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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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Midnight Library Book Review

 Midnight Library by Matt Haig

**Spoilers**

In this book, Matt Haig deals in the experiences of ordinary, everyday people. The concept of a midnight library (a place somewhere between life and death) might seem far-fetched, but the nature of the problems experienced by Nora are not. Living in a generation of unprecedented mental illness, the themes in this book are highly relatable, if not experienced as extremely as Nora. 


The story countenances all of the possibilities Nora’s life could have taken had she made different decisions. In experiencing these alternative realities and reflecting deeply on these ‘what if’s’, Nora learns something about herself she did not acknowledge before she entered the midnight library. The book navigates through Nora’s alternative, potential lives where she tries on different versions of herself until the penny drops and she realises what it was that was missing in her life before and what she needs to do about it going forward. 


The book is progressively revelatory and for me the underlying message of the book is to not dwell on what hasn’t happened in life, but to recognise the potential within, of what we are capable of and what is still to come. While the overall message of the book is very important, at times I felt impatient with the storyline and not in an enjoyable way. However, the short digestible chapters make it a relatively easy read despite the heavy content. 


Good Reads readers rate this book: 4.19/5

My rating: 3.25/5


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