I doubt a single person who reads this blog missed out on hearing about this book. It’s been around for a while – ten years, in fact – and I even had it on my shelves for years without reading it. I borrowed the audiobook from the library several times, but had trouble focusing enough to get into the story. This time I was determined, so I made myself pay attention. Lo and behold it turned out not to be so hard to get into after all!
It’s the story of two French sisters and their experiences through WWII. Vianne is older and more responsible – she has a husband who went to fight, a job as a teacher and a daughter she’s alone in taking care of. The last thing she wants is any part of the German occupation. But she’s not given a choice when a German captain decides to billet in her home. Overnight, the war that felt ever closer has arrived in her home, and there’s no getting around it. In order to survive, she must not only tolerate her German lodger’s presence, but do as he asks of her. After all, German soldiers don’t take no for an answer – no is often met with violence or arrest.
Her sister, Isabelle, is not so concerned with remaining unnoticed and going along with what’s happening in her country. She can barely contain her desire to stand up for herself and all of those who are being treated inhumanely, and her quick mouth is liable to get her into trouble. She’s not satisfied to sit by to wait and see what happens. She wants to fight for her country, and she wants to do it now. If only she could find an in with the resistance fighters. She did meet one, Gaëtan, when she was forced out of Paris, but he decided for her that she wouldn’t be up to it, and disappeared into the night. Literally. Now she’s on her own to try and keep herself out of serious trouble for long enough to find a constructive way to channel her anger and restlessness into action.
The two sisters couldn’t be more different, but they are in the same war – and they’re fighting against a ruthless enemy who seems to have eyes and ears everywhere and an insatiable appetite for violence and cruelty. In this story each character has to face their own challenges and dangers, and each must make impossible choices that will not only secure their own fate, but irretrievably impact the lives of those around them. They will need every reserve of strength and courage they possess, as well as no small measure of luck. They’re going to have to learn the hard way who they are and what they’re willing to fight for – and might be surprised by those around them, as well.
I can’t say anything specific about the plot points because I don’t want to give anything away. But it is edge-of-your-seat stuff. This is not a short book – it’s over 500 pages in print, more than 17 hours in audiobook (or 8ish at 2x speed for me) – but I still managed to get through the entire thing in one day. Because I needed to know what was going to happen next, and it was more appealing to keep listening than watch TV or listen to anything else. I now understand what all the fuss was about, and I know I’ll read this again in the future. (I’m also really hoping that the movie gets made at some point!) If you are one of the few who haven’t read it yet but are interested, I’d recommend giving it a try. I found it worth it!
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 good-bye 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 a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.
Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gaëtan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others. – Goodreads
Book Title: The Nightingale
Author: Kristin Hannah
Series: No
Edition: Audiobook (Libby)
Published By: St. Martin’s Press
Released: February 3, 2015
Genre: Fiction, Historical, WWII, War, Family
Pages: 564
Date Read: February 8, 2025
Rating: 9/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.64/5 (1,702,959 ratings)