The Women// Kristin Hannah

                      

Hello Summer! 🌞

We welcomed back some familiar summer faces, and one new member, while meeting to discuss The Women, by Kristin Hannah. Going forward for the summer months, we are tentatively planning on meeting at Paul Miller Park in the large shelter (near the bathrooms). Susan has made the reservation for our July 8th meeting, and weather willing, that's where we'll plan to meet. I will be sure to send out a reminder email each month as the dates (and the weather for those dates) gets closer! 😄

 

Speaking of July, up next is Mockingbird, by Kathryn Erskine. We have limited copies, with a handful more on the way from MN Link, but if you don't need a copy of this title, would you please take a minute to leave a comment down below to let me know? It helps us maximize our efficiency! Thanks!

 

 

Onward!

 

 

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances "Frankie" McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path. But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

 

This book was very well received by the vast majority of our members. They really liked and appreciated the research that must have gone into this book (though there were some that experienced the Vietnam war up close and commented on the parts Hannah didn't get right), and they liked that they learned something from reading it. The deeply meaningful friendships between Frankie, Barb, and Ethel were a particularly moving highlight. More than anything, this book, and it's discussion, inspired a wealth of stories and testimonies from our members that were personally touched, or knew someone personally affected by this war~ which made for the best kind of book club meeting. 

 

On the other hand, there were those who weren't quite as swept away by the book. It was said, and outlined, that Kristin Hannah definitely has a distinct style of writing... and for some, it's a little too Hallmark movie/neat and tidy endings tied with pretty bows. The Women was certainly no exception to this precedent. We struggled with "every good and bad thing that could happen, happens to just Frankie". We didn't buy the part about Rye commandeering a military issued helicopter to pop over quick to spend the night with his then girlfriend, Frankie, after she had a particularly hard day (who somehow got clearance to use the "for emergencies only" radio to "just hear his voice" following said hard day)... especially with no reprimand or discipline for either party after.

 

We thought the book was a little too long, and one of us was a little annoyed that Frankie continued to be so naive throughout the book about life and war and medicine and love, even after experiencing so much of all of those. 

   

 

Do you have anything to add? Leave it in the comments below! 👇 

 

Did you love The Women? Fans of the book also enjoyed, The Wedding People, by Alison Espach, The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon, and The God of theWoods, by Liz Moore. All of these titles are available within the Viking Library System~ reserve your copy today!    

 The votes are in!

Would we recommend this to a friend to read?  Yes

 
Would we recommend this to another book club for discussion?  Yes

                                                                                                                                             Rate the book 1-5 stars, with 1 being the lowest rating:  4.5 stars