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War, love & tough decisions: ‘The Nightingale’ by Kristin Hannah

The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah The Nightingale is a beautiful story of bravery, familial bonds, love and loss set in World War II. The story alternates between the narratives of two sisters living in Nazi occupied France.  Isabelle and Vianne are not one bit alike; one stubbornly brave but lonely and the other wholesome and kind, but meek. Their differences are exacerbated during the circumstances of war, the other not knowing the contributions the other was making. Isabelle, a young woman in the French resistance and Vianne, a married woman whose husband is a prisoner of war and who has a nazi captain billeted at her home. They both defy expectations placed on them by themselves and others. Isabelle and Vianne deal with life and death decisions, the loss of loved ones and realising that not all situations are black and white, but muddied with complex and conflicting feelings. Throughout, the author juxtaposes very genuine and natural human reactions with the realities of war i...
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March Book Review 👏

A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier 



If I had been told that this story would be centred around a cathedral, stitching kneelers and the intricacies of bell-ringing, I would not have read this book. Thankfully this book was described to me as “subtle, but strong feminism” - well that was me sold. The extremely specific context were perfunctory to the interweaving (excuse the pun) stories that occur in this 1930s Winchester setting. 


One of the main plots of the book is described as a secret “that could change everything” - which when reading the blurb had me surmising about an over the top storyline. However the actual circumstances that occurred were one that if the event happened today nobody would blink twice, but time travelling back 90 years, this was indeed a situation that required delicate handling and the trust and loyalty of a “true friend”, which the main protagonist, Violet lives up to as the story unfolds.


The novel has a strong albeit subdued romantic element, and it leaves the reader wondering, up until the final leg of the book if indeed anything will come of Violet’s love interest. This tacit love is demonstrated in the most restrained manner, but it is nonetheless clear to the reader that as well as being a true friend, Violet also experiences true love. The patience of this love is juxtaposed with the heart-pounding fear Violet feels as a victim of misogynist harassment. As I began reading this story on the 9th March 2021, the tragedy of Sarah Everard’s murder was not far from my mind as I leafed through Violet’s story.


All of this occurs as Violet steers independent of her family and hometown to make a life of her own, to make herself heard and enjoy freedom of thought, in a time when a woman definitely could not take this for granted. The novel tells the story of more than just one strong female character taking charge of her life and those stories are told alongside details of skills and crafts that are virtually lost today. A beautiful story with a strong-minded leading character, whose struggles still find resonance in the 21st century. 


A joy to read with high un-putdownable factor 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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