The Nightingale
by Kristin Hannah
"They can break your body, but they can never break your soul and spirit."
'The Nightingale' becomes another addition to the list of painful stories I have read till now. Set in France, it talks about two sisters, and how they unfold when the World War II strikes; how people can be starkly different in the way they respond to the cruelties; how great wars bring out both the best and the worst in everyone; how war shows that all of us are fragile except for our spirit; how there never is enough time for us to be with our beloved ones and we realize it only later on; how it is our choice whether to fight or just survive the war; how we never care to understand that we cannot get by life all alone; finally, how it is always our choice whether to fight or just survive the war; how, at the end of a war, those who were in it are left only with a shadow of themselves.
The book begins slow and patience is key to get to the best part. It definitely was a challenge to keep reading but soon, I was reading through parts that were built from deep hurt and irrevocable losses, which were so overwhelming to read and yet I kept on at it. The Nazis; the Third Reich; picturesque France overtaken; the Vichy government giving up; the billeting; requisition orders; curfews; yellow stars; deportations; assaults and abuses; concentration camps; the holocaust. But, beyond all the above, there's also unquenchable patriotism; unbreakable bonds; unstoppable mutinies; admirable bravado; courage under fire; sisterhood tales; beautiful moments.
By the time I finished reading this, I couldn't hold back tears and knew that humanity is cursed. Every little bit of redemption that we seek, it is soiled with shame and guilt. So, if you are a person who loves to read about the WWII or strong female protagonists or a story of love and loss, The Nightingale is definitely a good choice.
In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.
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