Book Review: ‘The Women’ by Kristin Hannah

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Updated 17 October 2024
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Book Review: ‘The Women’ by Kristin Hannah

Kristin Hannah’s “The Women” is a powerful and evocative exploration of women navigating the complexities of personal and societal challenges.

Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the novel captures the essence of female resilience, friendship, and the bonds that connect women across generations.

Initially, the plot didn’t grab me. I was intrigued by the premise of women serving as nurses during the Vietnam War, but I wasn’t overly excited to dive in.

However, once I started reading, I found myself completely captivated — a testament to Hannah’s exceptional storytelling.

The novel introduces us to a compelling main character from an affluent family whose older brother volunteers for the military and heads to Vietnam.

This sets the stage for her internal conflict: Torn between societal expectations and her own desires, she decides to follow him by enlisting as a nurse.

This choice thrusts her directly into the heart of the war, allowing readers to witness not just her experiences but also the broader challenges faced by women in such roles during that tumultuous time.

Hannah’s vivid portrayal of the wartime environment struck me. Her descriptions of the sights, sounds, and even smells of Vietnam made the setting incredibly real.

I felt immersed in the oppressive heat and distant sounds of conflict; it was as if I were experiencing the war alongside the characters.

As I progressed through the book, I realized it felt like three distinct parts, each evoking different reactions.

The first part, set in Vietnam, was intense and gripping. The character development was exceptional; each nurse had a unique voice, making them relatable and memorable.

The second part deals with the main character’s return to the US. This transition is portrayed with sensitivity, capturing the struggles of veterans adjusting to civilian life after the horrors of war.

Many readers, especially those with military experience, will find that this section resonates with them. The contrast between the chaos of the battlefield and the mundanity of daily life highlights the inner turmoil facing returning soldiers and the societal indifference they often encounter.

In the third section, toward the end of the novel, the character has completed her journey.

She has learned a lot, and she has begun to recover, as has America, from the war. The reader is shown the life that she has established for herself, and it left me wanting more.

Hannah skillfully depicts the political climate surrounding the Vietnam War, including the protests and shifting public opinions.

This adds another layer, highlighting how changing attitudes affected both soldiers and the women who supported them.

“The Women” is a beautifully crafted narrative that transcends its initial premise to explore profound themes of identity, resilience, and the complexities of war.

Hannah’s powerful storytelling and deep character development make this a must-read, transforming what began for me as a lukewarm interest into an unforgettable literary experience.

This book not only tells the story of women in war but also invites readers to reflect on the lasting impact of conflict on individuals and society. I wholeheartedly recommend it. This story will stay with you long after you turn the last page.


What We Are Reading Today: Cold War Civil Rights

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Updated 20 June 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Cold War Civil Rights

  • Soon after World War II, American racism became a major concern of US allies, a chief Soviet propaganda theme, and an obstacle to American Cold War goals throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America

Author: Mary L. Dudziak

In 1958, an African American handyman named Jimmy Wilson was sentenced to die in Alabama for stealing less than two dollars. Shocking as this sentence was, it was overturned only after intense international attention and the interference of Secretary of State John Foster Dulles.

Soon after World War II, American racism became a major concern of US allies, a chief Soviet propaganda theme, and an obstacle to American Cold War goals throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Racial segregation undermined the American image, harming foreign relations in every administration from Truman to Johnson. Mary Dudziak shows how the Cold War helped to facilitate desegregation and other key social reforms at home as the US sought to polish its image abroad, yet how a focus on appearances over substance limited the nature and extent of progress.


What We Are Reading Today: Top Ten Ideas of Physics by Anthony Zee

Updated 18 June 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Top Ten Ideas of Physics by Anthony Zee

Could any discovery be more unexpected and shocking than the realization that the reality we were born into is but an approximation of an underlying quantum world that is barely within our grasp? This is just one of the foundational pillars of theoretical physics that A. Zee discusses in this book. Join him as he presents his Top Ten List of the biggest, most breathtaking ideas in physics—the ones that have fundamentally transformed our understanding of the universe.

“Top Ten Ideas of Physics” tells a story that will keep readers enthralled, along the way explaining the meaning of each idea and how it came about. Leading the list are the notions that the physical world is comprehensible and that the laws of physics are the same here, there, and everywhere. 

As the story unfolds, the apparently solid world dissolves into an intertwining web of dancing fields, exhibiting greater symmetries as we examine them at deeper and deeper levels.


What We Are Reading Today: Forest Euphoria by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian

Updated 18 June 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Forest Euphoria by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian

In “Forest Euphoria,” Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian introduces readers to the queerness of all the life around us.

In snakes, snails, and, above all, fungi, she saw her own developing identities as a queer, neurodivergent person reflected back at her — and in them, too, she found a personal path to a life of science.

Nature, Kaishian shows us, is filled with the unusual, the overlooked, and the marginalized — and they have lessons for us all.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘You Will Find Your People’

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Updated 17 June 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘You Will Find Your People’

Author: Lane Moore

Most would agree adult friendship is hard. TV shows made us believe we would grow up with a tight-knit group of best friends, but real life often looks very different.

In her 2023 book “You Will Find Your People: How to Make Meaningful Friendships as an Adult,” Lane Moore walks us through this tough reality.

It opens with the line: “I really thought I would have friends by now.” Relatable, right? Moore reflects on how the ages of 18 to 22 years old are prime friendship years. After that, things get harder.

As the author of “How to Be Alone” (2018), Moore shifts from solitude to connection. She explores how making friends as adults — especially for those with trauma or rejection — is a messy, emotional process.

Friendship, she says, can feel like a game of musical chairs that started before we noticed.

The book is not a tidy guide. There are no checklists or guaranteed strategies. Instead, Moore offers her own stories — raw, funny, and deeply honest.

She speaks to those who have felt left out or always been “too much.”

For the exhausted over-givers and the hopeful hearted, this book does not offer easy answers — but it does offer comfort. And sometimes, that is enough.

Also, she dedicates it to her dog.

 


What We Are Reading Today: The Ghana Reader

Updated 16 June 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: The Ghana Reader

Editors: Kwasi Konadu, Clifford C. Campbell

“The Ghana Reader” provides historical, political, and cultural perspectives on this iconic African nation. 

Readers will encounter views of farmers, traders, the clergy, intellectuals, politicians, musicians, and foreign travelers about the country. 

With sources including historical documents, poems, treaties, articles, and fiction, the book conveys the multiple and intersecting histories of the country’s development as a nation and its key contribution to the formation of the African diaspora, according to a review on goodreads.com.