War, Love, and Family

I decided to read (audiobook) The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah due to me loving The Four Winds. I never know what to expect out of historical novels because in some cases I can find them quite boring. Kristin Hannah turns historical fiction into a masterpiece. Just like The Four Winds, once I started the Nightingale, I just could not stop. This book follows two sisters during the time of WWII and the very different journeys they have during this time. Vianne Mauriac lives in a small village of France, called Carriveau. As the war escalates, her husband is forced to go to the front and she is left taking care of their daughter, with the full belief the war would never come to France. Her sister, Isabelle, lives a very different life, where she seems like a child in rebellion, at 18 years old. When France is invaded Vianne decides to follow the rules and just hope for a fast ending to the war, while Isabelle decides to join the Resistance to help bring pilots, that have crashed in occupied France, escape. Vianne’s home is requisitioned by a German captain and has no choice but to live with him in her house. She starts to understand why Isabelle felt so strongly about resisting the Germans in the first place. They are living completely separate lives, but both dealing with their own battles and fears, but through it they start to understand each other more than they ever thought they would. This book makes you feel a full spectrum of emotions from heartwarming to devastating. I listened to this book on audiobook, I would sit on my couch and could not stop. This book is definitely a must read!

Favorite Quotes – “If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: in love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.”

“Men tell stories. Women get on with it. For us it was a shadow war. There were no parades for us when it was over, no medals or mentions in history books. We did what we had to during the war, and when it was over, we picked up the pieces and started our lives over.”

“But love has to be stronger than hate, or there is no future for us.”

“Today’s young people want to know everything about everyone. They think talking about a problem will solve it. I come from a quieter generation. We understand the value of forgetting, the lure of reinvention.”

“Tante Isabelle says it’s better to be bold than meek. She says if you jump off a cliff at least you’ll fly before you fall.”

“He loves a version of me that is incomplete. I always thought it was what I wanted: to be loved and admired. Now I think perhaps I’d like to be known.”

“She has a steel exterior, but it protects a candyfloss heart.”