The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

A book has not made me feel this way in a long time. Though I expected it to be good because of positive reviews, I didn't quite expect this. After finishing this book, I was left overwhelmed with  so many emotions. 

To put it simply, this Historical Fiction novel is perfect and beautiful. It is eloquently written, and is a total page turner. You will not want to put it down. At the same time, you will want to force yourself to put it down, for fear of the story ending. 

I have to admit though that while I can go on and on about how perfectly told it was, I feel as if I would not do justice to the purity and very essence of the story. There simply aren't enough positive words to say about it without sounding repetitive and cliche. 

taken by Mhitchner Photography

check him out on Instagram

What I will focus on is how much it moved me. It moved me to tears as I was reading it, and my heart broke so many times that I've lost count. The emotions, events, and situations in this book are raw, gut wrenching, and honest. And when I was done with it, I wept endlessly. All I wanted to do was to talk to the characters, hug them, as I felt that they have become my friends, or better yet, my sisters, in the mere 440 pages that I just went through. 

It reminded me of the emotions I felt when I first watched Schindler's List in elementary school, and when I first picked up The Book Thief by Markus Zusak in 2009. I wanted the story to go on, I didn't want to let go. 

Having said that, it's a bit silly to rate this book, because the five star rating is not enough. It deserves more for the impact it left on me. I also can not recommend this enough to everyone. Any reader would appreciate this, whether or not you usually pick up Historical Fiction. It is a great story that covers many significant themes and focus on many types of relationships - familial, friendships, romantic, and relationship with one's self.

Overall, this book proved to me, as if I didn't know for a fact already, how much I love literature. This novel was the very proof that showed how books, reading, and words can be incredibly significant in one's life. It just has this undeniable power to make people feel, think, and see reality, even when it is fiction. Books have the power to break a person, lift them up, inspire, motivate, encourage, and make them feel beyond what they think they're capable of. I am truly thankful to have picked this up as it made me see all that again so clearly. Any book that can do that is worth a read to say the least. 

Buy The Nightingale
Read the post where I talk about my boyfriend going to a Kristin Hannah book event for me