I’ve developed an aversion to books that are over-hyped after reading many that disappointed, so it was with trepidation that I decided to give “The Women” a try.
Unfortunately, for me, this book was a bust. For the first half, I felt like I was binge watching M*A*S*H without the expected empathy for the characters. Then, in the second half, I was watching the news—protests, marches, returning soldiers, drugs…
Throughout, repetition diminished the power of the story. How many times does one need to read that, after hours in the operating room she was exhausted, pulled off her gloves, threw them in the trash, staggered to the hooch…? In addition, the love story didn’t feel real—the three loves of her life—each showing up at just the right time, seemed too “convenient.”
I feel bad, feeling so negatively about the book, because I understand Hannah’s desire to recognize and pay tribute to the women who served and were denied recognition as heroes; recognition they so rightly deserved.
BLURB
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.
DARLENE JONES 