates’ over in Vietnam that become her best friends
- Rye – Finley’s friend, the one that enlightens Frankie that women can join the war efforts
- Jamie – Surgeon that Frankie works with over in Vietnam
My Review
I found myself pleasantly engaged with Hannah’s adept storytelling, which transcends genre boundaries. Although historical fiction typically falls outside my usual reading preferences, this book was everything for me.
Central to the novel’s allure is Hannah’s masterful prose, which effortlessly immerses the reader in the lives of her characters. Their experiences, particularly the tumultuous upheavals and heart-wrenching losses they endure, resonate deeply, fostering an emotional connection that endures beyond the page.
The portrayal of the women in Vietnam during a tumultuous period in history is poignant and evocative. The silence imposed upon them and the dismissal of their experiences as inconsequential are depicted with a raw honesty . Through her writing, Hannah brings to light the resilience and fortitude of these women, rendering their struggles palpable and their triumphs all the more resonant.
In navigating such sensitive and weighty subject matter, Kristin Hannah exhibits a deft hand, confronting the harsh realities of the past while sprinkling her narrative with empathy and compassion. This is another testament to her ability to provoke thought and stir emotion through the medium of historical fiction.
“The Women” merits the highest praise. Kristin Hannah’s extraordinary talent as a storyteller shines brightly. It is a work that not only entertains but also enlightens, leaving an indelible impression upon its readers. Five stars unequivocally.
Spoilers/Summary
SPOILERS BELOW. Stop here if you do not want to read spoilers.
Frankie decides to join the Army to be a nurse after her brother goes off to Vietnam. The army was the branch that would let her enlist the fastest. Before she goes over, Finley is killed in action.
Upon getting over to Vietnam, she immediately gets sick from the water.. a telling start to how her deployment will play out.
Frankie becomes close friends with Ethel and Barb, other nurses. She starts her role in neurology, taking care of patients that are shells of their prior self. As she gains skills and confidence, she ends up as a surgical nurse attending with Jamie. She falls in love with Jamie, but can’t admit it or do anything about it because he is married back home. Jamie flies home for leave and tells Frankie he loves her before he goes. He is shot down upon arrival and sent away in fatal condition. Frankie is devastated.
Frankie is transferred to the actual fighting zone and Barb comes with there (after Ethel gets to go home). Barb leaves and Frankie decides to reenlist. When she finally is forced to take a leave, she is reunited with Rye, the person who told her women can be heroes too. He tells her that he has broken off his engagement and wants to be with her.
Frankie is finally released to go home and only has about a month before Rye will be following. Frankie has a very hard time adjusting. Her service keeps getting belittled and treated like it didn’t happen. She is counting down until Rye comes home but then finds out his plane was shot down and he was killed.
She goes into a spiral and loses her nursing job after she performs a procedure that she wasn’t allowed to do (even though she had done more in Vietnam). She has a breakdown and moves in with Ethel and Barb. Things are starting to settle down and her life starting to get in order when she finds out her mom has had a stroke. She goes home to help nurse her mom back to health. She reconciles with her parents and also starts volunteering with an organization dedicated to bringing POWs home.
She starts dating a psychiatrist named Henry. She gets pregnant and they get engaged. The war ends right before their wedding. POWs are coming home and she finds out that Rye is actually one of them! She goes with Barb and Ethel to see him home… and finds out he has a wife and a kid! She is broken and also ends up miscarrying. (We also find out that her mother also miscarried a baby.)
She gets addicted to pills to numb the pain after everything that has happened and breaks up with Henry. She starts having an affair with Rye, who says he is leaving his wife for her, but needs to do it carefully so he can continue to see his kid.
Frankie is at the hospital and sees that Rye is there with his wife and they are having their second kid! He wasn’t going to break up with her… Frankie spirals more and accidentally overdoses on pills. She ends up in the PTSD clinic that her ex Henry has started. He helps her break the addiction and acknowledge everything she has been through. She spends months there working through it.
After rehab, she sells her cottage house and buys land and a little farm in Montana. She starts taking in other women who are going through similar experiences she has gone through.
She goes to the Vietnam memorial unveiling.. and her parents surprise her there and it’s a heartwarming reunion. While she is there, she is reunited with Jamie — he didn’t actually die! (and he’s divorced now)
