The Nightingale.

☆☆☆☆☆

The Nightingale.

kristin hannah.

Publisher  St. Martin's Press

Publication Date:February 3,2015

Genre:Historical Romance| War.

Format|Pages:Hardcover| 440.

 Source: Library | Goodreads.

 

In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.



FRANCE, 1939



In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France...but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When France is overrun, Vianne is forced to take an enemy into her house, and suddenly her every move is watched; her life and her child’s life is at constant risk. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates around her, she must make one terrible choice after another.



Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets the compelling and mysterious Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can...completely. When he betrays her, Isabelle races headlong into danger and joins the Resistance, never looking back or giving a thought to the real--and deadly--consequences. 

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Unforgettable story about love during war, family, friendship and courage. I’m still tearing up as I write this review. I think that this was the most emotional, heartbreaking novel that I have read; it shows the real horror of WWII, and treatment of Jews in the concentration camps. The Nightingale is a story that will stay with you, and you will find yourself thinking about afterwards. I just finished it recently and yet I can’t get my mind of it. The Nightingale was filled with so much horror of war with such vivid images; I saw everything while I read the book. The book had me feeling what they were: Fear, anger, sorrow. I teared up multiple times during the book, yet I could not pull myself away . There were few times I found myself reading till the middle of night because I was engaged in Vianne & Isabel’s stories. The Nightingale is one of those stories that you want keep on reading, yet at times you afraid to turn the pages because you afraid of what might happen to characters. It’s a feeling I went through multiple times while reading the book. I always loved books about war, history but this felt the most realistic to me.




Vianne & Isabel: First of all, love both of their names and especially how Vianne’s name was spelled. How to choose? That’s one question that I found myself asking once I reached the end of the book. I loved both of the sisters; they were both unique and strong in their own way. Both of them went through so much during war, and changed so much by the end. Yet both of them did a lot during the war. Vianne protected her daughter, helped a lot of Jewish children and Isabel helped so many men escape, putting her own life in danger. How can you not love those characters. Both of them saved so many others together. In beginning I wasn’t fond of Isabel, all she seemed to do is complain but that changed fast for me. I hoped she would get away, and it took them a while till they did catch her. What she went through in concentration camp, which was hard to read, I don’t know how she made as long as she did. That takes a lot of courage, a dedication of not letting go. Isabel needs to be remembered for what she done for the country during the war. She was a hero. Both of sisters were.




Have you ever come across character in the book, which you knew you shouldn’t like? But as time passed you couldn’t help but like that certain character? For me that was Beck. I knew that I shouldn’t like him considering that he was a German soldier, but yet I couldn’t find it in my heart to dislike him. If it was any other soldier, I doubt that he would be gentlemen that he was, he never screamed at her, never made her uncomfortable. If anything, he protected her. He warned her ahead of time about Germans looking for Jews so she can hide Rachel, he made sure her and Sophie had enough food, water. How can you dislike someone like that? Though both of them tried to deny it, I knew there were certain attractions between two of them. They cared for one another, more that friends should. I wondered if anything else would happen between the two of them, if things didn’t get worse. I was never more relieved when the war came to end; I started to believe that it would never end. One thing for sure, it changed everyone.



Kristin Hannah did it again. For me, this was my favorite book by her despite the hard subject. An author that never disappoints. She will keep you on edge of seat from start to the end and even after, The Nightingale will stay in your mind, your heart. A powerful, heartbreaking tale. Be ready to shed few tears.