The Women by Kristin Hannah (★★★★★)
Print • Owned (Book of the Month) • Historical Fiction • 2024
Short synopsis: Frankie McGrath is only 20 years old and fresh out of nursing school when she decides to join the Army Nurse Corps in Vietnam. Every day is a battle to stay alive and to keep soldiers and the Vietnamese people alive, but the death and destruction is nearly unbearable. After two tours, Frankie comes home and it’s there that the real battle begins. She returns to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam. She returns to a place where PTSD is not a condition, her parents are embarrassed by her, and every time she tries to seek help, she’s turned away.
I am consistently in awe of Kristin Hannah. The way she can write about a specific period of time and make me feel so deeply for her characters is truly something. I’ll admit that there’s a lot I don’t know about the Vietnam War. It just wasn’t something that was covered as much as WWI and WWII in my history classes, and we all know that the historical fiction genre is flooded with WWII books. This novel had to take an immense amount of research and interviews, but then also an immense amount of writing ability to place us in Vietnam and then to want to cry along with Frankie as she encounters severe PTSD symptoms on her return home. This is a book about war, but mostly it’s a book about the effects of war. It’s about the bonds you make with the people you’re fighting alongside with. It’s about all of the women who served in Vietnam but whose contributions were lost to history. “There were no women in Vietnam,” Frankie is told again and again, effectively erasing her contribution and the contributions of all the other nurses and volunteers who were there in the trenches. This is not an easy read (but are any of Kristin Hannah’s books easy reads?!), but man was it an impactful one and easily tops the list as my favorite book of 2024 so far.
The Comeback by Lily Chu (★★★★☆)
E-Book • Library • Contemporary Romance • 2023
Short synopsis: Ariadne Hui is a strict rule follower who thrives on routine. And living this way has gotten her where she is today: very close to making partner at her law firm. She comes home one day to find a strange man sleeping on her sofa who turns out to be her roommate’s cousin, Jihoon, who needs to stay at their apartment for a few weeks while he mends his broken heart. What she doesn’t know is that Jihoon is an idol in one of the most famous K-pop bands of all time, and while Ari is busy falling in love with Jihoon, all of the Korean media is trying to find out where he went.
What is it about Lily Chu’s writing that takes a plot that is so far-fetched and wacky, but somehow makes it feel real? Let’s face it: This is a wild premise. Imagine coming home one day and suddenly, there’s Harry Styles just chilling on your couch! Of course, the way this plot works is that Ari doesn’t follow K-pop bands and has no idea who Jihoon is until it’s revealed to her, which makes it all the more believable. (I wouldn’t be able to pick out a K-pop bandmember for anything.) Anyway, I just loved this novel so much. Ari and Jihoon were so sweet with each other, and their chemistry just leaped off the pages. I was so, so curious how the author was going to give the two of them their happy ending. For the longest time, I couldn’t see how she was going to do it, which is always the sign of a great romance. Ari went through her own personal journey through this novel, especially as it related to her job and her family, which was separate from her love story with Jihoon, and I really appreciated the way things turned out for her in the end. All in all, a beautiful story. It could have been a smidge shorter (it was nearly 400 pages and that is way too long for a romance novel, in my opinion), which is why it’s not a full 5 stars from me, but still a delightful romance that I can confidently recommend.
The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike’s Elite Running Team by Kara Goucher (★★★★☆)
Audiobook • Library • Nonfiction • 2023
Short synopsis: In this unvarnished and affecting memoir, Olympian Kara Goucher reveals her experience of living through and speaking out about one of the biggest scandals in running: doping allegations as well as physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of the head coach Alberto Salazar. Kara’s memoir reveals how she broke through the fear of losing everything, bucked powerful forces to take control of her life and career, and reclaimed her love of running.
This is a stunning memoir and one that had me saying, “What the fuck?” over and over again as every new revelation came to light. I didn’t know much about the Nike Oregon Project when I started this novel, and I knew even less about Kara Goucher. I’ve seen her name come up here and there, but the only time I really pay attention to running is during the Olympics. Other people not involved in the running community have raved about this book, so I was curious enough to pick it up. What Kara went through at the hands of her coach was horrifying, and my heart absolutely breaks not only for the abuse she suffered but also for the way she felt she had to keep quiet because her coach was such a Big Deal in the running world. (It’s a great book for anyone who thinks it’s easy for abuse survivors to come forward with their allegations, and why they sometimes may wait years or decades to do so.) I am so glad Kara felt that she could finally tell her story, and I really hope it helps other athletes feel comfortable enough to speak up if they’re experiencing similar abuses.
What are you reading?
I so rarely overlap with books, but in this case I’ve read TWO!
I really enjoyed The Comeback. Engie recommended it so highly and it did not disappoint. I don’t read much fiction so I always go in a bit apprehensive since if I get it wrong, there’s a good chance I won’t be reading more fiction for a while. This had it all! I agree that it was too long, though (and lagged in the middle section).
I also read The Longest Race and have to admit I remember so little from that book but remember there being lots of trigger warnings and being incensed at what she – and so many other runners – had been put through at the hands of such a horrific coach.
I’ve only read two Kristin Hannah books, but they were amazing! She is a very talented writer!
Oh, I’m so glad you read and loved The Comeback. It did have a laggy middle, I agree.
The Longest Race was so infuriating! It makes me very unlikely to buy anything from Nike due to the way they treated her and stuck up for the coach. Ugh!
I was so irritated by the ending of The Four Winds that I swore off Kristen Hannah, BUT I’ve heard so many good things about The Women that I can’t not read it. I am far back in the line on Libby, but I’m going to read it.
The Longest Race is most definitely not an easy read, but it’s an important one. It’s amazing that Kara had such an accomplished running career with what she was dealing with behind the scenes. I just wonder how much more she could have achieved with a non-abusive coach.
I do remember that very frustrating ending of The Four Winds. I think I docked it a star because of that, ha. But The Women is GREAT and I liked the ending a lot.
Your last line, “I just wonder how much more she could have achieved with a non-abusive coach,” is eye-opening to think about. Imagine!
I just started the Comeback on audio – I was looking for a book to listen to with my 12 year old as a bribe to go running and she likes romance.
I like listening to her books because they are read by Philippo Soo who was in Hamilton – which is kind of a silly reason, but there you go…
I think that is an EXCELLENT reason to listen to a book! A narrator can make for a great reading experience! I hope you guys like the book – it was a fun read!
I have wanted to read The Comeback since Engie recommended it a while ago, but my library doesn’t have the audiobook. Sigh. I have been terrible about reading physical books lately, so I may never get to it.
Ugh, that’s such a bummer! Have you looked on Hoopla? Or if you have Spotify Premium, you can get one free audiobook a month now!
The Vietnam War also wasn’t covered in my high school education and I took no history classes in college since I met my humanities requirement with things like sociology mostly because the pre-req for the intersting (to me) history classes was Western Civ and I have zero interest in that class! All that said, Vietnam is a war that has always interested me because it’s the war of my parents’ generation. My parents had classmates drafted and my dad opted to enlist in the Navy rather than wait to see what his draft number was because he felt it was safer to be on a ship versus in active combat in Vietnam. But at that point he was engaged and they had their first child when he was in the Navy so my dad missed the first 6 months of my brother’s life since he was at sea shortly after my brother was born. Phil and I watched the Ken Burns documentary on the war which is very good but a difficult watch. We watched it slowly over a course of weeks and maybe even several months! But we learned a lot. I do plan to read The Women but I need to be in the right frame of mind. Phil’s aunt was a nurse in Vietnam and sadly she died by suicide in the early 80s due to undiagnosed/untreated PTSD. My MIL’s book club read this for book club a month or 2 ago and I was shocked that her book club ladies didn’t know she had lost her (only) sister to suicide related to trauma from that war. But I guess my MIL didn’t feel comfortable speaking up and saying maybe it wasn’t the right book for her read? She did ultimately read it but I think it was very hard for her. It sounds like she talked about her sister and shared pictures at book club so maybe in the end it was cathartic to read the book/talk about her sister with friends.
I just finished “The Frozen River” which I liked but didn’t love – it just felt soooo long! Now I am reading “The River We Remember” by William Kent Krueger which I’ve heard good things about. I love his stand alone novels!
Wow, Lisa, you have such a strong familial connection to this book (even if it’s through marriage, not an aunt you knew personally). I think you will find the book so meaningful, especially the discussion of PTSD/women serving in Vietnam. But it will be a HARD read so pace yourself. <3 Your poor MIL, though! I'm glad she was able to talk about her sister and share her personal connection.
(I know that feeling of not feeling comfortable speaking up. My book club picked a book about someone dying from cancer a few months after I lost my grandma to cancer, and I was not happy about it, ugh!)
I’ve never read Kristin Hannah, but everyone raves about her and this book sounds great. And I haven’t read Kara’s book! I’ve heard her talk about her story on a bunch of podcasts, so I feel like I know it- but I’m sure there’s a lot more in the book. It makes me really mad that Nike just continued on as if nothing happened- as a matter of fact, the last I heard they were still defending Salazar. Anyway- you’re on a four star reading streak! These all sounds great.
Kara’s book definitely makes me less and less inclined to buy any Nike products, I’ll tell you that! They were awful to her and defending Salazar is despicable. Ugh!
If you’re ever in the mood for a heavy read, Kristin Hannah is for you! Ha.
I’m adding The Women to my list. The Vietnam era fascinates me. Thanks for the review.
I’m currently reading The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes. I’m never up-to-date in what I read, but I do like to read so I figure it’s all good.
I hope you enjoy The Women – it’s a fascinating story, and I hope we start getting more Vietnam war historical fiction soon.
I loved The Giver of Stars! I think I only read that a year or two ago – love a good backlist gem!
Loved The Comeback! I have The Women on my shelf, but I STILL haven’t started it– gah!
I can’t wait to hear what you think of The Women!
The Woman is on my TBR (but so is the Nightingale… oopps). The Longest Race sounds very interesting as I wanted to read a sports memoire regarding my year of SHAPE. I’ll have a closer look if I can find it in the library – which I doubt.
Thanks for sharing your reviews Stephany.
I hope you’re able to get your hands on a copy of The Longest Race! It was such a good memoir, if very infuriating at times.
The Comeback!! Great hat on the cover. Great scene with the brush in the kitchen, singing Guns ‘n’ Roses. I love it so much.
I’m reading a fantasy book called Strange the Dreamer and I don’t know how I feel about it yet. Maybe okayish? Or maybe I think it’s overwritten? Or maybe I love it? It’s really hard to say. Hopefully I can figure it out by the time I finish it.
It’s always fun when our reading tastes align! I think Lily Chu is a go-to author for the both of us now!!
Ooo! All great reads! I really want to read The Comeback after liking Chu’s other book so much. The Women sounds really good too.
I’m glad you read Kara’s book! And am so glad she could finally share her story. The media portrayed her so poorly, I hate to say that affected my view of her as an athlete. This book and her podcast helped me come around on her.
I am reading Beyond What is Given.
Oh that’s so interesting that you thought poorly of Kara Goucher based on the media! What sorts of things did you think about her? This book was so eye-opening and horrifying. She suffered so much abuse at the hands of her coach AND Nike.