The Women by Kristin Hannah

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

This review contains spoilers. 

CW (for review): War, Violence, Substance Abuse

This book was selected as the book club book at my local library for the month of March. As the youngest person in my book club, it’s always interesting to hear how my opinions of books differ from those of the other women in the group. It was especially interesting for this book, as most of the women were teenagers or young adults when the Vietnam War ended. They felt very connected to this book, whereas I, a millennial, knew very little about the Vietnam war going into this reading. 

The novel centers around Frances “Frankie” McGrath, a young nurse from an upper class family in California. After being frustrated by a boss that wouldn’t let her do much and being inspired by her brother going to war, Frankie decides to volunteer for the army. Shortly before she leaves for basic training, she learns that her brother was killed in combat. She still goes to Vietnam, but it is against her family’s wishes. During her two years in the army, Frankie goes through quite the transformations. She was young and naive when she arrived, but she learns how to be a great nurse and steps outside her comfort zone socially. Upon returning to the United States, Frankie quickly learns that many people do not support soldiers and veterans, including her own family. She has a hard time holding down a job and becomes dependent on uppers and downers to get through her day. After quite a struggle, Frankie is able to get the help she needs, then moves to Montana where she works on a ranch that supports veterans. The ending is quite sweet, and it wraps up the novel quite nicely. 

I didn’t hate this book, but I wanted more from it. My summary in the paragraph below is quite similar to how the book felt to me. Meaning - I didn’t feel connected to it. The whole novel is told in past tense, and we rarely (if at all) get to hear Frankie’s thoughts. It feels like someone telling a story rather than being there. Part of why I may have felt disappointed by this is because, while I was reading the book, I also watched the HBO series “Band of Brothers,” which is an incredible series that I highly recommend. That really goes into the thoughts and feelings of soldiers and takes its time with the plot. I felt like Kristin Hannah wanted to focus on Frankie’s return to the United States, so the Vietnam portion felt rushed and shallow. Somehow it was also incredibly repetitive. I know that men didn’t have that many options of women out there, but why is it that every man Frankie met fell completely in love with her but was also married? And then they were all killed in action but turned out to be alive in the end? So annoying. 

But I did enjoy that Frankie is an imperfect main character. It felt realistic that this woman with no (emotional) support from her family and no outlet for the trauma she experienced would turn to drugs and other poor decisions. She felt like a real woman written by a female author (even if that author may be projecting the need to be adored by every man she’s even met?). I also really enjoyed reading about the friendship between Frankie, Ethel, and Barb, her fellow nurses while she was in Vietnam. It was this friendship that got Frankie through her difficult times - not romantic love - which is refreshing.

I’m not going to tell you not to read this book, but don’t go into it with super high expectations. Then you’ll probably enjoy it. 

Additionally, I learned of the horrific My Lai Massacre because of the book. Major trigger warnings if you choose to go to that page, but I think it’s something that all US citizens should know about. I was not taught about it (nor the Vietnam war much) in my schooling. 

Review by the Numbers

Overall: 3.5/5

Writing: 3.5/5

Message: 4/5

Plot: 3.5/5

Character Development: 4/5

Challenges Satisfied

- Vietnam (Reading My Way Around the World Challenge)

- A Book with a Happily Single Woman Protagonist (2025 PopSugar Reading Challenge)