The women by Kirstin Hannah

4 star 7.5/10

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel which is the The story of Army nurses in the Vietnam war, think Mash but focusing on the female characters.

The story follows a young woman who volunteers to join the American armed forces after her brother is killed fighting in the Vietnam war. The young woman has led a sheltered life and what she faces when she enlists and is sent almost immediately to the front line in Vietnam is shocking and cathartic.

The author has a clear easily read pros, style, and and I read the book quickly, enjoying it very much. I was very quickly drawn in in the first chapter and wanted to know what happened next.

The book is highly visual, and it doesn’t surprise me to see that the rights have been taken up to make this a film, the setting mostly in Vietnam is described so perfectly that you can almost feel there. Sweat running down your back in the tropical heat.

No matter how many times you’ve seen the photographs of the girl in Vietnam and Nepalm doesn’t stick with you as much as reading the little section of the baby in this novel absolutely horrific and memorable

All in all, I think that this novel is a thoroughly fitting memorial to the women who served in the Vietnam war, and those who died there

I had an early copy of the novel on NetGalley UK the book is published in the UK on the 15th of February 2024 by Pam McMillan

This review will appear on NetGalley, UK, Goodreads, and my book blog, bionicSarahsbooks.wordpress.com And, Amazon, UK