Book Review: The Women by Kristin Hannah

After a busy Holiday season and then kicking off 2025 being sick (and still dealing with lingering symptoms), it’s been a while since I was able to really sit down and focus on a book. So, to begin this year’s reading I’m starting with last year’s most popular book (at least at the library anyway), Kristin Hannah’s Vietnam War saga The Women.

20-year-old “Frankie” McGrath has grown up comfortably privileged in Southern California. As the United States’ war in Vietnam ramps up however, her brother and best friend Finley is set to be shipped overseas. Her father takes a great deal of pride in the family’s history of military service and so throws a gala send-off for him, but when Frankie later decides to enlist as a nurse and ship out herself, both parents try to talk her out of it, especially when they learn that her brother has been killed.

It’s too late now however, and off she goes, quickly discovering that the situation she has landed in is far worse than she could have imagined. The squalid conditions, relentless heat and humidity, and traumatic injuries the medical unit is forced to contend with stun her to the point of near shutdown. Thankfully, her bunkmates Barb and Ethel take her under their wings and help her to not only adjust but even begin to thrive at the job before her.

The descriptions of the injuries she sees can be truly horrifying as Hannah doesn’t try to sugarcoat the realities of warfare, but it isn’t all gloom and doom. There are moments of levity as she gets to bond with her new friends and a potential romance blossoms when she meets handsome doctor, Rye. Alas, he’s already engaged to be married, but their attraction to each other is undeniable and Frankie finds herself dangerously close to crossing a line she swore she never would. At times the romance subplot threatens to overtake the rest of the story, which is a shame as it’s relatively predictable and feels somewhat out of place. Luckily, her friendship with her fellow nurses is more interesting as is her journey of personal growth.

When she finally returns home, she is surprised to find that much of the American public, including her parents, don’t look at her as a hero. At best, people would prefer that she and the other returning veterans avoid speaking about their experiences and at worst they treat them with active hostility. Suffering from PTSD and feeling isolated with her pain, she begins to display addictive behaviors, threatening the burgeoning nursing career she had hoped to kickstart by heading to Vietnam in the first place.

Frankie is truly put through the wringer in this book, faced with one tragedy after another. Every time it seems like she might finally find some happiness, fate and her own increasingly self-destructive behavior rips it out of her hands. Other characters are able to move on, but none receive much attention or development outside of their relationships with the lead. Fortunately, she does prove engaging enough to follow even if she is sometimes unlikable.

The Women isn’t a perfect book, but it should easily keep most readers’ attention. While the main arc of the story can sometimes veer a little too close towards melodrama, Hannah still manages to do an admirable job with some sensitive subject matter. The wartime scenes feel wholly believable, as does her description of PTSD, and they will likely inspire some to look further into both topics. Her writing style is simplistic and easy to follow, which makes the pages fly by, though it lacks some of the artistic flourishes that can make the simple act of reading joyful. Still, The Women is engaging and compelling and will have many readers reaching for their tissue boxes throughout. ★★★