The Women by Kristin Hannah

I know there are people out there who would take a bullet for Kristen Hannah. She is consistently at the top of the bestseller list. She writes stores that reach people and her writing is very accessible.

I don't like her.

For all intents and purposes this book should have been for me. It’s about nurses (please read bio), it’s about the fight for gender equality, it’s about representation, and it is a peace lovers dream.

I did not like it.

Prior to our heroine going to war - this shouldn’t be a spoiler - there is a scene that gives her her why. Jesus Kristen. You could have just hit a gong right? It was not subtle, it was not nuanced. Even if you didn’t mean it to be more subtle, even if you wanted it to act as your central thesis it ended up coming off like a broke through a window.

The stars I give this book are of the depiction of nursing at war. I have never gone to war and I do not want to - but you made it feel so very, very real to me. That part was smooth and affecting.

In all honesty, her return from war and her reaction was quite well done too. I think her depiction of PTSD was well done.

And I liked how things you thought were going to work out didn’t. That was good.

And then at the 2 yard line she fumbles.

Ms Hannah likes to bring people back from the dead and just…don’t. Stop it. It just ruins it for me. You did it in The Great Alone, and you did it again here and Ms Hannah - people don’t come back to life that often.

The face slap of a central thesis and the fumble in the final act just ruined what could have been a 5 star read for me.

In short: A swing and a miss.