This is the first of Kristin Hannah’s books I’ve read and I certainly got a taste for her work.

The Women tells the story of twenty-one-year-old nurse, Frankie who follows her brother to Vietnam. It’s early in the war and her family has a wall of hero’s depicting photos of all the men in the family who have gone to war and fought. Frankie wants to feel useful and to win her father’s approval enlists once her nursing training ends.

Arriving in Vietnam is a baptism of horror for a young woman from a privileged background who was raised to be a future wife and mother. Frankie is thrown into the chaos of death and injury in trying conditions. Once her tour ends and she’s back home her expectations are dashed by a very different America from the one she left. She is thrust into the midst of family disapproval and community disgust about America’s involvement in the war.

I’ve never read anything set during the Vietnam war and certainly nothing about the brave women who were there. Hannah has certainly done her research and puts the reader into the horror of everyday life, of blood and dirt and rain and heat. There is also romance and love and friendship as well.

There are also themes of post-traumatic stress, loss and trauma and while it is a tough one to read at times, there are moments of light and shade. There’s a lot packed into this novel and sometimes the romance angles were a little too predictable particularly in the last quarter.

Otherwise, it’s a solid read which I enjoyed.