Review | The Nightingale

This year I'm participating in my first Popsugar Reading Challenge! Challenges like this are things that I usually scroll through, think to myself, "huh, this could be fun;" and then never actually follow through. BUT, this year is different. My coworker and I will be spending the year reading at least 40 books that fall into each category not necessarily in the order that they are listed on the website.

We started with Challenge Number 1: A book that will be a movie in 2019.

The Book: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah Date Published: February 3, 2015 Dates Read: January 14-24, 2019

Current Goodreads Rating: 4.56/5

Now, I don't know if we kind of cheated for this challenge because the book even says, "SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE," but when I go looking for it on IMDB or even search it on Google all I find is some Australian movie that came out last year. Don't get me wrong the Austrailian Nightingale looks pretty good, but it's not this Nightingale. The most recent article I could find about this movie was dated from December 2017 and said the movie would be out January 25, 2019 sooooooooooo....this movie is just as elusive as Isabelle. (Heyo, book joke).

Let's get into the discussion shall we?

The Nightingale is a World War II book that follows the lives of two sisters: Vianne and Isabelle. Vianne is a mother waiting for her husband, held as a prisoner of war, to return. She has one daughter and is the passive of the two sisters. She doesn't want to fight back or rock the boat for fear of the Nazis coming after her family.

Isabelle is the exact opposite of her sister. She's a headstrong woman who uses her femininity as a way to fly under the radar. She rebels against the Nazi officers pretty much as soon as they march their way into Paris and continues to risk her life throughout the entirety of the war. Dedicating herself to saving downed pilots, she saves so many lives and fights back so strongly that the Nazis begin to hunt her down. They don't know much about her, not even really suspecting that a woman could do this kind of work. All they know is her codename: The Nightingale.

The book is told in alternating points of view -- a chapter or two told from Vianne's tiny home in the French country side and then a chapter or two told from the streets of Paris as Isabelle toes the line between brave and stupidity. It's a really strong story that reminds the readers that the men fighting and dying weren't the only brave souls in this war, but the women who were forced to stay behind and keep their families fed and alive were just as brave.

My take: I will be honest, it took me a little bit to get into this book in the beginning. Vianne was a little to passive for my tastes. Part of me realized that she couldn't just spit in the German's faces, but another part of me just wanted her to punch the Nazi commander in the face. On the other side, Isabelle was a little too headstrong at first. She is Vianne's polar opposite. However, as the book progressed and the women saw more hardship and more loss both sisters started to even out. Vianne fought back in her own ways and Isabelle realized that saving downed pilots wasn't just a game, but incredibly dangerous. It was almost like they needed this situation to realize how the other sister worked and figured things out.

One of my favorite characters in the whole book however was Beck. Beck is a Nazi soldier who was billeted in Vianne's house. He's the first character who changes the narrative from black and white to shades of gray. Though he's a high ranking member of the Nazis (if I'm remembering correctly, I think he was a captain), Beck is still very aware that what Hitler and the rest of the Nazis are doing is wrong. He warns Vianne to hide her Jewish neighbor and helps Vianne hide a Jewish child by supplying her with fake papers. Beck's character helped remind the audience that, when it comes down to it, this war is just a handful of old dudes playing war games with a bunch of scared boys.

Now, don't get me wrong: I am not apologizing for Nazis or trying to make them sound like they were good people when, in fact, they are not. However, I think Beck's situation shows another side to Vianne and Isabelle's story. Both women are doing what they can to survive and so is Beck. Throughout the book he constantly mentions his wife and his kids and how he worries about them while he's away. He doesn't like what he is being forced to do, but he knows if he actively pushes back against the regime not only will his life be in danger, but the lives of his family could be as well. I really liked this added dynamic in Hannah's story. At least for a little bit, the reader doesn't have a tangible person to declare the antagonist of the novel. Yes, Hitler and the Nazis are taking over France and seemingly everything else, but people like Vianne and Isabelle aren't sure who in their lives can be trusted and who cannot.

The movie: Like I said, I haven't been able to find anything online that says when this movie will be coming out, if it comes out at all, but whenever it does I think it will be interesting to see how Hollywood interprets this book. Since I can't even find casting information I'm going to do a little casting myself.

I imagine Vianne is played by Marion Cotillard. I think she'd do a great job of portraying a strong mother battling with the fact she wants to fight back, but also protect her family.

I think Saoirse Ronan would be a great Isabelle. Isabelle's whole thing is that she doesn't look suspicious. She's a beautiful young woman who uses that beauty to blend in with the world around her. From her other movies I think Saoirse would portray this strong feminine character beautifully.

Finally, I think I could see Beck played by Rufus Sewell. This isn't that surprising of a pick, the actor himself is already playing a Nazi in the show Man in the High Castle (also based off of a novel). However, I chose him because of his performance in Victoria (which is also based off a historical fiction as well as the Queen herself). I liked him in Victoria because he played a character who knew his job duties, but was also torn with what his heart wanted. He played both sides very well and I believe he could do the same in The Nightingale.

Long Story Short:

• This movie is coming out eventually I hope

• Nazis should be punched in the face

• All characters are complex

My Rating: 4/5

Up next in this Reading Challenge: The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton