Read by Julia Whelan, including an Author's Note read by Kristin, revealing her inspiration for telling the women's heroic stories, which had been either forgotten or entirely overlooked.
From the worldwide bestselling author of The Four Winds, The Nightingale and Firefly Lane (a Number One series on Netflix), The Women is a story of devastating loss and epic love.
'Astonishing. Compelling. Powerful' – Delia Owens, bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing
'Stuns with sacrifice. Uplifts with heroism' – Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry
'Powerful' – Matt Haig, bestselling author of The Midnight Library
An instant Sunday Times bestseller and soon to be a major motion picture!
'Women can be heroes, too'. When twenty-year-old nursing student, Frances "Frankie" McGrath, hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on California's idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different path for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurses Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the young men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed America. Frankie will also discover the true value of female friendship and the heartbreak that love can cause.
Listeners love The Women:
'The sure touch of Golden Voice narrator Julia Whelan transforms Kristin Hannah's absorbing novel about Vietnam War combat nurses into an addictive listen' - AudioFile
'It honours ALL women: those who have fought for their rights and freedoms, those who have been overlooked and underappreciated, those who have been forgotten by families and society'
'I've been looking forward to this book's release for months'
'Kristin Hannah has done it again'
The Women was a Sunday Times bestseller from 17.2.24-13.4.24
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Creators
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Publisher
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Awards
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Release date
February 15, 2024 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781035005710
- File size: 430015 KB
- Duration: 14:55:51
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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September 25, 2023
Hannah’s emotionally charged page-turner (after The Four Winds) centers on a young nurse whose life is changed by the Vietnam War. Before Frankie McGrath begins basic training for the Army in 1966, her older brother Finley is killed in action. Frankie excels as a surgical nurse in Vietnam and becomes close with fellow nurses Ethel and Barb. After Ethel’s tour ends, Frankie and Barb gets assigned to the base at Pleiku, near the Cambodian border, where some of the heaviest fighting occurs. There, she reunites with Navy officer Rye Walsh, Finley’s best friend, and they become lovers. When Frankie returns to the U.S., she’s met with indifference for her service from her parents, who are still grieving her brother’s death, and disdain from people who oppose the war. She leans on alcohol and drugs while struggling to acclimate to civilian life. Though the situations and dialogue can feel contrived (Rye, after announcing he’s re-upping, says to Frankie at the close of a chapter, “I’m not leaving my girl”), Hannah’s depictions of Frankie tending to wounded soldiers are urgent and eye-opening, and a reunion of the three nurses for Frankie’s benefit is poignantly told. Fans of women’s historicals will enjoy this magnetic wartime story. Agent: Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency -
The sure touch of Golden Voice narrator Julia Whelan transforms Kristen Hannah's absorbing novel about Vietnam War combat nurses into an addictive listen. An intimate portrait and a sprawling account of a searing time, the story focuses on 20-year-old Frances McGrath, who, in 1965, impetuously chooses the Army Nurse Corps over cotillions and marriage. Whelan brings believable characterizations and evocative pacing to her performance of Frankie's experiences--whether in a bloody MASH operating room or talking truth with her best nursing friends, a Black woman from Georgia and a white woman from Virginia. As the novel interweaves historical research with the characters' Vietnam and postwar lives, Whelan's intensity and warmth help listeners empathize with the personal and understand the big picture. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
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