My Thoughts on The Nightingale

     I have never written a book review before, and I don't think I'm about to start, but I have to take a minute to share my thoughts about the book I just finished: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I don't know if I have ever read a book that has made me sob when I'm not already emotionally vulnerable. I don't remember the last time I read a book that made me cry the way I just did.

     The last true World War II novel I read was All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I've heard many wonderful things about this book, but unfortunately, I didn't truly sit down and read it. I read the novel intermittently, taking so many breaks that prevented the story from truly sinking in. It is a book I will have to read at a future date, but that's not the book I'm here to talk about.

     The Nightingale, for those of you who haven't read it or heard of it, follows two sisters living in France during World War II and their respective journeys. I can't even imagine the hardships, the inhumanity, the depths of despair and hopelessness described here. As things in the story progressed and conditions became worse and worse, I found myself silently expressing gratitude for not having to experience those same things. At the conclusion of the book, I feel the same gratitude expanding to include all of the men and women who did what they could to fight for freedom, peace, love, and hope during the second world war and for those that do so now.

    In all of the books I read growing up, I imagined myself as the main character - strong, brave, and never afraid to do what was right. Now that I'm older I recognize that I am extremely non-confrontational and that in reality I would be much too scared to do anything like Felicity (American Girl, anyone?) or Katniss or any number of fictional heroines. This thought came back to me poignantly as I read about Isabelle and Vianne. I could see myself in Vianne, knowing that I would act the exact same - keeping my head down and living submissively and obediently to avoid any trouble. Yet as she made choices that defined the rest of her life, I found myself wondering if I would be able to do the same. I would certainly like to think so, but do any of us really know how we would act in any given situation unless we actually experience it? Food for thought, because I certainly don't have an answer.

     I'm grateful that I picked up a new book to read (actually, that my mom asked me to pick up a new book for her to read), a book that serves as a sharp reminder to never forget history, to live and learn from the lives of the people that came before us and hopefully become better because of them. If you have read it, what did you think? Did you learn anything? If you haven't read it, I strongly encourage you, male or female, to do so. I believe that knowing all sides of the story is extremely important, and The Nightingale delivers yet another side of World War II in a resounding, heartbreaking way.