Summary: Epic stories of love, loss, and violence unravel in WWII Paris.
Rating & Recommendation: 5/5; recommend for the angsty youth in us all
Review: I dove into this one basically due to peer pressure, and I’m glad I did. My only regret is that I hadn’t read this before I went to Paris for the first time.
“I had forgotten how gently time passes in Paris. As lively as the city is, there’s a stillness to it, a peace that lures you in. In Paris, with a glass of wine in your hand, you can just be.”
Historical fiction is not my favorite genre, but I’ve been trying to read more of it. My friend pointed out to me that it’s the best way to study history for those who are disinterested. Plainly put, The Nightingale is beautiful. It’s well written, and I was fully invested in the outcome each character. The gravity of the story makes it a slow read, and you have to slog through a lot of brutality to find the beauty.
I found some of the plot lines to be predictable and overly romantic, but I do think the book would almost be unbearable without the silver linings. That’s how horrifying the truth is; the author had to give us a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. It’s sad the way most historical fiction is (especially WWII fiction) - you can disengage and divorce yourself from the characters, because it’s not a true story, but every few sentences you’re reminded that not only is this probably someone’s true story, it’s likely millions of true stories. The Second World War devastated everyone and everything on a global scale, and even the lucky ones were completely ruined, despite having “made it home.”
You guys, that war was not that long ago! I finished this one eerily reminded of how simmering hate and prejudices gave Hitler power, how so many people contributed to his uprising by simply “following orders” and turning a blind eye to cruelty.
“In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.”
I don’t know how I hadn’t read it sooner, but I can’t wait to read more about the French Resistance and the women who contributed to it with their courage and complexities. More so, I cannot WAIT to go to France again and see it with new eyes. This is one of my five star reads for 2019.
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