“The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah – The Forgotten Resistance

Those who have studied the Second World War already know that people resisted Nazi occupation in a whole myriad of ways, with there never being a shortage of partisan efforts to speak of.

Most people remember France as being the country that quickly surrendered during the conflict rather than engage in a war they would most certainly lose, but tend to forget that even after the occupation, countless were those who resisted the fascist regime.

In The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah delivers a compelling piece of historical fiction that touches, particularly, on the secret war led by two women in Nazi-occupied France.

More precisely, we are first introduced to Vianne Mauriac, a wife who bids farewell to her husband who leaves for the Front, and then finds herself in a terrible predicament: an invading German captain has requisitioned her home, forcing Vianne and her daughter to live in constant fear and terror amidst the enemy.

At the same time, Viann'es eighteen-year-old sister, Isabelle, finds real purpose in her life upon meeting Gaetan, a young man who believes France can be saved through the Resistance. Not long into their romance, Gaetan betrays Isabelle, leaving her with the sole option of joining the Resistance and never looking back.

As you can gather, though The Nightingale may be labeled as a work of historical fiction, it remains the type of book that doesn't distort facts and events. Rather, it aims to bring you the truth in as honest a form as possible, but in an entertaining way, one that will not only teach you of the characters' struggles, but make you feel and experience them for yourself.

 Hannah spares no ink when it comes to establishing the setting, the characters and the world, ensuring that we are completely immersed from head to toe in the very real people and the threads of their lives. This is one of those books where you really feel like you are actually there.

When it comes to the story and the characters that drive it forward, there are only positive comments to be made. First of all, we get to learn in great depth and detail about the thoughts, passions, feelings, reactions and secrets of the two sisters, something that helps to flesh them out immensely and make them relatable.

It comes to a point where we can really care about these fictional beings, perhaps knowing in the back of our heads that despite their virtual nature, they serve to represent countless real people that had to go through this sort of ordeal.

The surrounding cast is no less impressive, though I will admit that some of them felt a bit cliched in their actions, in the sense that this is what one would expect from their classic archetypes. Nevertheless, there is nothing that breaks your sense of immersion nor requires you to truly suspend you disbelief.

The story is grand, epic and dramatic in its nature, very clearly capturing the many aspects of living in a Nazi-occupied territory and fighting back against what seems an indomitable and insurmountable doom looming over the entire world.

The suffering, the drives, joys, and hopes of people during wartime has been captured here with astonishing force; you'll find yourself moved by the words here more than you can imagine.

All in all, The Nightingale is a fantastic WWII story, one that goes beyond its main purpose of showing the brave and often-forgotten struggle the women put up and really becomes a moving and realistic story about how war affects human nature.

A most recommended read to anyone interested in the Second World War and seeing things from the eyes of those who were vulnerable.

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Kristin Hannah Personal site Kristin Hannah is a best-selling American writer who has won numerous awards, including the Maggie, the 1996 National Reader's Choice Award, and the Golden Heart. She wrote a number of single novels, with some of her most famous works being Home Again and Magic Hour.