The Nightingale

By: Kristin Hannah

Narrated by: Polly Stone

Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK

A #1 New York Times bestseller, Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Year, and soon to be a major motion picture, this unforgettable novel of love and strength in the face of war has enthralled a generation.

With courage, grace, and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of World War II and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women's war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France—a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.

Goodreads Best Historical Novel of the Year • People's Choice Favorite Fiction Winner • #1 Indie Next Selection • A Buzzfeed and The Week Best Book of the Year

Praise for The Nightingale:

"Haunting, action-packed, and compelling." —Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Absolutely riveting!...Read this book." —Dr. Miriam Klein Kassenoff, Director of the University of Miami Holocaust Teacher Institute

©2015 Kristin Hannah (P)2015 Macmillan Audio

Ten stars!

There are very few books that have touched me as deeply as this one. I didn’t want to read this book. I hate war stories. I read it because my daughter-in-law begged me to. She read it and loved it, but we generally tend to read different genres. I grudgingly used a credit and promised that I would read the book as soon as my two other books in the queue were finished. I finally got to this one and put the book on, and increased the speed, thinking that I would be glad to hurry it up and get it over with. Boy was I wrong, and I knew early on to put the speed back to normal.

As the description says, this story is about two sisters who experience the war into very different ways. What the description doesn’t talk about is the intense relationships that are built throughout the book, the intense experiences that are lived through, and the very real visions of what could definitely have happened during that time. Yes as some reviewers have complained about, there are historical inaccuracies. However, this is fiction, not a historical biography. People get so bent out of shape about that, but I feel that this book instilled in me a desire to seek out more about the history. We all know about Nazis, and Hitler, and the war, but maybe we don’t know about somebody’s point of view perspective, or experiences. This just gives us a glimpse into some of the possibilities.

The narrator did an absolutely phenomenal job. It was as though the book was written with her narration in mind. Between the author and the narrator, I was able to fully immerse myself into the story, build relationships with the people, feel their happiness, love, heartbreak, uncertainty, fear and pain. I am desperately sad that its over, and I will most likely do something I very very very rarely do, and read it again.

I fully and completely recommend this book. Just try it. If you dont like it, you can return it. Take the risk. It will touch you, and quite possibly change you.

An exceptional story, beautifully written.

It doesn't feel right to just say I loved this book, though I did. It is both horrific and inspiring. Touching and stomach turning. It is a love story and a history lesson. I cried my way through the last two chapters.
It is a window into one families life in France during the Nazi occupation between 1941 and 1945. I wish it could be reqiured reading in our schools, for it provides a view that our young people today will never get first hand as we lose the generation who lived and fought through this war. We post war "Boomers" think we know and understand what our parents went through, and maybe some of us do. But this story is one that shows from a woman's point of view, the bravery and strength it took to survive, and the heroic efforts some took to help others. It reminded me of when I would ask my Mother about the wartime and she only answered "It was a different world then."
The narration was excellent . The characters voices were easily identifiable and perfectly nuanced. I will look for other books she's performed.
Read this book. It's a powerful story, well worth your time.

Wonderful!

Loved the story and the narrator! This helped me understand what so many people went through during WWI ad WWII.

You bleed with them. This is an amazing read!

What did you love best about The Nightingale?

The accuracy, the description, the characters, the agony of war...

What other book might you compare The Nightingale to and why?

The book thief (somewhat) Schindlers List - these two because of the injustices of that war.

What does Polly Stone bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narration is outstanding. Her ability to change voice for each character is effortless. At no point do you remember she is narrating. Best I've ever heard.

If you could take any character from The Nightingale out to dinner, who would it be and why?

The Nightingale herself. She is an amazingly strong and brave character. Because she had no parenting, she wrote her own rules for life and followed her own heart, and yet you felt her loneliness and her longing.

Any additional comments?

This is an outstanding read. It is sometimes so sad and the injustice so descriptive, it can be hard to bear, you feel as though it is happening to you or your loved ones. I was blown away.

Beautiful narration

Loved the book, and highly recommend listening to audio version. The narration was just beautiful! It made the whole story.

Will Stay With You Forever!

This story. Everything about it. A tale you will never forget. The setting and time was riveting. The characters and their journeys unforgettable. The way the story was told couldn't have been any better. The audible performance was outstanding. This is that book you've been looking for. Read it or listen. You will not regret it!

Hauntingly beautiful

A story of the war that everyone should read. One may think that one knows the stories of that WW2 back to front but, there is always a new one to surprise you.

Outstanding book

I both read and listened to this book and the audio was so much better! The different voices, the long pauses, the french accents....quite a good story in audio!

Didn't want to hit pause....EVER!

I loved how well the character development was!! You won't regret this purchase and you won't want it to end :(

5 Stars

I lisrened for hours at a time. The time that I did listen was time well spent. Extremely narated well. I felt as ifI was tthere. The characters reminded me of my sister and myself.