The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is a wonderful piece of historical fiction set in France during World War II. The novel tells the stories of two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, in alternating chapters. When the story begins, Vianne, a married mother of one, is a teacher in the french countryside, while Isabelle is a student at a boarding school. The two couldn't be more different! Vianne is quiet and reserved, while Isabelle is bold and daring. Just before the Nazis invade France, Vianne's husband is called to serve in the French military. Isabelle is kicked out of yet another boarding school and comes to stay with Vianne and her daughter. This is where the tension begins.
Nazi soldiers invade and begin to force their way into the homes of the french citizens. Vianne is forced to house and feed Nazi Captain Beck. Isabelle is outraged and finds it difficult to hold her tongue. She often makes negative comments about the Nazis and ignores Captain Beck's orders. This angers and frightens Vianne, as she believes it is endangering her daughter and teaching her to disobey the dangerous Nazis. Yet, Isabelle cannot just sit by and do nothing while the Nazis destroy her home and kill innocent people. She begins working with the French resistance, smuggling information in letters and packages to others throughout France. Eventually, the tension between the two sisters grows, and Isabelle leaves for Paris, where she can be of more assistance to the resistance.
After Isabelle leaves, things worsen for Vianne. Though Captain Beck does not treat her badly, he requires information from her. She is forced to share the names of Jewish friends, neighbors, and colleagues, and they are forced into labor camps because of this. As a result, Vianne is riddled with guilt and decides she will try to fight back against the Nazis in her own way. When her best friend is killed by the Nazis, Vianne takes her Jewish son into her home and disguises him as her adopted son in order to save him. As more and more Jewish people are taken away, Vianne begins to sneak their children to a local catholic church, where, in an effort to hide them from the Nazis, they are given new identities. Vianne even takes on a role as a teacher for these children. Though she is risking her life and her daughter's life to save the children, she knows it is the only choice.
While Vianne is helping to save children in the French countryside, Isabelle's role with the resistance grows even more dangerous. She volunteers to help British and American airmen who have crash landed in France. To do this, she must guide them over the mountains and into Spain. The journey is long, difficult, and dangerous, yet she does it many times. She becomes well-known in the French resistance and is given the code name "The Nightingale." Isabelle's actions come to the attention of the Nazis, and they begin to aggressively hunt the "Nightingale".
This is such a gripping story of love and tragedy. Each of the women, both Isabelle and Vianne, are forced to do things they never thought they would do. They are faced with impossible choices, and do what they must to survive. The Nightingale is a wonderful story for fans of historical fiction and for those looking for a powerful read! I absolutely loved it!
