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The Nightingale
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The Nightingale - September 2022 BOTM
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Me too.
Hello all!I'll be starting the book today.
Hoping to see more people joining the discussion :)
Mod
I have been reading this book on and off. currently half way into the book. This is the second book I am reading by the author after Four Winds. I like the way she builds the story slowly, molding the characters in great details. I was hoping that this book gets picked up for BOTM. Looking forward to the discussions wit fellow readers.
Arpit wrote: "I have been reading this book on and off. currently half way into the book. This is the second book I am reading by the author after Four Winds. I like the way she builds the story slowly, molding ..."Which chapter are you on , Arpit ? I am on chapter 11 . ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler) ☆☆
I have not read many war books . It is very sad and distressing to read the close up details of life in wartime . If only humanity could take a lesson for the present and the future .
Chapters 11 and 12 ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler) ☆☆ How dreadful life had become ! How impossible ! Or , could these just be called testing times for the soul ? Karma and its consequences .
Excited about this BOTM since I really enjoyed reading another one of her works 'The Four Winds'.
Mod
Loved the first line of the book.
Even i haven't read much war books. So far loving it. Liking Gaetan. Though he comes from a suspicious background.
Mod
Shriti wrote: "Excited about this BOTM since I really enjoyed reading another one of her works 'The Four Winds'."When are you starting this book , Shriti ?
Gorab wrote: "Read till chapter 8.Loved the first line of the book.
Even i haven't read much war books. So far loving it. Liking Gaetan. Though he comes from a suspicious background."
Yes , Gaeten seems nice , but , in chapter 7 ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler) ☆☆
How do like Isabelle ? ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler) ☆☆
Savita wrote: "When are you starting this book , Shriti ?"I started today- 3 chapters in, hoping to make more headway tomorrow ^_^
Shriti wrote: "Savita wrote: "When are you starting this book , Shriti ?"I started today- 3 chapters in, hoping to make more headway tomorrow ^_^"
Ah , chapter 3 is where ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler) ☆☆
Vianne gasped. “Please, sir. Ignore her. Isabelle is a silly, prideful girl.”“No,” Beck said. “She is angry. And angry people make mistakes in war and die.”
I feel this is foreshadowing some tragedy that is to befall the sisters.
I have started the book; but am reading it a bit slowly.I hope to catch up with you all soon.
Shriti wrote: "Vianne gasped. “Please, sir. Ignore her. Isabelle is a silly, prideful girl.”“No,” Beck said. “She is angry. And angry people make mistakes in war and die.”
I feel this is foreshadowing some trage..."
Hmm ..... Isabelle is angry .... she is headstrong , reckless , courageous and very patriotic. And the grim German army is merciless ... ruthless . Dangerous situation !
I admire Isabelle .... and feel exasperated with her ! ... probably because I don't have her courage !
Sherin wrote: "I have started the book; but am reading it a bit slowly.I hope to catch up with you all soon."
Looking forward to your comments , Sherin .
One-third of the book is over and all I can care about right now is: which sister is alive and narrating in 1995. My bet is on Vianne.
I'd read a negative review before starting the book.They usually help me to lower the expectations and like the book better ;)
But that review was about how much unnecessary detailing is there. And I'm thinking about it while reading every paragraph.
Ugh!
Mod
I'm sure the person who wrote that review loves plot oriented books.
Its these unncecessary details which gets me comfortable with most books. Just another opinion.
Regarding reviews: I do not read any reviews before finishing a book. In fact most of the times, I do not even read the blurb or try finding out whats the book about :)
Mod
Regarding Gaeten in Chapter 7 [I have read till Chapter 10 now]
(view spoiler)
Mod
Read till chapter 10.
If its one of the sister's narrating, my bet is on Isabella.
Because so far as per the narration, we as readers know some details which Isabella knows and Vienna doesn't.
On the contrary, we do not know any details which Vienna knows and Isabella doesn't.
hence my bet on Isabella.
But then, it could be a different person (one of their kids, or neighbors...) narrating it in flashback.
Gorab wrote: "Savita wrote: "Yes , Gaeten seems nice , but , in chapter 7 ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler) ☆☆"Regarding Gaeten in Chapter 7 [I have read till Chapter 10 now]
I'm also not sure why suddenly the ..."
Yes , one of your guesses is right .
The book is not so bad , actually . I am on chapter 20 . Chapter 19 is interesting and exciting... ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler) ☆☆
Gorab wrote: "Read till chapter 10.If its one of the sister's narrating, my bet is on Isabella."
The way the story is headed, the educated guess would be that Isabella is the narrator, but seeing how the book is focused on the 2 sisters, and knowing that writers/editors like to pull these kind of twists all the time.. My bet is till on Vianne. We will see... 😁
Sherin wrote: "I'd read a negative review before starting the book.They usually help me to lower the expectations and like the book better ;)"
Ah! but the devil is in the details, no? 😛
I have a cursory glance at the reviews too before picking up a book in general, but it's largely the blurb that draws me in. If the plot by & large sounds interesting, and it's atleast rated 3+ on GR... I will read it.
Chapter 22 and 23 : It is horrible to read the account given . ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler) ☆☆ Reminds me of portions of Anne Frank's Diary .
Savita wrote: "Don't at all like the direction the relationship between ☆☆Beware Spoilers ☆☆"I feel Vianne has a tendency to look the other way (in case of Isabella, news of the war, list-making of teachers, etc.) and it's now spilling over into other parts of her life.
So I have a theory for why both the daughters are kept at a distance by the father and it only clicked when I read this:“As she (Isabelle) headed out of the room to brush her teeth, she paused at her father’s closed door.
She could hear him writing; his fountain pen scratched on rough paper. Every now and then he cursed and then fell silent.”
We know their father fought in the earlier war. In what capacity though? Could his war efforts have been more in the espionage territory? And say, he was one of those people who never believed that peace had been restored, and stayed vigilant -
monitoring developments of a second world war that would come soon. Then, he would have continued with his spy activities and thought it best to keep his daughters safe and out of harm's way by sending them far away from him.
It would make for a very chip off the old block story that both the father & daughter (Isabelle) are fighting for their country in their own way, but keeping it a secret from each other for their own good.
Also, (view spoiler)
Shriti wrote: "Savita wrote: "Don't at all like the direction the relationship between ☆☆Beware Spoilers ☆☆"I feel Vianne has a tendency to look the other way (in case of Isabella, news of the war, list-making o..."
Absolutely right , Shriti : Vianne has a tendency to look the other way .... I was sympathetic towards her for quite some time , making excuses for her, trying not to be too judgemental . But in chapter 23 , the way her behavior is veering , I can't condone , even if nothing comes out of it .
She let down her friend , in a way she has let down her country .... is she going to let down her loving husband ? Will she let down her daughter , too , someday ? I am losing my trust in Vianne . She has got a very weak strain in her .
Shriti wrote: "So I have a theory for why both the daughters are kept at a distance by the father and it only clicked when I read this:“As she (Isabelle) headed out of the room to brush her teeth, she paused at ..."
Excellent and interesting surmise , Shriti ! The fact that the father could be a spy never crossed my mind . I was cross with him for his couldn't care less attitude towards his daughters . But I was also sympathetic towards him because of his severe ( mental ) war wounds . You have to walk a mile in a person's shoes to know and understand what he is going through .
You'll get the answer in chapter 18 .
Chapter 25 : a sad chapter . ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler) ☆☆ Normal life is quite tough for most people . Yet , we must wage monstrous wars against each other as well ! 🤔
Chapter 27 : ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler) ☆☆
Stories of wars and civil unrests in different countries and different continents have the same frightening evidence of eruption of insanely atrocious human behavior. It's good to live in a country with a strong government and a well organized, disciplined and loyal army .
The scenes described in occupied France are very disheartening, miserable and scary. The man behind the gun becomes just a merciless , inhuman monster !
Shriti wrote: "Reading Update: Completed! [spoilers removed] Looking forward to the discussions."Wow , you've finished ! I am only on chapter 27 .
I have been stuck with other things and could not read much for the past few days. I'll catch up in the coming days..
I've read a few books based on world war II.But surprisingly, never came across the anguish felt by the victims of the previous world war, as portrayed in the initial chapters of Nightingale.
It must be extremely scary to face a brand new war, when you are still reeling from the devastation caused by WW I.
Shriti wrote: "Reading Update: Completed! [spoilers removed] Looking forward to the discussions."Nice!
Sherin wrote: "I've read a few books based on world war II.But surprisingly, never came across the anguish felt by the victims of the previous world war, as portrayed in the initial chapters of Nightingale.
It m..."
That's true , Sherin ! Just about 20 years later !
In Somerset Maugham 's The Razor's Edge ( based partly on a true story ) , the whole life of the protagonist , Larry , is changed by what he witnesses in the first World War . He becomes so restless to find the meaning , the purpose , of life .
I can sympathize with ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler) ☆☆
Sherin wrote: "I've read a few books based on world war II.But surprisingly, never came across the anguish felt by the victims of the previous world war, as portrayed in the initial chapters of Nightingale.
It m..."
True... We can only imagine the horrors and still it won't do justice. Electricity shut off. Rations cut off. Loved ones gunned down/ hanged in front of their people. Seeing one's children hungry, cold & without hope.
I think the author - Kristin Hannah - has done a fantastic job with describing not just the physical but also the psychological repercussions of war.
Savita wrote: "That's true , Sherin ! Just about 20 years later ! ... I can sympathize with ☆☆ [spoilers removed] ☆☆"War makes monsters of men, especially when young men sign up for the armed forces, without knowing what it - it being their misplaced sense of nationalism - is going to cost them & their humanity.
Honestly, I felt bad not just for Julien Rossignol, but also Captain Wolfgang Beck. The latter admits as much in his conversation with Vianne in Ch.23:
V: “How does it feel to whip a Frenchwoman?”
B: “You can’t think I would do that, Madame. It sickens me.”
V: “And yet there you were.”
B: “As were you. This war has put us all where we do not want to be.”
Shriti wrote: "Savita wrote: "That's true , Sherin ! Just about 20 years later ! ... I can sympathize with ☆☆ [spoilers removed] ☆☆"War makes monsters of men, especially when young men sign up for the armed for..."
Yes , Shriti , I also am sympathetic towards Capt Beck. On the whole he comes across as a normal and basically decent human being , who got dragged into war atrocities by the Nazi army , and more particularly by the SS ( a dreaded para - military organization ) and the Gestapo ( a greatly feared police organization ) .
Accounts of the way the Jews were treated in the Nazi concentration camps are unforgettable and blood curdling . A really black period in human history . Maybe the cruelties were mostly because of the SS group and it gave the whole army a bad name . I have read The Diary of a young girl by Anne Frank and seen the movie The Odessa File . In some scenes of the movie , I felt the Nazi officers were not just cruel , they were being sadistic .
I looked up Google and found the following account : Isabelle 's escape route over the Pyrenees for downed Allied airmen was based on the Comet line of 24 year old Andree de Jongh , a Belgian woman who helped aviators and others escape . So this part is no fiction ! A 24 year old young woman ! So courageous , strong and kind ! It is reassuring to know that if monsters exist , so do angels .
Savita wrote: "Shriti wrote: "Savita wrote: "That's true , Sherin ! Just about 20 years later ! ... I can sympathize with ☆☆ [spoilers removed] ☆☆"War makes monsters of men, especially when young men sign up fo..."
Power tends to corrupt ,and absolute power corrupts absolutely!
Indian Readers
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In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.
FRANCE, 1939
The Nightingale is a historical fiction novel by American author Kristin Hannah published in 2015. The book tells the story of two sisters in France during World War II and their struggle to survive and resist the German occupation of France.
It won the Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction (2015).
A movie adaptation of the book is currently under production.