Review of THE WOMEN by Kristin Hannah

 2.5 Stars

This is a book with great intentions: shining a spotlight on the experiences of a woman in the Vietnam War and how they impact her life thereafter. The execution, however, is poor.

Frances (Frankie) McGrath is twenty-one when she enlists as an army nurse in 1966. The first part of the novel details her time in Vietnam: working grueling hours looking after the wounded, some with horrific injuries, sometimes while being attacked. Living conditions are unsanitary and the only reprieve seems to be drinking in the officers’ clubs. Frankie is naive, idealistic and inexperienced but quickly has her eyes opened to the realities of war and she becomes a skilled surgical nurse.

In the second part of the novel, Frankie returns home after two years. She does not receive the welcome she expects. Her nursing career stalls and romantic relationships don’t evolve as hoped. Other than her two friends Ethel and Barb, fellow nurses she met in Vietnam, she has little support. Almost inevitably, her life spirals out of control.

I had a number of issues with the book. One was a lack of credibility. Frankie is a trained nurse but only in Basic Training does she learn how to apply a splint, debride a wound, and start an IV? She is no longer a teenager when the book opens but her bedroom is that of a child complete with pogo stick and hula hoop? Her mother’s letters focus on protests against the war and her disgust for the bouncing breasts of hippies? The idea that Vietnam veterans were widely spat on upon their return is largely considered a historical myth, with no documented, verified incidents from the era. More than once she is turned away by a veterans’ organization after being told that no women served in Vietnam? The use of a soap opera trope, resurrections, not once but twice, left me rolling my eyes! The meeting at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at the end is just too convenient and unbelievable.

The book can best be described as overwritten. There are constant references to women’s bouffant hair and men’s mustaches and sideburns. Clothing is described in great detail; head-to-toe descriptions of what a character is wearing are not necessary. Frankie’s mother visits her daughter after what can only be called as a very tragic event and the author feels it is necessary to describe her being “dressed in a rust-colored skirt with a print vest over a blouse buttoned up to her throat, and knee-high boots”? Then there’s the constant mention of titles of songs. I understand the need to add local colour but there’s such a thing as too much.

There is also too much focus on romance. Why is it that every guy falls in love with Frankie? Certainly men greatly outnumbered women in the war, but why then do Ethel and Barb not have romantic relationships as frequently? Frankie even has married men willing to leave their wives for her. One man signs up for a second tour in Vietnam because of her. Once she returns stateside, her relationships with men seem more triggers of her PTSD than the war itself. One relationship seems to almost cure her PTSD but the symptoms reemerge when she learns a man has deceived her. She seems more lovesick and heartbroken than a person struggling with PTSD.

Even the title is misleading. Only one woman’s experiences and perspective are given. I would have like to read about those of other women, not just that of a privileged white woman. Since blacks were disproportionately represented in Vietnam, the perspective of Barb, a black woman, would have provided more depth and insight. At times, I felt the title should have included a reference to men because so many of Frankie’s decisions revolve around men. She goes to war because a man tells her women can be heroes and because she wants to impress her father; she re-ups because the boys need her; and her PTSD symptoms are controlled or recur depending on the state of her romantic relationships with men.

I did not find Frankie particularly admirable. Yes, she worked hard in deplorable conditions to help others and certainly deserved recognition for that work. She is fortunate to have Ethel and Barb to support her, though the two women often feel more like props than real people. Yet I found that Frankie doesn’t offer the same kind of support to new nurses arriving in Vietnam. Once back in the U.S. she relies on Barb and Ethel who, more than once, fly out to help and support her. But then when Barb’s brother dies, Frankie sends only a letter?! She just seems selfish and self-centred.

I did appreciate that the author treated the complexities of the Vietnam War in a fair manner. She does mention the American atrocities and the lies of the politicians. She does mention the suffering of Vietnamese civilians. She shows that Vietnam veterans often received a cold, indifferent, or hostile homecoming, markedly different from the heroes' welcome given to previous generations. Clearly her message is that it should be possible to support the warriors while still hating the war.

I was disappointed because instead of historical fiction, the book often reads more like a romance. Women’s roles in the Vietnam War and their struggles once home deserve to be highlighted, but this novel does not do these topics justice, instead opting for cheesy romances and an unrealistic but happy resolution.