The Women - Book Review
A poignant tale of long-overlooked service.
The service of women in our wars is all-too-often overlooked, as I highlight every year with my Women in War Stories series. The Women, by Kristin Hannah, focuses on what could be one of the most neglected stories of all: that of the military nurses in Vietnam. When the main character, nurse Frankie McGrath, returns home from war, she is constantly met with the refrain, "There were no women in Vietnam." Fortunately, stories like this remind us that there were.
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.
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets―and becomes one of―the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.
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.
The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.
The book is told in two parts. In the first, inexperienced nurse Frankie impulsively enlists in the Army Nursing Corps to follow her brother off to Vietnam. I'm not a fan of this trope (which I also ranted about in Agent Carter), as it seems to stem from this idea that women would never have interest in military service if they weren't motivated by a male family member doing it first. I'll forgive it here since it ties into a broader exploration of societal and family expectations. For the McGraths, military service is a family tradition. Frankie's father has a "hero's wall" where the men have their military photos and the women have their wedding photos. Frankie is the first to challenge her designated place in that world.
When Frankie arrives in Vietnam, the book doesn't shy away from showing the horrors of the war. Maimed soldiers and civilians alike come through Frankie's hospital. There are rocket attacks and lost friends. Frankie overcomes her inexperience and develops into a capable surgical nurse. She also becomes close with her two hut-mates, nurses Ethel and Barb. Though the other nurses were underdeveloped as characters, I appreciated seeing them support each other throughout the story.
In the book's second half, Frankie returns home. With war protests in full force, Frankie, like other returning veterans, is treated horribly by everyone she encounters. Even veteran support groups and the VA hospital refuse to acknowledge her service, falsely denying that women served in the war. Reading these encounters, knowing stuff like this really happened, made my blood boil.
I breezed through Part 1, fully engaged with Frankie's journey. The medical scenes were convincing, and the book had just the right sprinkling of light-hearted moments and romance. I just wish that section had been longer, so we could spend time with some of the other characters (especially the other nurses).
Part 2? Meh. I stuck with it because I wanted to see how things turned out, but it was just not that interesting. There were several patches where Frankie became so unsympathetic I almost quit reading. PTSD is horrible, but it doesn't excuse (or explain) her selfish and reckless behavior. It also felt a bit over-the-top—every conceivable veteran story, all packed into one character. Another reader likened it to Forest Gump, which I think is a perfect comparison.
On the whole, the book is a poignant story that deserves to be told. As Frankie is told early in the story, "Women can be heroes too." The author's note at the end shows that she came at the story with an earnest desire to do justice to the real-life heroes that inspired her. For that she deserves props. The story just missed the mark for me.
Ratings
- Princess Power:
- Overall:
- Bechdel Test: Pass
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