Lit Vibes Only

Ep. 80: Lit It or Quit It: The Nightingale

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Join Kelsey and Amanda as they tackle Kristin Hannah’s WWII tearjerker ‘The Nightingale’, unpacking the unforgettable sisterhood of Vianne and Isabelle as occupied France forces them into very different kinds of courage. From underground resistance missions to quiet, desperate survival, they debate what bravery really looks like—then cap it off with savage one-star takedowns, glowing five-star love, and why this book still hits painfully close to home.


00:00 Content Warning

00:48 Welcome to Lit Vibes Only

02:08 Follow Us on Socials!

06:28 Important Update to Our Posting Schedule

07:40 Our Current Reads

14:05 Summary of ‘The Nightingale’

28:11 Book Discussion

58:12 LITerally the Best or LITerally the Worst

01:11:42 Wrap-Up and Social Media Plugs


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Follow us on TikTok & Youtube @litvibesonlypodcast and on Instagram @litvibesonly_podcast. You can also email us at litvibesonlypodcast@gmail.com We'd love to hear from you!

See you on Mondays!

Content Warning

Amanda (2)

In order to make choices that are best for you, please note that this episode does contain brief mentions of rape

Kelsey

Welcome to Lit Vibes Only, where we lit the shit outta books we love and hate. I'm Kelsey, the unhinged, diehard, romantic and fantasy reader.

Welcome to Lit Vibes Only

Follow Us on Socials!

Amanda

And I'm Amanda, the insightful, thrill seeker and historical fiction nerd. Welcome. We're so glad you're here. This is our second littered or quitted episode for the wonderful Month of March. Mm-hmm. And we've got one of my favorite books of all time to talk about, so really stoked for that. But as always or are you. Okay. I guess we'll find out honestly if I, Nope, you know what? We'll get to that in a second. We'll get to that in a second. But before we go down a rabbit hole if you are not following us on socials, please take a moment and do that. We are on Instagram at Lit Vibes only underscore podcast, and then both on YouTube and on TikTok at Lit Vibes only podcast. So be sure to go over there to join our larger lit Vibes only community. Chat with us, watch our videos. We put out a lot of additional fun content and if you're not a person who is on socials regularly. For it all. You can also get in touch with us via our email. It's Lit Vibes only podcast@gmail.com. You can shoot us line, say, Hey, send us a book recommendation, et cetera. And if you're looking for another way to connect with us that's a little bit more dynamic and more fun, you can join our book clubs on Fable. We've got a small group of folks and we're hoping to continue to expand that. And they're all books that are directly connected to these litted or Quitted episodes. So you get a vote on the books we're reading, you get to chat with us beforehand. You can make predictions about whether or not you think it's gonna be a Litted or quit it for Kelsey or I. So I am at lit Vibes only Amanda Kelsey's Lit Vibes Only Kelsey. So be sure to search us up on Fable at us, join our book clubs. It's just an additional way to get to, to know other readers. Yeah, get involved, get to know other readers. And then last, but certainly not least, if you still have not. Rated and reviewed our podcast.

Kelsey

Yulia, we're talking to you.

Amanda

I was literally gonna say that you know who you're, we're not going to call anyone else out.

Kelsey

Anyone else except for her. Just kidding. Also, I need to double check if Rio has, I actually don't know if he has.

Amanda

I think he has.

Kelsey

Okay.

Amanda

I feel like I, there was like back, way back, but you know who you are. You know who you are.

Kelsey

Yes.

Amanda

And we kindly request that you take a moment right now while you're listening to the episode. Once you hear that out your music, hit that five star button on either Apple Podcast or Spotify or wherever, you're listening to this podcast. And then if you have an extra moment, you can write a line or two review on Apple Podcasts, or you can comment on this episode on Spotify. We really appreciate it. Yes, we're in our second year, but we're very much still growing as a podcast and those. Ratings and reviews help us so very much.

Kelsey

Yeah.

Amanda

So please do that.

Kelsey

I was actually maybe it was yesterday, the day before I was listening to a parenting podcast. And the only thing that she says at the beginning is actually go download the episode because people don't, I don't download episodes when I don listen to podcasts. Mm-hmm. Because it's like, what? That's wasted space really? And what's the point? But

Amanda

downloads

Kelsey

help. That is the only way, the only thing only listens that really count.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

Towards our podcast.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

Which is really

Amanda

bizarre.

Kelsey

Unfortunate because Yeah. It's just we can't really keep track of who's actually listening unless you

Amanda

download

Kelsey

only the downloads.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

It's

Amanda

a weird

Kelsey

metric just. You could also do that.

Amanda

Yes. You could also download it because we can see the downloads every week. Mm-hmm. But that only gives us a percentage of listeners. And so we know you're out there. We know you're listening and yeah, downloading is a great way for us to keep track of how many ears are listening.

Kelsey

Yeah. Did you see the Weathering Heights downloads? It's definitely higher than it is.

Amanda

Definitely higher. Yeah.

Kelsey

All the other ones. Especially in the first week because we just released it last week and Oh my gosh, what perfect timing. We didn't even plan that exactly, but it was,

Amanda

we did,

Kelsey

but excuse me. But in that specific week, like we didn't. We planned it for February, but we didn't

Amanda

no,

Kelsey

I, that specific week.

Amanda

No, I did because I knew it was coming out Valentine's Day. That's why I switched my book choice because I was like, oh, that way it'll come out the Monday after it drops. Yeah. And it worked really well. We had a lot of views on our TikTok videos for the trailers. It looks like we've got quite a few downloads as well. Granted, we're recording this in February still, so if you're sitting there thinking like, why are they talking about Weathering Heights at the end of March? I was like, old news. It's brand new news for us. We actually just saw the movie together with another friend Wednesday on Tuesday. Yeah, we went on Tuesday. This past Tuesday, and I, it was exactly what I thought it was gonna be, where they just frankenstein the story and made it into something else to make it work as a love story.

Kelsey

But the weird can it even be called like BDSM? Like what is that called? The, that weird side

Amanda

story. Story. Yeah. Where she's yeah. Where she's chained up. Yeah. I, there was a choice made that I

Kelsey

did not suspect. I was like, you suspected that, but no, what you're talking about

Amanda

that I did not see coming with Isabel and Heathcliff, that was bizarre. And if you've watched the movie, you know what we're talking about. Yeah. I, but I did, the one thing I'll say, not to go on a whole weathering heights tangent, is I liked the artistic direction and like the cinematography, like mm-hmm. It's a very cool. Film to see like visually what she did with it. Sure. But in terms of the plot and how she altered things to make it work as a love story, did not appreciate at all because it's a great revenge kind of slash horror slash ghost story. And like you could have done that so well. Like you didn't have to sacrifice that to make a good movie. Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

Yeah.

Amanda

But. Those are my thoughts. Anyhow, whole half

Kelsey

of the book is missing in that

Amanda

literally

Kelsey

movie.

Amanda

There's like characters missing.

Kelsey

Oh yeah. Plot. Like whole plot lines.

Important Update to Our Posting Schedule

Amanda

Yeah. Completely changed. Completely changed. Wild. One quick what is the word I'm looking? Housekeeping issue to address is that this is going to be our last month, at least for the foreseeable future. Mm-hmm. That we're gonna be doing episodes every single Monday. So starting in the month of April, we're gonna be shifting to two episodes a month. And so we'll just be doing our lit it or quit it episodes for y'all, because I know those are everyone's favorite. So they

Kelsey

definitely get the most listens.

Amanda

They get the most listens. Mm-hmm. So we're gonna be sticking with those just because as you know from previous episodes, Kelsey's expecting. And yes, lots of things are shifting on our end. So we're gonna be downsizing. Downsizing down.

Kelsey

Scaling back.

Amanda

Scaling back, thank you. Downsizing and scaling back a little bit on our end. So just if you're like, oh my gosh, it's Monday and there's not an episode.

Kelsey

Mm-hmm.

Amanda

It's just that we're gonna be doing every other Monday now. And

Kelsey

only two episodes a month.

Amanda

So for most months it'll be every other Monday. Yeah. For the five, the rare five Monday months, it will not be.

Kelsey

Yeah.

Our Current Reads

Amanda

Every other Monday there'll be an extra empty Monday in there. Yeah. Just wanted to get folks an update before we di dived in, dove in. I'm struggling. I feel like I'm like channeling my inner Kelsey today. I'm like struggling with my words. We're gonna dive in to our current reads and then we'll get to our review discussion, all that good stuff. So Kelsey, I start, what are you currently reading?

Kelsey

Yeah, so after The Nightingale I was like, God, I need something light. Mm-hmm. That's fair. So I picked up a romance and I've been wanting to read this one since it came out. Oh. Which is last summer. Love is a war song by Donica.

Amanda

Oh yes. Santa Canva.

Kelsey

Mm-hmm. Yeah. And so, I'm in the middle of that one right now.

Amanda

Okay. How does it compare to the one that you had me read her other one?

Kelsey

I'm not sure yet. The story is very different. Okay. But she still has this, way about her writing, where she's like highlighting a particular concern or issue that native peoples face. Okay. And yeah, it's been interesting. So I'm curious to see the wrap up of it because Okay. The character is not exactly likable or lovable.

Amanda

Oh, like the FM character C or the MMC?

Kelsey

The FMC.

Amanda

Oh. Oh

Kelsey

yeah. I'm curious how she wraps that up.

Amanda

Interesting. Is she, is it like a grumpy sunshine dynamic? Is she like,

Kelsey

no. It's just that some things that she does that harms the native community and yeah. It's

Amanda

interesting. Oh and mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay. Keep us posted. I'm curious, I'll, what was the, I'm trying to, I dunno why I'm blanking on the name of the one that you had me read. I can see the.

Kelsey

According to Ember.

Amanda

According to Ember, I was like, I can literally see the cover in my head. Mm-hmm. Okay. According to Ember. Yeah. Okay. I am reading the second book in, I honestly don't know if it's gonna be a series. I was looking it up yesterday.

Oh.

Amanda

But it's the second book in the Vera Wong series by Jesse Q Ano Oh. Of Suto. It's Vera Wong's, guide to Snooping on a Dead Man. And this is the second book, the sequel. So I don't know if it's gonna be Duology or if there's gonna be more, but it's amazing. It's definitely a book. You have to listen to an audio book because she does such a good job of capturing the voice of this, like feisty, precocious, sassy, 60-year-old, like Chinese grandma who's out here like solving murders. And I feel like. If you listened or if you read the book, I don't think it would resonate as much. I don't think I would actually like the series as much. It is definitely a book that was like written to be an audio book, I feel like. okay. And the narrator is so talented. I'm blanking on her name. But it's a great audio book and definitely gonna make a TikTok video about it and put it out there to get more people to listen. It's like a cozy murder mystery. And that's not normally two things you hear together, but it's very feel good. It's like very heartwarming. It's very much about found family. So if that's like a trope listeners that you like, you're gonna love this book. It's gonna make you laugh out loud. It's gonna make you tear up. I just love hanging out with Vera. She's one of my favorite, like female protagonists.

Kelsey

Okay.

Amanda

Ever. So that's what I'm reading and thoroughly enjoying it. I think at this point in the year, which is crazy, I have. Listened to the same number, the same amount of books that I've read.

Kelsey

Oh wow.

Amanda

I think roughly, I think that's true.

Kelsey

Yeah.

Amanda

Because I think I've read 21 books so far this year, and I think I've listened to about half and half have been like audiobook and physical book. But anyhow we are here to talk about one of my all time favorite books.

Kelsey

Dun

Amanda

The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah. This was the first Kristin Hannah book that I read. And it was in that era of time where I was like just getting back into historical fiction as an adult. So this is one of those first books along with some Geraldine Brooks books. I was like, oh yeah. I love historical fiction. This is my jam. And I remember reading this book and just being blown away. I was so moved. It's about sisterhood. I love books about sisterhood. Mm-hmm. And like Badass Women. I love World War II era historical fiction. That's my jam. So it just checked all the boxes for me. And it was a long enough book where you really get to follow the stories in detail over a period of time, which I think I needed and wanted. So I liked it for that. And then I wanted Kelsey to read it for all of those reasons. And also because this is an incredibly popular book. This is probably Kristen. Kristen, Hannah's most famous book. It's gonna be turned into a movie that's coming out next year with the Fanning Sisters. Mm-hmm. So I know there's a lot of buzz around it as well.

Kelsey

For sure.

Amanda

And I needed to redeem myself from the women, which is so far has been Kelsey's only experience of Kristen Hannah. And I was like, we, that we can't leave it there. Like Kristen and Hannah is so much more and so much better than that book. And the last reason why I chose it is because Kelsey has made it clear on this podcast that she too likes World War II era novels. Mm-hmm. She did end up reading off the podcast a code named Helene by Ariel Lahan on my own, on her own. I like recommended it and then she went out of her own like free will and volition and read it and loved it. And there's a lot of, I think, common themes and events happening in this book as well. Mm-hmm. With like women actively engaging in the war effort whether it's through being a resistance fighter or a person within their town taking actions to save those around them. So I. I love this book. I hope Kelsey loved it too. I'm afraid to ask this question because after the utter devastation of Demon Copperhead, I don't tell me about it. If Kelsey does not like this book, we might have to end the episode right after. I like my heart

Kelsey

Cut done.

Amanda

End the recording. Oh God. Okay, so Kelsey, was this book, because

Kelsey

we literally have not talked about it

Amanda

at all, was this book a Lit It or Quit it for you. Dear God.

Kelsey

Amanda,

Amanda

it was a lit, It oh. my God I was, I literally, my heart just paused for to beat. Okay. Yes. Okay. Like a legit lit it or like a soft lit it or like a, a

Kelsey

legit lit it

Amanda

Okay. All right.

Kelsey

Mm-hmm.

Amanda

Okay.

Kelsey

Yeah. Great. I would definitely say, yeah, thinking about the women I would definitely say this book is better storytelling than Okay. The women.

Amanda

Okay. Yeah. I would agree with that as well, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

Summary of ‘The Nightingale’

Kelsey

So yes. Okay. Well, uh, Time for the summary.

Amanda

Time for the summary, and we'll get into the

Kelsey

details together, which Dear Guard, it is long,

Amanda

it's a long book. It's 564 pages.

Kelsey

And unlike Amanda, I don't go off the cuff because I would forget so many details. I just my brain doesn't work that way. Yeah,

Amanda

I was gonna say, mine doesn't either. What I do before the episode is I'll go and read through a summary and refresh my memory, and then I can do it. If I looked at it right before. Otherwise I forget stuff.

Kelsey

I just think about also like the side characters in here. Yeah. I would forget to mention them and then all of a sudden something would happen with them and then I didn't mention them okay. So I'll be reading through

Amanda

Okay.

Kelsey

This summary that I wrote. Alright. So it's important to know that the book starts with the, like more present time mm-hmm. Which is in 1995. Mm-hmm. But most of the novel occurs during World War ii, between 1939 and 1945. And so I don't mention the I only mention the current time timeline at the beginning and end. Mm-hmm. But throughout the book, it is, it, we do go back and forth. The story opens in. Oregon mm-hmm. Actually of all places. Mm-hmm. Of all places in 1995 where an elderly vien is living with her son. As the weight of her years settles in, she begins to reminisce about the life she left behind in France. The memory then shifts to 1939. Vianne is living a quiet life with her husband, Antoine, and daughter Sophie, but Europe is on the precipice of war. And simultaneously, her sister Isabelle, is expelled from school and forced to return to Paris to live with her father. And then as German forces descend upon the city of Paris panic grips the population during a ex chaotic exodus. Isabel and her father endure like a terrifying aerial. Bombardment before he sends her to seek refuge at Ian's home, her sister in Carou Carou I listened to the audio book and now like the words are like

Amanda

Carou

Kelsey 2.0

car of you. I don't know. Isabelle's journey is fraught with peril, so she's literally her car runs out of fuel. She's initially with a family. Mm-hmm. And the car runs outta fuel and it's everyone for themselves. So she know she's by herself. She ends up continuing on foot and she encounters a man, Gaetan who she travels through, the land with where people are being, their air raids are happening upon these groups of people who are trying to flee the area. And eventually she reaches Ian's village, Antoine and all the men of Carou are sent to war. Another important character is V's. Friend Rachel, who has two children, Sarah and Ari. And while the Germans do not occupy the town immediately, their eventual arrival brings like strict demands. Curfews are set and all radios and weapons have to be surrendered. And Vianne and Isabelle find themselves like at odds of how to respond to this occupation. Vianne is really focused on survival of her young child chooses compliance to maintain safety. And Isabelle fueled by youthful defiance views her sister's caution as cowardice. And however, Isabelle's early attempts at resistance are impulsive and dangerous which places the entire family at risk tensions escalate between the family or within the family. When a German soldier is billeted in their home due to its proximity to an airfield. And Vianne refuses to abandon her house to the military choosing to stay and endure like the intrusion and Isabelle's hostility though remains overt. When the soldier, for example, when the soldier mockingly compliments her hair, she shears it off and hands it to him, and he responds with a warning about such displays of temper. Could be dangerous for her. Mm-hmm. And then soon after Isabelle begins working with the French resistance by distributing underground flyers. And she eventually decides which is maybe like over a year mm-hmm. That she can no longer live under the same roof as this enemy. And in 1941 Isabelle moves back to Paris and her involvement with the resistance deepens and her assignments grow increasingly dangerous. At one point, she's harboring a downed British pilot in her father's apartment. She volunteers to lead. She then, because the issue with the resistance is they have no way of getting these people to safety. Mm-hmm. She volunteers to lead pilots to safety, and she begins like this grueling route escorting airmen across the south of France and over the Pyrenees mountains to escape, occupy territory. Mm-hmm. And then while Isabelle fights in this way, v Ann's life becomes a struggle, for basic survival. She ends up losing her job and she becomes dependent on the German soldier's rations to stay alive. And when he is away, she's forced to sell like valuables. That Isabelle, her sister in. What's the word I'm looking for? She hid these things at the beginning of the war so that they would have access to them if they needed them. And at the time, Vien was like, this is stupid. We don't need to be doing this. You're ridiculous. Yeah. But Vien eventually collapses from malnutrition because she's been giving the little amount of food that she has to her daughter Sophie. So then in 1942, the war escalates again and v Ann's friend Rachel, who is Jewish, is forced to start wearing a yellow star on her clothing along with her children. And as the mass deportations of foreign-born Jewish people begin, the soldier billeted with Vianne warns her one day that Rachel shouldn't be home the following morning, for her safety. And Rachel attempts to flee with her daughter and son, but her daughter, Sarah is killed by gunfire at the border. And so Rachel and her son end up hiding in v Ann's barn to seek refuge. And then the morning passes and believing the immediate danger has passed. Rachel does return home only to be arrested by French police and deported by train. And Vianne takes in Rachel's son to protect him, and he's given a false identity so that he is not taken by police. Later on. Then later during that time, Isabelle is also developing this like romance between Gaetan and her. Mm-hmm. And so they have this going on and at one point she's traveling back from the Pyrenees to go back to Paris to go do another run of folks Isabelle, witnesses an allied plane crash near Carou. And on one of those travels and missions she hides the pilot in V'S. Barn where she also hid like all the valuables.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

So she knows exactly where this is. But the German soldier discovers them that is billeted at v's. Home and in a moment of violence. Isabelle shoots him while Vianne doesn't hesitate to strike him and hit him from behind with a shovel. And both of those wounds kill him pretty immediately. And Isabelle is also wounded at this time. And so during this time, resistance, contacts, dispose of the bodies of both the soldier and the pilot. Long. It's long. You're doing great. So this is really a turning point for Vianne and her own, like sense of like duty in the war, realizing like Isabelle's has been brave this whole time. Mm-hmm. And really, mm-hmm. Seeking to do something in this war. Vianne begins her own quiet rebellion. So following a new wave of local arrests of Jewish folks, Vianne takes a neighbor's son to a local orphanage, and together her and a nun devis a plan to hide and save Jewish children for the remainder of the war. And by 1944, the atmosphere is really awful. And as the allies gain ground, the Germans become like increasingly brutal in France where they've been occupying and following the invasion of Normandy. The new man that's billeted at oh, sorry. The man that Isabel loves joins the act fighting Gaetan. And then meanwhile, a new suspicious German officer named Von Richter. Mm-hmm. Begins monitoring Vianne suspecting her of underground activities. And one thing I didn't mention is that right after the first German's death, this man starts to bill it at her home. And he's more of a cruel German officer. Isabel is eventually captured at a safe house in the south of France after like a really brutal interrogation. She wakes up trapped in a refrigeration unit and the only way that she is released is that her father ends up visiting Vianne to say goodbye and he confesses to the Germans that he is The Nightingale'cause that's who they're looking for to secure. Oh. Which I haven't even mentioned see to secure Isabelle's release. And so yeah, we can talk about that later. But Isabel is instead sent to a concentration camp instead of being murdered. There. Mm-hmm. And Vianne is subjected to like really horrific abuse and rape by the new German officer which results in a pregnancy.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

Almost there guys. Then starting to conclude the story with Ian's husband ends up returning Antoine, he had escaped the camp that he was. Was imprisoned at. Mm-hmm. And though the war is ending Vianne does realize, sorry. Vianne realizes she can never tell her husband the truth of the origin of the child she's carrying. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But there is this undertone of knowing it's just never said. Mm-hmm. By Antoine. And so Vien and her family end up traveling to Paris in search of friends and her sister. She finds out that Rachel and her husband died during the war that Rachel was sent to Auschwitz and died within the first month. And then her husband, mark was killed in the camp that he was at. And she also works to find like the families of the 19 children she ended up saving during the war. And at this time, there's no word from yet it sounds like. Her, the camp that she was at had not been liberated at that time quite yet. It was called Ravens. Do you happen to remember

Amanda

Ravens Brook?

Kelsey

Yeah, Ravens Brook. Which was specific for women. Mm-hmm. And especially for women who were working against the

Amanda

Nazis.

Kelsey

Yeah.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

But we found out Isabelle survived almost a year in a concentration camp and returns home like very sickly. And so she gets to spend some time trying to recover and heal with Vianne and her family and eventually Gaetan. We find out that he also survived the war and he returns to Isabelle. And then this final chapter, it like cuts to Vianne going to Paris because she had been invited to the 50th reunion of the end of the war in 1995. And she is celebrated and she has her son with her at this time, who knows nothing about the history. Mm-hmm. And she honors Isabel the event. And we find out in this chapter that Isabelle actually died. At home in Carou. Mm-hmm. After Gaetan had visited.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

And so that is the ending.

Book Discussion

Amanda

Yes. Yeah. It's a, you did a great job. It is a very long book, but I feel like it, for me, it didn't feel long'cause I, I did wanna see these stories through for all the characters and just a quick little additional bit of information. So obviously Julian, the son at the end is the son of Von Richter. Mm-hmm. And I think. At that point, at the very end. She hasn't told him that yet. No. Yeah, they haven't gone into the details of that part of the story. Yeah. But the other thing is the original soldier that was living with Vien, his name was Beck. Yeah. And he was more kind to her than v Richter, and so they were living together, rather amiably as far as that goes. Mm-hmm. And so she was getting by quote unquote, and then it really was when Von Richter shows up after Beck is killed as kelsey mentioned where things really take a turn for the worse and mm-hmm. The living situation being pretty untenable. And that's also, as Kelsey said, when Fiona's like, okay, I really need to step up and try to fight back in any way that I can. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay. I hope there's a lot to say for this part because you gave it a lit, but yeah. What were some of the things about this book that you really enjoyed?

Kelsey

Yeah. So I would say Isabelle's arc.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

I really enjoyed seeing her come from this snotty, annoying teenage girl. Mm-hmm. To someone who's like risking her life. Essentially every day to support the cause.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

Because yeah, she really does grow a ton mm-hmm. In the book. And I think the, at the very end, what does Vianne say? She's my, the day before Gaetan ended up coming to our home, she said, this is her life was fulfilled, essentially. Mm-hmm. And then she dies. Mm-hmm. And I felt like that was it was good writing.

Amanda

Oh my gosh, yes. Yeah. Solid writing.

Kelsey

She's so

Amanda

talented.

Kelsey

And I only, God, when did I tell you I finished it? Oh, it was like Tuesday

Amanda

couple. Yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey

Couple days ago. No, it wasn't Tuesday

Amanda

after yeah,

Kelsey

after. Because I saw you Saturday.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

And then I was like, oh my God, I just finished that go. And I was like, on a walk and I was listening to it. Mm-hmm. And

Amanda

I was like, are you

Kelsey

serious? Isabel's death? And I was like,

Amanda

fuck. It's a, yeah. It's a heartbreaker. It's a tear jerker. It's gonna, yeah.

Kelsey

Because, everything that she went through in the end, right? Mm-hmm. Like just to die at the end of the war, which like, I, it makes sense for her character. Mm-hmm. It really does. But God, that just put

Amanda

the injustice of it all.

Kelsey

Yes. And then the other thing that I liked about this book was that it. Explored the lives of people who were like left behind

Amanda

mm-hmm.

Kelsey

And left to survive the war. Mm-hmm.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

And you don't often see that mm-hmm. Portrayal. Mm-hmm. You often see like the other side of things where it's a fighting or Yeah. People in concentration camps and their stories and so I felt like that was Yeah. I enjoyed that aspect. Yeah. Because you don't like for example, Vien and like what she goes through and like thinking about just like the rations mm-hmm. And like how they had to stand in line every day to get some sort of food.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

If anything that given day, that was yeah. It's not something that's like widely Yeah. Highlighted Yeah. About the war.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

Or about war in general.

Amanda (2)

I think that was one of my favorite parts too, because yes, you have the more kind of visible acts of heroism and a character like Isabel. Mm-hmm. Like we know about the French resistance fighters and all of these very large scale, ultimately well known, right? Mm-hmm. Actions they were taking to help the allied forces. But then you have folks like Vianne who are making all of these every day seemingly small choices and decisions like, do I eat today or do I feed my child? Or how do I navigate the complexities of this, German soldier living in my house? Like, how can I still be true to my values and fight back? But also take care of those around me. And I think those stories often get, like you said, overlooked because they're not as flashy or showy, but those quiet acts of resistance were also just as important, right? Mm-hmm. Even if it was just like one person who saved one child and hid them in their attic, right? And you never hear that story because it's not on such a large scale. But they were risking their lives, they were risking everything and mm-hmm. Suffering. And I remember one scene so vividly and I don't know why.'cause it's not anything super crazy. Yeah. About this book where VI is like getting up one morning. It's the wintertime, of course. There's no heat, there's no like firewood. She's freezing. Mm-hmm. And she's like stuffing newspapers inside of her clothes to stay warm. And she's developed. I always mispronounce this word. I think it's like chill blames that happens when your body is just like cold all the time and how painful they are. And it's like those little things that. Those daily sufferings that we just don't ever really think about. Yeah. For like you said, all the people who were quote unquote left behind and trying to eek by an existence in occupied territories.

Kelsey

Yeah.

Amanda

And I also, when I finished the book, I was like, if that had been me, if I had lived in that time and that place, would I have been an Isabelle or a Vianne or neither? And I did think about or something.

Kelsey

Something else. Yeah.

Amanda

Yeah. Exactly. Mm-hmm. And like how would I have responded? Would I have just tried to keep my head down and not make waves and just get by? Mm-hmm. Would I have gone a bolder route like Isabelle did? And yeah. I do wonder about that sometimes. Just like how I would respond

Kelsey

Yeah.

Amanda

In times of great. Yeah.

Kelsey

I think that's the ultimate, question of the book

Amanda

mm-hmm.

Kelsey

That people get to ponder mm-hmm. Throughout is like, how would I respond in a time like this. This book made me think so much, and it still has me really pondering a lot because we're in a time where we're facing some of these things. Mm-hmm. And it's reality, and it's just some of the parallels of what happened mm-hmm. Yeah. In World War II are absolutely happening right now in our country. Yeah.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

And I don't know what the news or like what's gonna be going on in a month, but right now, like Minnesota and Minneapolis in general, there's still a big struggle over there.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

And, it's it's not happening over here. You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. Yeah. It's, people definitely feel like it's not happening. Mm-hmm. But there is like this violence occurring against the people within this country. And it's under the guise of whether or not someone did something legally or illegally. Mm-hmm.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

And we're in a time of what are you gonna do?

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

Literally.

Amanda

Exactly. Exactly. Literally. Yeah.

Kelsey

Yeah.

Amanda

And

Kelsey

people are dying and people are being mistreated

Amanda

mm-hmm.

Kelsey

And abused,

Amanda

taken

Kelsey

from

Amanda

their homes.

Kelsey

Kidnapped,

Amanda

yes. Yeah.

Kelsey

Literally,

Amanda

yeah. Detained it. It's literally like you're see there's so many parallels.

Kelsey

Yes.

Amanda

Even as Van is watching her neighbors literally her neighbors being rounded up. Yeah. Because they are now illegal. And we're literally seeing that happen now with everything with ice, and it's like in the face of injustice and wrongdoing. What side are you gonna be on? Are you just gonna be like well, it's not like you said it's not happening here. It's not my problem. Or I just need to look out for me and my own, or are you gonna be someone who's literally on the front lines putting your body in front of a bullet for another person or

Kelsey

Right.

Amanda

And

Kelsey

we've seen that already

Amanda

lit. Yes. We have, we think about Alex Preddy for example, and it's just like, yeah, I think about that. I'm like, if I, currently in Seattle where we both are, we're not seeing that, at least not to the scale that it's happening in places like Minnesota. But it's, yeah. It's not like this hypothetical anymore. It's okay, if this happens in my city, what am I going to do? What choices am I gonna make? And so I do like, I, I mean, it's one reason why I like historical fiction in general. I think people think of historical fiction as something that's so far removed. It's boring, it's dry, it has no relevance. And it's like, no, as we know, history repeats itself and these patterns that we've fallen into as humanity, like they come around again and again cyclically. Mm-hmm. And either we look back and see what happened and what we can do better, or we ignore it and we just live it over and over again and make the same mistakes. And so there's actually a lot to be learned from Vianne Absolutely. And Isabelle's story and how they chose to respond. Mm-hmm. And I personally, like I said, I think I related more to V Ann's story because I think realistically, especially she's a mom too, right? So she's looking out for her daughter. Mm-hmm. But. She really doesn't have that major shift to go out and do something until it impacts her more directly. Like when she sees her friend and coworker Rachel taken, when she sees Rachel's daughter, Sarah shot in front of her. That's when I was like, oh my gosh. This is this is an issue. This is a real thing that's directly impacting me when she sees her sister, get shot in front of her and mm-hmm. That's like the catalyst she needs to finally be like, I can't sit on the sidelines anymore. Yeah. But,

Kelsey

and

Amanda

yeah,

Kelsey

and that's the other thing too. I just don't, I don't think there's any right or wrong Correct. Way to Yeah. Interact with what's going on. Mm-hmm. I think the only thing I would regret is like never doing anything.

Amanda

Anything. Yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey

Personally, yeah. Or because some people also were faced with a choice, not in this book necessarily, but faced with a choice of being on the side of like evil, essentially. Yeah. Versus

Amanda

mm-hmm.

Kelsey

I guess some you see some of that with the French officers

Amanda

mm-hmm.

Kelsey

And they end up like rounding up like people

Amanda

mm-hmm.

Kelsey

For the German side. Mm-hmm. And so I guess you do see some of that. Mm-hmm.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

But but mostly it's just about like, how do you resist Yeah. In this book different,

Amanda

yeah. The different ways that can happen. Mm-hmm. I think too, one of the other things I liked about this book, and this will come up in one of the reviews that I'm gonna read later.

Kelsey

Okay.

Amanda

Is that Kristen, Hannah, and one of the. Additional reasons why I love her is that she often, and this is probably true for a lot of historical fiction authors, but she really does try to base her characters on people's actual stories. Mm-hmm. And real lived experiences. Yeah. And so Isabelle's character is based on this young woman called, and I'm, it's French, so again, I apologize in advance Yeah. For butchering her name, but it's like Andre de de. Um, And she ended up saving, is she

Kelsey

actually French though?

Amanda

She was originally, I think from Belgium.

Kelsey

Okay. Yeah.

Amanda

But she ended up saving. Like all of these airmen, right? And making this trek, like you were saying and leading them to safety and to that's who Isabel's character is based on. Mm-hmm. So she also was just like pulling like stories of heroism out of thin air. She's also like, no, I did my research and looked at what actually happened. And again, trying to celebrate, which she doesn't, most of her books, like all of her books, actually, I'm trying to think.'cause I've read all of them almost are focused on women, right? Mm-hmm. And they're stories of whether it's sisterhood, whether it's, stories of heroism, survival, et cetera. Mm-hmm. And I like that she takes the opportunity to like honor and celebrate those women especially.'cause a lot of times those stories are untold. And it's very different.'cause we've talked about this book too and De Monte Laps last where she's like, yeah, I'm gonna tell this woman's story, but I'm not gonna give her any credit. I'm not gonna name her. I'm not. And I think Kristen Hannah does a good job of like. these are the real women who I base these characters on. Go and do your research, learn more about them, celebrate them, share their story. Mm-hmm. So I also loved it for that as well.'cause obviously historical fiction is also super educational. Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

And then of course, all of the happenings throughout Sure. All the events.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

Were from actual, yes. They

Amanda

actually

Kelsey

happened. And one thing that I did not know, something, new I learned mm-hmm. Was when the Germans first occupied Paris. Mm-hmm. That there were a ton of people who fled. Mm-hmm. Which makes sense. Mm-hmm. But then were attacked by German soldiers and as they

Amanda

were fleeing

Kelsey

airmen. Yeah. That was something I had never read about or learned about. Or I had and I forgotten about it.

Amanda

Yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey

But I don't think that's quite often, talked about.

Amanda

No, and it happened in so many countries too, right? Mm-hmm. Because it comes up in in some of Rudis books and people are in like Eastern Europe and are fleeing Yeah. And yeah, just like whatever they can carry on their backs. Mm-hmm. A lot of people on foot. Yeah. Like you said, some people were in cars, but then the fuel ran out and they're just like, all right, we just gotta, we just gotta go. We're just walking. And while they're walking they're getting, like you said, there's bombs dropping. Yeah.'cause they're just like sitting ducks. Mm-hmm. That's another part of the story that even after,'cause I've read this book years ago. Yeah. It is just so vividly etched in my mind. I'm like, I remember reading that scene as Isabelle's fleeing Paris. Yeah. And just the chaos and terror. Yeah.

Kelsey

It makes so much sense for Isabelle's character too, that she endured that at the very beginning of the war. Mm-hmm. And that's why she has this

Amanda

yeah.

Kelsey

The perspective she has, right? Yeah. Is she saw people literally dying in front of her. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Because of the Germans and Vien hasn't lived through that yet.

Amanda

She's a bit

Kelsey

more

Amanda

sheltered. Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

And that's the other thing too, I wanted to say about the book. I thought it did a really great job of slowly increasing the danger mm-hmm. Of like how people thought about what was going on. Mm-hmm.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

V Ann's trajectory was different than Isabelle's. Like we said, Isabelle was like straight away oh, Germans are pieces of shit because they're doing this, yeah. They're murdering all these people and I know what they're capable of from the get go, but Vianne, she's seeing it slowly build. Mm-hmm. And I feel like that was an exper, that's something that. Across like humanity, I think you experienced mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. In situations like this. Mm-hmm. Because it's so unbelievable.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

What is actually happening. Mm-hmm. And no one thinks that it's going to get to this point of

Amanda

escalate that point. Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

And that's what we're seeing right now too, in our current state. Mm-hmm. Because I'm one of those people, like back when Trump was first elected, I was like, no way. It's never gonna happen. Mm-hmm. I was like, he was the fire guy. What?'Cause I used to watch that show, what was it? The Apprentice?

Amanda

Yeah. I was

Kelsey

What? That's ridiculous. So those kinds of things, like you just never believe until it happen. Yeah. It, they're happening in

Amanda

fi

Kelsey

at times, and so with Vianne, like watching her and her friend and just knowing like it, it's heartbreaking to see that they didn't take it seriously. Mm-hmm. And that when, the German officer comes to live with her. She's like, I'm not leaving my home. And Isabel's fuck this. Whatcha talking about? I don't know. I'm like, that was like a point of decision.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

And I'm like, I don't know that I could have just stayed because the, what is possessions? Mm-hmm. What are possessions in the end? Mm-hmm. Like she wanted to keep her home,

Amanda

mm-hmm.

Kelsey

So anyway, it's like those progressions and like eventually she gives the list, this list of names to the German that's with her. And he's who are the Jewish people? Who are the communists who are the homosexuals and asked for some something else. And she listed all these people that she knew mm-hmm. That were at her school. And then eventually they all got fired.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

But then they're la they're, they continued to be labeled in this community. Mm-hmm. And then eventually they were kidnapped. Mm-hmm. But Rachel could have been safe mm-hmm. If she just stayed in the barn.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

And of course, like so much more could have happened beyond that, but that's how some people ended up being safe in the war. Mm-hmm. Is that they literally hid.

Amanda

Yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey

And and she was like, oh, we stink. I need a bath. This was why she got out.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

And you

Amanda

go home and Yeah.

Kelsey

Yeah. And Vianne was like nothing's happening in town, so

Amanda

it's fine.

Kelsey

And then she was arrested and taken away.

Amanda

I think it's

Kelsey

wild.

Amanda

Again, I think that's why I liked v's story so much more because it felt so much more authentic, because mm-hmm. And again, I think a really key part of who Van is, is that she's a mom. And Yes. So the, you're not just making decisions for yourself. It's not like she's like, all right, I'm gonna up and leave and figure things out on my own. Like Isabel can, as an 18, 19-year-old. Mm-hmm. Whatever, who has a lot more freedom and not another person to care for. And so I think this idea of especially back then, but even so now, like giving up your home and essentially all of your earthly possessions. And to head into the unknown when you don't know how long this conflict is going to last, if it's going to escalate, if it's just a kind of a minor skirmish that'll be, done within a couple of months and then you're gonna be like, yeah, I gave up everything that my family has worked so hard for. So I obviously hindsight's 2020 And you're like, I have my hand. You could have done X, Y, or Z. But I'm like, no, like that makes perfect sense. I can understand so much why you made the choices that you did. Why you didn't assume that it was going to escalate in this way. That they were gonna round people up, they were gonna fire people, they were gonna send'em to concentration. Totally. Yeah. Who, who would think that? Mm-hmm. What precedent did she have to think that it would go that far? But with that said, now that we have seen those things happen, and here we are in 2026. 2026. I was like 20, 26. And we see right now where the Trump administration is like what? Like buying up warehouses to turn into detainment centers. It's like, we've seen this before. We know how this ends. This isn't, we are not in this situation of Vianne who's like, I couldn't have even conjured that up in my wildest imagining is that this is where things would end up. And so again, I think armed with that, we have the ability now to make different choices. But I can say in that moment, I don't know what would V have looked back on? I guess World War I had happened at that point, obviously. Mm-hmm. But even then. There, there weren't concentration camps in World War I. They weren't rounding up, you know, just awful

Kelsey

fighting.

Amanda

Yeah. So she didn't really have a reference point to be like, yep, this is where it could go. So let's get outta here. And she didn't have her husband either. And again, thinking about the dynamics of sexism and the patriarchy and who ran what, like for her to make that massive choice without her husband to be like, yeah, I gave up all of our property in our home because things were starting to look a little sketchy. Yeah. And it would've been so dangerous for a single mom and a child out, unsheltered unhoused

Kelsey

and Yes. And there was a point where. Only at the beginning could people have left.

Amanda

Correct.'cause the borders

Kelsey

were like, shut

Amanda

down

Kelsey

and then at some point it became too dangerous to leave. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And so there definitely was like a point of no return

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

On your decision.

Amanda

Yeah. Exactly.

Kelsey

For sure.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

Yeah. It's just it's interesting to be able to ponder those things.

Amanda

Yeah. And like I said, having the parallel stories was such a smart move on her end. Mm-hmm. Because I think it made. The recounting of this part of French history, so much more expansive than if she'd only told Ian's story. If she'd only told Isabelle's story. I think that was, that for me has set it apart from a lot of other World War II era books

Kelsey

mm-hmm.

Amanda

That I've read that have focused on one or the other. Usually, again, like you said, more on Isabelle's story yeah. With like resistance fighters and things. I'm curious though, was there anything you didn't like about

Kelsey

the books? I would say it's not something I didn't like that deterred me. Okay. But I would say the beginning definitely feel slow.

Amanda

Oh, sure.

Kelsey

Yeah.

Amanda

Yeah. A lot of people said that.

Kelsey

Yeah.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

And then of course, like at the beginning I hated Isabelle. I was like, is

Amanda

mm-hmm.

Kelsey

Can you just not be like this? You're so annoying.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

But I end up really loving her story and her arc.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

That's fair. She went through a fuck ton and she did. It was like to think at the end, like it was almost a year that she was in this concentration camp.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

What the fuck?

Amanda

Yeah. Yeah. She ended up contracting pneumonia and typhus, like by the time they, yeah. By the time they like find her. I also wonder too, and we didn't talk about this at all, and it's not a huge part of the story, but it is, especially at the beginning, like their family dynamic.'cause their mom Oh

Kelsey

yeah.

Amanda

Is dead. Dead. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And then their father abandoned them.

Kelsey

Mm-hmm.

Amanda

And like left them to their own devices. And so for me, I think I had a little bit more grace for Isabel especially because that's a lot for a kid to endure. Like the death of your mother as a young woman. Mm-hmm. And then to have a father who is like largely absent in a lot of ways. Mm-hmm. Her acting out in that way, again, tracked for me and I don't mind. Annoying characters or messy characters if who they are seems justified in my head based on their circumstances or whatever. And to me, I think it did. And I was like, I can see why you're a young woman who's struggling.

Kelsey

Yeah. I think the thing that most annoyed me was that she was putting Vien and her daughter, like in danger. Yeah.

Amanda

She's

Kelsey

pretty hotheaded. Yes. And so that was the thing that was like, what the fuck?

Amanda

Yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey

You need to like, get outta here.

Amanda

Yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey

But

Amanda

yeah.

Kelsey

So

Amanda

what did you think about the,'cause we didn't talk about it too much, but mm-hmm. And I guess it didn't, we didn't quite get it in the summary, but when Gaetan and Isabelle meet on the road from Paris mm-hmm. Like feelings start to grow at that point. Mm-hmm. But Gaetan ultimately like leaves Isabel pretty close to the beginning of the story because he is like, I'm heading off to fight the good fight and you're not cut out for this. Yeah. And that really pisses her off. And I think it's also, again, one more catalyst for her to be like, yes, not only am I gonna do this for me, I'm also gonna prove to Gaetan I've got what it takes. Mm-hmm. And so I think that's a big part of her arc as well. And ultimately, as we know from Kelsey, your summary, like Gaetan shows back up in this story. She gets him ultimately to confess yeah, I do have feelings for you. Mm-hmm. What did you think about the relationship?

Kelsey

One other thing that I learned from the very beginning about Gaetan mm-hmm. And his story. Mm-hmm. Because he tells her that he was a prisoner, right? Yeah. And they just released all of the prisoners. Mm-hmm. At that point, once France was occupied mm-hmm. Which I didn't. No. That happened. Yeah. Mm-hmm. So that was interesting. And I think it just also shows her being naive in this way. Yeah. Where she ends up trusting this man who she knows is some sort of prisoner for some reason.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

Never really

Amanda

convict. Yeah.

Kelsey

Never really knows what happened. Mm-hmm. Or why. And the other thing we don't really understand like how old he is.

Amanda

No.

Kelsey

And so that's really ambiguous, like clearly he's older than her. Yeah. But he does show some care for her in the beginning where he mm-hmm. Helps protect her from the bombings. Yeah. And they go together on the trek to Carou but then he leaves her with this note, right? Mm-hmm. The note is what it says yeah, you're not ready or something like that. Yeah. Leaves her in the barn of her sister's place and he. Gone.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

He's out. And and then they hook up later knowing that he's become a resistance fighter as well on the ground in France and Paris. Mm-hmm. And and then she joins the fight. Mm-hmm. And he ends up looking out for her in some way because he's the one following her throughout her shenanigans in Paris. Yeah.'Cause she always feels like someone is following her mm-hmm. And then realizes, oh, it is him. But I think it made sense that he was trying to stay apart from her.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

Because it's war. Yeah. And you lose people, you die.

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

And and also romantic relationship can make you make stupid decisions

Amanda

Yep.

Kelsey

In times of war. Yeah. And I don't know that they made stupid decisions. In the end, but they had to make difficult decisions. Mm-hmm. Like every time they had to leave

Amanda

mm-hmm.

Kelsey

One another.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

But yeah, it seemed like their trajectory was, I didn't have this like intense connection to them. Sure. But it made sense for the story.

Amanda

Yeah. Yeah. I would agree. I don't think I was like, yeah. Super deeply invested in it because it's not, it's certainly not a romance. The romance is not at the heart of this story. I think it's about, love of country and love of family and love of your fellow, like neighbors and humankind more so than like romantic love. But yeah. So I was just curious. But I think the only other thing that I, which we've talked about already, I think this book I wanna say it also happens in another book that I read, and I don't remember which book I was, but it's also World War II era book about people escaping occupied territories and going on these crazy physically strenuous treks right on foot over mountain passes, et cetera, to get to other countries like Spain, et cetera, and Right. That always just blows me away, just the amount of endurance and strength and wherewithal you have to have physically

Kelsey

Yes.

Amanda

To endure that and. And you mentioned this in the summary Isabelle is ultimately captured because at this point she has this code name The Nightingale. Yes. And she's wanted by the Nazis because she's been really successful and like ferrying these men across the Pyrenees mountains to safety. Mm-hmm. And so once they get their hands on her, they savagely, beat and torture her. Mm-hmm. And again I've often thought about that too. I'm like, if I was in that position, got caught and was being tortured would I be able to endure and maintain my silence and not wrap people out. I don't know. And I guess you don't know until you're in that moment, but I'm always so impressed by that. And there, there's another story of a young woman who, I think this was in Poland. She was a nurse who would go into Yeah, the ghetto in Warsaw where they were housing Jewish people and she was able to smuggle out God. Hundreds, at least a hundred, I think children and get them to safety would forge their papers, et cetera. And she too was captured ultimately by the Nazis. I think they like, broke her feet or broke her hands or something horrific. She ultimately survived. She lived to be like 90 or something, et cetera. But it's just like I, and she never gave up their names. She never gave up A single child's name ultimately they were gonna send her away to be executed and the convoy was intercepted by like resistance fighters and she was rescued. Mm-hmm. But crazy story. Just crazy story. And I'm just like, yes. Again, I don't know if I, I have that in me, mm-hmm. I was just like, and it's why I'm, I am always just fascinated by these stories.

Kelsey

Yeah.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

I also think all of what Isabelle goes through

Amanda

mm-hmm.

Kelsey

It makes sense for her to die in the end too. Mm-hmm. It's like, how do you. How do you live on

Amanda

after that,

Kelsey

knowing all of these things happened and what happened to you?

Amanda

Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

I don't know. I do deeply wonder about the survivors of the Holocaust and

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

And how they, yeah.

Amanda

How do you go on with life after that came,

Kelsey

you've seen

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

It it's horrendous. Yeah. And yeah. And so I think about that as well. Mm-hmm. And just there was something you mentioned. Oh, yeah. And one of the things that Isabelle mentions in her story, is just that while she was at the concentration camp, it was like, oh, she was just living moment by moment, not thinking like

Amanda

mm-hmm.

Kelsey

Not thinking about anything else, or escaping or surviving. It was just like. One moment at a time. Mm-hmm. And there was a line in there that said something along the lines of the women who grieved or were sad end up dying.

Amanda

Oh, yes. Mm-hmm.

Kelsey

Yeah. Because they're letting their emotions like mm-hmm. Take hold. Mm-hmm. And how do you not

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

What do you, how did you not, and you

Amanda

suppress that. Yeah.

Kelsey

And so you suppress that to survive. And then what are you left with in the end?

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

You survive.

Amanda

Yeah.'Cause you even see the way that V because VN obviously lives on to be an old lady. Mm-hmm. And the way that she's survived what she seems by like never talking about it. Like her son knows nothing about her history. No. And leaving nothing about her story. Yeah. And leaving. Leaving it all behind. Moving to America, starting afresh and just Yeah. Locking it away in a box your mind and never diving into it. Mm-hmm. And I feel like. For a lot of people, understandably, like that's what you have to do in order to like, keep living, and being able to find new moments of like joy and reasons to put one foot in front of the other.

Kelsey

Yeah. And I wonder too, with her including that mm-hmm. Is was that a very common thing

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

For people to leave the area and go to a different country?

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

Like the

Amanda

US yeah, there were a lot of refugees after World War II who just left Europe mm-hmm. And came here, for a variety of reasons,

Kelsey

variety.

Amanda

Mm-hmm. Yeah. So I think that very much was the case for a lot of people. And then, yeah, then there were folks who stayed and had to like, rebuild, mm-hmm. From like the ashes, literally. Mm-hmm. Okay. One

Kelsey

other

Amanda

thing. Yeah,

Kelsey

go ahead. Gonna ask if there's anything thing. I wanted to mention was that, which is not frequently mentioned

Amanda

mm-hmm.

Kelsey

In World War II books mm-hmm. Or history was the involvement of Northern Africa and Oh yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So yeah, I just, I thought that was a good addition Yeah. To it all.

Amanda

Yeah. A lot was. It's funny because like you don't hear much about the warfront on the African continent during World War ii, like you hear about stuff happening in like the Pacific Theater and things happening in Europe and things like that. But there was a lot happening in Northern Africa as well. Yeah. All over. All over. And I do wonder, I'm sure there's gotta be some good. Historical fiction novels that dive into that part of the world during that time period. Mm-hmm. That I'll need to seek out.'cause yeah, I would be curious to know more. Any other final thoughts before we move on?

Kelsey

I think that's it.

Amanda

Okay. Okay. I'm sure things will come up as always during the reviews. And I am definitely very curious and hopeful that the movie will do this book justice.

Kelsey

I'm sure it will. There's. I don't know. I have faith.

Amanda

I feel like, yeah. Yeah. I think both of the Fanning Sisters are strong actresses, so Yes, I have hope

Kelsey

mm-hmm.

LITerally the Best or LITerally the Worst

Amanda

Yeah, because if they butcher this movie, I'm gonna be so upset. Okay, so we're gonna switch to our literally the best or literally the worst. This week. I have five star and Kelsey's got one star reviews, which means Kelsey is gonna start for us.

Kelsey

This was funny reading through these. Okay. They're brutal. Oh man. So I'm yeah. Anyway, we'll walk through them.

Amanda

Dive right in.

Kelsey

This one is from Anne. It says World War II, light half the facts, all the romance, the perfect account of the French resistance. For the soccer moms out there who don't like, have any time to read like quality books. Soccer moms will find this one like amazing. Really. Who has time to read boring history? For those who think that this is actually good writing, please don't homeschool your children, please.

Amanda

Oh my God. Wait, is that it?

Kelsey

Yeah, that's it.

Amanda

Damn. Okay. Ann you had some strong feelings. Guess that makes me a soccer mom because I totally liked this book.

Kelsey

I guess there is one thing I would say like at points, like the writing isn't super. I don't know great. Like it's mm-hmm. The writing is pretty basic. It's not like this amazing, like overt, like

Amanda

literary. Yeah. I would agree.

Kelsey

It's Chris Hannah. It's accessible yeah, exactly.

Amanda

Yeah. But I don't think that takes away from like the power or value of the story itself. Like I don't think she,

Kelsey

yeah.

Amanda

I don't know. I didn't feel like she glossed over everything, and I don't think that the romance is that. Big a part of the story, like it's there, but it's not like the thing I don't, and if that's all you got from it, then that's so

Kelsey

sad.

Amanda

Yeah. A little sad for you. Okay. My first five star is from reading Tam Lee. Halfway through the book I was like, I don't think I will cry or even feel sad. Why is everyone talking about how sad it is and making a big deal out of it? Trudge on, I told myself. Then came the second half of the book. It's insanely fast paced by then for historical fiction, and things started making sense regarding the first half of the book. I was busy judging the characters and the events that were happening, but still the writing styles really good that it was not an issue. Continuing on. The characters seem complex and unreasonable at the beginning, but things fall in place. As the story continues, relationships develop and you will want more of these characters. All you would want is to make them all be together and enjoy a good meal. At least once before the book ends, the separations in the heartbreaks, the communication gaps and the unavoidable situations will break you. The ending is beautiful, yet it leaves you totally sobbing and broken, but your heart will have the acceptance and closure. The ending feels so wholesome. I have never cried so hard reading a fiction in my entire life. This book is all about family and I'm a sucker for historical fiction. Is there any other book in which Six Sisters sacrifice this much for each other? Let me grieve. I won't be the same again. This book is my most memorable read at the end of 2019. Yeah,

Kelsey

I would say I didn't cry that much, but I was definitely crying.

Amanda

Yeah. Same. I didn't like, it wasn't like gasping sobs, but I definitely cried.

Kelsey

Yeah. I'm like, I've cried harder at books, but now I don't know which ones. Actually, the women, I did cry like more

Amanda

Oh yeah. The women's, yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey

But it was like a different, it was for a different reason anyway. Yeah.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

So this is from Jennifer.

Amanda

Okay.

Kelsey

I really wanted to like this book, but it broke my melodrama cliche. And you have, might have to help me with this synchronism.

Amanda

Anachronism

Kelsey

Anachronism meter. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I adore reading historical novels about World War ii and the fact that this one takes place in France should have sealed the deal for me. But when I read chapters that open with, she woke with tears streaming down her face and realized she had been dreaming about her husband who is off at war again. I really just want to throw the book across the room. Has anyone ever woken up with tears streaming down their face unless something was physically irritating their eye? This is only one of hundreds of examples of what I consider to be very harlequin, very cliche, writing these pages unleashed. Steady assault on my cynical sensibilities until finally after plotting through 35% of the book I gave up. I gotta say, I feel more than a little bamboozled by good reads on this one. It has a 4.53 average rating by almost 60,000 readers. What's wrong with me? Life is too short and there are too many good books out there to stick with the ones that make us cringe. I fear that no World War II novel I read will ever compare to Herman Wokes masterpiece, the Winds of War, which has apparently ruined me for life.

Amanda

Okay. I have to say, just I have to say this, I feel like this person and perhaps the other person who's you've already read, they just come off as a little stuffy. I can imagine them being the kind of people that are like, I only read bulleted prize winning book. You know what I mean? I only read things that are incredibly literary. Yeah. And fine, if that's your jam good for you. But also don't yuck our yam. This is not a, like a trashy harlequin knob. Like what?

Kelsey

Yeah. Like I, yeah. I thought that was hilarious. But it's

Amanda

just so elitist.

Kelsey

She also these are real emotions that people probably felt in the fucking war,

Amanda

like Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I'm like, you have never lived through a war. You have no idea what it's like to have your husband taken from you. And he's often don't know if he's dead or alive. Yeah. You're starving. There's a German officer living in your home like.

Kelsey

What

Amanda

I, yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Moving on to my next five star. This is from Hailey. From Hailey in Bookland. I've been told by so many people that I need to read this book. It gets so much hype that I thought there was absolutely no way it would live up to it, but it did more than that. It surpassed it. My favorite books is a pretty exclusive list, and it usually takes me a while to decide whether a book fits that list or not, but this was an instant favorite. I absolutely adored it. Even just thinking about it now, I'm fighting back tears because this was such a beautiful and vivid story. I felt like I was with these characters through all of their terrible experiences, and I just wanted to shelter them from it. All the women in particular, the sisters were absolutely inspirational. They showed incredible strength in this terrible time, and I loved seeing how women contributed to the war. This was just a story that really resonated with me. It has a special place in my heart for it was truly beautiful. If you like World War II, historical fiction, or even if you don't, I encourage you to try this book out. I know I'm going to be encouraging basically everyone I know to read it.

Kelsey

Yeah. Thanks, Hailey.

Amanda

Well, well Said.

Kelsey

You're gonna hate this next one, but I had to put it in

you.

Amanda

Oh, boy. Okay, here we go.

Kelsey

It's a really short one.

Amanda

Okay.

Kelsey

It's from Michelle. It's like the Twilight of World War II books with Nazis instead of vampires, cliched writing, cliched characters, cliched themes.

Amanda

What? I have never been more offended in my life because we all know how I feel about Twilight and how dare they compare this book to Twilight that is just like sacrilege. Get out.

Kelsey

I don't understand the comparison.

Amanda

Don't either. Like how? Wait, so she said the Nazis are vampires, so that makes like

Kelsey

Nazis instead of vampires

Amanda

v Vianne and Isabelle are. Bella and I,

Kelsey

yeah, I don't, I dunno.

Amanda

It doesn't make sense because it's stupid. It's stupid. We're gonna move right along. Okay. Next Five Star from Chelsea Humphrey. I'm not sure what I can say about this book that hasn't already been said, but the quality and sheer excellence to this story blew my mind. I'm not typically a fan of historical fiction, which is likely why I've avoided it for so long. But once this was described to me as quote, historical fiction light quote, I felt it was safe to take a gamble on it. When we decided for this to be the suspenseful clues and thrilling reviews September book choice, I was nervous because what if I hated this beloved book? Clearly, this is a World War II saga, but at heart I felt this was a variety of love stories. Sure, there was romance, but I'm talking about the love for people, the love for a country, and the love for fighting for all that is good and right. It'll be a while before I can pick up another emotional read because I dunno how I'll ever recover from this one. Please, even if like me, you steer it clear of historical fiction and love stories. Do yourself a favor and pick this up. Yeah, I def this is obviously, I recommended it to you. I would, this is a book I would recommend to people who normally don't read historical fiction.'cause I do think it is very accessible. I don't think it's too dense or too dry.

Kelsey

Yeah.

Amanda

And it does, like we said, it shines light on a, an experienced like fans that we don't see very often. So I will keep recommending it.

Kelsey

This is my final review

Amanda

Okay.

Kelsey

From Jacqueline.

Amanda

Okay.

Kelsey

I know this book is beloved, but I don't understand why I found the writing to be strained, trite, ridiculously sentimental, cliched and full of adjectives the use of French words is hilarious. Sure. The story is compelling and it highlights the role women played in the French resistance, but the writing is terrible. I say read Life After Life. The story of Aaron or all the light, we cannot see if you want some historical

Amanda

fiction. Have you

Kelsey

read those

Amanda

books? I I read All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Durer. Oh my God. Love that so much. I dunno if I'm gonna make you read it on the podcast, but you should read it. Mm-hmm. It's, I do think it is better written in this book. Like he is has Yeah. A stronger like command of the language and is, his work is a little bit more literary, but not in a way that's again, like dense and confusing and whatever. Mm-hmm. But it's, oh it is a beautiful book. There's actually a Netflix series as well. I haven't seen

Kelsey

it. Oh yeah. Just seeing it.

Amanda

Yeah. But it's so good. Highly recommend it. Also, listeners recommend that to you. If you read The Nightingale with us and you liked it, go on and, and you're ready for all the things we cannot see, like you're ready for it. Okay. My last one's a little bit longer because it does dive into a little bit of the history of that young woman that I was talking about that the Nightingale is based on. And so I wanted to Give some space in the podcast for some historical information. So here we go. This is my last five star from Angela MI almost didn't read this book and it would've been my loss if I didn't because I would've missed out on knowing Isabelle and Vianne and the story of their indescribable bravery and volition to save lives in their roles in the French resistance during World War ii. Oh, I know this is a work of fiction and these two women are characters in a novel, but I also know as history tells us there were real men and women risking their lives doing the very same things Isabel and Van did. Our recent article tells how Hannah based the story on real events and real people. The subject of quote, the subject of the Nightingale was an outgrowth of research Hannah had done for her earlier novel Winter Garden, which actually that's what I haven't read yet, when she came across information about a resistance heroin, the 19-year-old Belgian woman, Andre De Young, this brave teenager inspired. In turn by the earlier World War I heroine, Edith Cavel established the Common Escape line, a secret network of people who risked their lives to help allied servicemen escape over the Pyrenees to Spain. De young story inspired Hannah to conduct further research into the French resistance. Finding stories about women who had put themselves and their children in peril by hiding Jewish families and de young became the model for Isabelle, the younger sister, who as the Nightingale personally led downed allied pilots over the mountains to safety. This story is all encompassing in many ways, depicting not only the war, the holocaust, the suffering and starvation, the death, the concentration camps, the emotional, physical and mental toll on people, and the unrelenting will of the people and the resistance. We see the depth of friendship between Vne and Rachel, a mother's or father's love for their children, and the sacrifices they will make to save them. With Vne and Sophie, and with Julian and Isabel, and we see the raw innocence of First Love, that becomes a deeper love with Isabel and Gaetan. I almost didn't read this because I had previously read two other books by Hannah, one of which I loved, and one that I didn't. But I could not continue to ignore the four and mostly five star ratings that so many of my good Reads friends, gave this book. These are friends who are drawn to the same books that I have loved. I'm glad I paid attention to them. My Good reads friend Evelyn said that by the end of the book, she couldn't breathe. I think that she described the feeling perfectly. I wonder why it is that the books that make me feel like I can't breathe are the ones that I love the most. I think it's because these books evoke the feelings that make us human. In this case, it is a story that begs us to remember what happened. I couldn't recommend it more. So yeah, I just, I like that one.'cause it does give you a little bit more historical context about who she was basing mm-hmm. These characters on and what was going on. But yeah. Love this book. I'm so glad you liked it as well.

Wrap-Up and Social Media Plugs

Kelsey

Oh man. This reminded me of one last thing Yeah. That we didn't really mention.

Amanda

Okay.

Kelsey

Was Rachel's child, right? Mm-hmm. Ari. Ari, yes. Who becomes Daniel, throughout the book, and then at the end of the book. Mm-hmm.

Amanda

Yeah. She,

Kelsey

he's taken from Vien mm-hmm. And moves to the US mm-hmm. With some distant family. Mm-hmm. And the reasoning behind it was like the people gathering, all of the lost or orphaned Jewish children mm-hmm. They wanted them with their Jewish families.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

Which makes sense, but then. They did not allow Vien to know him throughout his life. Yeah. Or for him to know his history,

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

With this woman. Yeah. And I feel like that was I'm wondering if that was mm-hmm. Like common.

Amanda

Yeah.

Kelsey

Or or what the reasoning was behind that. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And then at the very end of the book, she's reunited with Ari Yeah. As an old man. And

Amanda

yeah.

Kelsey

He had been looking for her for his whole life a long time. Mm-hmm. And he never forgot them. Yeah. Which was heartbreaking.

Amanda

Yeah. I do. Yeah. I'm glad you brought that up. I forgot about that. Yeah. Because. She was like his, sur mom essentially for a while. Yes. After Rachel was taken and she, was raising him essentially. Mm-hmm. And then to have that severed and to never see him again and not know what happened and,

Kelsey

yeah.

Amanda

Yeah. I don't know actually what the

Kelsey

mm-hmm.

Amanda

Process or protocols were around those like orphan kids and like

Kelsey

mm-hmm.

Amanda

I wonder if he didn't have family, if they would've allowed him to stay or if they'd been like, no, he needs to grow up in a Jewish home. And in a Jewish community. I don't, yeah. I don't know. That's a great question and listeners, if you know, you could comment on this episode and let us know. You good? Okay. Kelsey, do you wanna take us through our socials?

Kelsey

Yeah. Well Ultimately in the end, yes, I do recommend it for

Amanda

people. Oh, I guess, yeah, we did do our final recommendations.

Kelsey

Yeah I am trying to think of like the type of reader that I would recommend this to, but I don't know. I've read a lot of people.

Amanda

Yeah. I think it, I think in some ways it is historical fiction, light and not, because, contrary to what the one star folks were saying, I don't think it's because it's like cliche da, I just think, her style of writing it. I just say that it's accessible. I don't wanna say that she's dumbed down her writing or anything, but I think it's easily accessible. And I think regardless of whether or not you're historical fiction, buff, I think a lot of the themes. This story will resonate with you.

Kelsey

Yeah.

Amanda

Yeah. And it's just a well told story, like mm-hmm. So I would also, of course recommend it.

Kelsey

So yes. Socials you can find us on Instagram at Lit Vibes only podcast and TikTok and YouTube at Lit Vibes only podcast. And of course, now you can find us on Fable. Both Amanda and I are lit vibes only Pod Dash Kelsey, or Dash Amanda. Mm-hmm. And you can find us there and join our book clubs and start to vote on the books that we end up reading each month. So that's been exciting. I've been enjoying having folks choose the book.

Amanda

Yeah. And also just like it's another great way for us to connect with all of you and Yeah, for you to have a say. And the content we're making.

Kelsey 2.0

Totally. Yeah. Of course, always go rate and review our podcasts on Spotify and apple. And also you can download the podcast if you don't want to rate and review. That also gives us a lot of life and yeah, that's how they determine whether or not people listen to our podcast.

Amanda

Yeah. And it bumps us up in, what level we are as podcasters on these platforms. Yeah. It goes by the number of downloads. So the more we get like the more I'm trying to think of the right word, I guess. exposure we get. Yes.

Kelsey

We have

Amanda

so similar to. To ratings and reviews. So

Kelsey

yeah,

Amanda

we know it takes up space on your phone, but if you download it, you can listen to it and then you can delete it after you've listened to it.

Kelsey

Totally.

Amanda

Thank you guys for joining us for yet another Requited episode. We hope you enjoyed it and we'll see you next Monday.

Kelsey

Bye

Amanda

bye.