I fully needed to take a step away before reviewing this book because I knew it was one that was going to linger in my head for days, probably even beyond that. I felt very strongly about Hannah's "Four Winds" and continue to think about it months later, and the Nightingale will be no different. Vianne and Isabelle, while they could not be more different in personality, came together on one thing, and that was resistance. What I like most about this book is how Hannah demonstrates how there are many many different ways to do the right thing. I think we often lie to ourselves about how we would handle situations from the past, and while many of us claim we would be an Isabelle, we simply would not be. But that does not take away the accomplishments and silent resistance from Vianne. They both went on to save many lives, just in very different ways, and I find that juxtaposition by Hannah to be absolutely beautiful. There are many heroes from WWII that we know nothing about because like Vianne they do not believe they did anything extraordinary, and like Isabelle they pass before the story can be told (thankfully in her ending we have others who can share her feats). 

 

I will say an addition to this story I did not particularly like was the inclusion of the weird love subplot between Vianne and the nazi living in her house, while Hannah ultimately has Vianne kill this man to save her sister it felt very unnecessary to the overall plot. While I see that Hannah was attempting to demonstrate how a normal person can do horrific things, with the whip scene from the soldier, I do not think the addition of Vianne's feelings for him were important to bring that across. I frequently struggle with books that provide nazis with any kind of kindness, while I am aware it humanizes them so we fully understand who they were, it is deeply frustrating to read. But perhaps that is why authors do it, to provoke those feelings. Ultimately, I personally disliked this portion, but obviously it is something I cannot stop talking about so perhaps it was important to include. 

 

Isabelle's story is beautiful, I cannot think of a more appropriate word despite that one not feeling adequate. Her eventual reconciliation with her father and her eventual demise were heart shattering and I will not ever be able to stop thinking about it. 

 

Finally, Vianne's storyline to save as many children as she could was really where I thought this book absolutely shines. While Vianne is originally content to try and save herself and her daughter her eventual realization that she cannot do nothing in the face of evil and let her daughter watch felt all too real. But the building to that point was so well done, I cannot overstate how well Hannah creates waves for Vianne to reach that moment. 

 

Overall, a very good and thoughtful read and anyone with a sister would deeply enjoy this.