4.5 stars, rounded up. I absolutely flew through this book! I was really excited to read it, but for some reason I was expecting it to be a slow read. I enjoyed The Nightingale, absolutely loved The Great Alone, and didn’t really care for The Four Winds. But Kristin Hannah is back on her game with The Women.

She said in the author’s note that this is a story she’s been wanting to write for a long time, but didn’t want to write it until she was a more mature author. I think now was the right time and that writing about Vietnam captures her at her best. While The Great Alone isn’t really about Vietnam, the fact that Ernt Albright is a POW from Vietnam is really critical to the story. I feel like the Vietnam War is something close to Hannah’s heart, and it shows in her writing.

I think “The Women” is a very uninspired title, but it does fit this book. Hannah explores a lot of themes, but above all, she asks the question, “what about the women?” Frankie McGrath is 21 years old and has just obtained her nursing license in California. Her family has a proud history of military service and her brother, Finlay, is quick to enlist to serve in Vietnam. At that time, America was portrayed as winning the war and the extent of casualties were either limited, or not communicated to the public. 

Frankie misses her brother and is frustrated by the limitations of being a junior nurse. In an effort to get on her Dad’s “hero wall”, which memorializes their family’s service, she decides to enlist as an Army Nurse. Shortly after, the family learns that Finlay’s helicopter has been shot down and he has been killed. But it’s too late for Frankie to back out and she proceeds to basic training and ships out to Saigon.

Once in Vietnam, Frankie quickly has to adapt to the chaotic nature of war. After her initial shock, she becomes a very adept surgical nurse and develops close friendships with the other women. But over time, Frankie becomes disillusioned with the American government and their portrayal of the war and its success. Her mother keeps her updated on the protests at home, but when she returns to America, she is surprised at the level of antipathy the public has towards veterans. As Frankie struggles with PTSD, she realizes that no one even considers nurses to be veterans, and she is refused the few scarce benefits and supports that are offered to the men who served. (it’s not stated, but I’m curious if the male doctors were able to access veteran benefits?)

I love the way this book is written. We spend the first half of the book in Vietnam, where Frankie is exposed to unfathomable terrors, which includes a steady stream of maimed, wounded, and dying soldiers, as well as severely burned Vietnamese civilians who are the accidental (I hope) target of America’s extensive use of Napalm. Frankie rises to the occasion, becoming steady, reliable, and knowledgeable as a combat nurse.

As the reader, you go through this journey with Frankie. Even though I was aware of many of these atrocities, Hannah does an excellent job of conveying the chaos and heartbreak of war through Frankie’s eyes. It’s a brilliant set-up for the rest of her book because she is showing the reader exactly why so many people suffered PTSD from the War. It’s hard to empathize with characters like Ernt Albright in The Great Alone, because I didn’t really know what he went through. But we go through the war with Frankie, so it’s so much easier to understand her struggles.

The entire novel is compelling, but the first half definitely sucks you in. It’s a high stress setting and I could not put the book down. The second half of the book is slightly more understated, but the aftermath of Frankie’s time in Vietnam is the real reason why Hannah is telling this story. To shine a light on the injustices faced after the war by the women who served their country, and in my opinion, this second half is still gripping.

When Frankie returns to America, the culture shock is immense. She is literally spit upon at the airport and her 2 years of service are dismissed by her parents. She has nightmares and trauma responses to stimuli around her. She initially lashes out (justifiably) at both her parents and friends, but she does try to seek help from a veteran’s clinic and is turned away. She’s repeatedly told that “there were no women in Vietnam”, that “she didn’t see combat”, and so as a result “she doesn’t understand what it’s really like”. Her only coping mechanism is to remain silent and try and forget about the war. I’m sure it was still very challenging for the male veterans, who were also experiencing PTSD and public opposition to their service, but I can’t imagine having to also deal with the mass societal gaslighting of being told your experience didn’t even happen.

There’s so much to unpack in this book. At its core, it is a book about women’s history. The late 60’s and early 70’s were a time of change in America, the era of free love. White women were gaining more rights, but women overall still faced a lot of injustice and erasure. The book focuses heavily on Frankie’s PTSD, as well some issues of equal and civil rights. Frankie becomes very close with Ethel and Barb, who were nurses with her in Vietnam, and she relies heavily on these women throughout the novel.

Barb is a black woman, and even though she’s only one character, I’m glad Hannah opted to include her perspective. This is still primarily a white woman’s book, but there is recognition that there were a lot of black men who served their country in Vietnam and that their grassroots organization in the civil rights movement was also largely applied in protesting the war in Vietnam. I don’t think we really get a deep look at how Barb would have been marginalized in the Army and as an activist, or how she might have struggled being friends with two privileged white women, but I was glad to see the inclusion of a strong black woman in the story.

Frankie is a mess in the second half of the book and despite some of her gains, her life continually goes from bad to worse. I could see how her trauma could get repetitive to some readers, but I’m glad that Hannah wrote it this way because PTSD is repetitive. At this time period, PTSD still wasn’t very well understood, especially in women. It is shocking to hear about the high rates of alcohol, drug abuse, and suicide among Vietnam veterans, which is further exacerbated when you learn that many of them also developed cancer or had miscarriages or birth defects as a result of the chemicals the American’s were spraying all over the countryside.

The Vietnam War was really unlike any other war the Americans had participated in at the time. First of all, they lost it, but second of all, because of the opinion of the public, there was no glory in it. The soldiers weren’t coming home to parades like WWI and WWII. I think my problem now is that I don’t really know who is to blame, although this may be a byproduct of a lack of knowledge on my part. America was committing atrocities in Vietnam. The book doesn’t outright address incidents like the My Lai massacre, but it is demonstrated through the number of Vietnamese civilians that Frankie treats in her OR and what she witnesses at the mobile clinics. The question this book doesn’t answer is, who is accountable? 

How aware was the average soldier about the injustices the US committed against Vietnamese citizens? Can you separate the war from the soldiers? Frankie asks the question, can’t the American public support the troops and protest the government? These men and women are still serving their country, the same as in WWI and WWII, but what if your government or your superiors are acting in bad faith? I honestly don’t know the answer. Many people who are tried for war crimes throughout history use the excuse that they were just following orders, at what point are you serving your country and at what point do you become the villain? 

As a set-up to examine the impacts of war and the struggles of a country divided, I think this book is brilliant. I think Hannah asks all the right questions and focuses on the right themes. Her execution is excellent. What you’ll notice I haven’t mentioned yet is any of the personal drama in the novel, of which there is no shortage. Frankie has varying relationships with 3 men throughout the book and while this narrative is compelling, it’s secondary. I liked Frankie’s interactions with Jamie and Rye and Henry. I think they all add something different to the story and are good tools for engaging the reader. Jamie and Rye are used to explore Frankie’s personal moral code and demonstrate the heartbreak of war, while Henry is a good man and friend who helps Frankie along her healing journey. What I didn’t think was needed was the soap opera plot.

This is probably my one criticism of the book. This is my 4th Kristin Hannah book, so I knew the final act soapbox was coming, but it disappoints me every time. Hannah always adds a surprising (or not so surprising) twist to her books and it irks me because I think it’s both unnecessary and manipulative. Some readers love it because it really reinforces the heartbreak and tragedy of the story, but while still compelling, I think that Frankie’s romantic relationships are the least interesting thing about her.

Yes, Frankie did need to hit rock bottom to finally seek the help she needed. Overall, I did like how her healing journey was handled, but I feel that certain elements of the story are included only to shock and manipulate the reader emotionally. You don’t need the intense personal drama Kristin! I adore Frankie of her own merits. I had the same criticism about The Great Alone and felt the dramatic ending marred an otherwise perfect story.

But I can get over it. These dramatic elements are a way to further engage your reader. It does make for compelling storytelling and I know a lot of readers love it. I just don’t want Frankie’s personal relationships to detract from the much more important themes of this book. I’d still highly highly recommend this book. It evoked so much critical thought for me and I’m holding it to such a high standard. I questioned whether I’d outgrown Kristin Hannah after I didn’t care for The Four Winds, but I will absolutely continue to read her books. A fantastic read!

The Women is my book club’s pick for May, so my rating may change after I meet with them next week, but for now, it’s 4.5 stars, rounded up.