Central Library’s Brown Baggers book group met on Thursday, January 15th to discuss “The Women” by Kristin Hannah. This selection of historical fiction covers the experience of a young nurse who signs up to serve in the US Army Nurses Corp during the Vietnam War, and also the treatment and trauma she experienced once she returned stateside.
Our readers appreciated the significance of telling this story of women nurses as veterans who served in Vietnam and the PTSD many experienced upon returning home. While at times a depressing read, Hannah painted an accurate picture of the Vietnam era of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Readers recalled the war protests and the story dredged up memories of the lying and obfuscation of the US government regarding the Vietnam war. Readers found the description of the treatment of the nurses to be accurate including getting no credit or recognition for their service once they returned home as veterans. The Vietnam Women’s Memorial was a belated afterthought. A few of our readers recalled their personal stories of government service during the Vietnam era.
Quite a few of us could have done without the soap opera-like drama and poor choices involving the main characters’ romantic interests. Yet the comment was made that the later part of the book could have been an accurate portrayal of the challenges faced by anyone experiencing trauma or PTSD with no support system. Family and friends, if they had them, didn’t want to hear about what happened in Vietnam. And many veterans didn’t want to talk about it anyway. Their innocence and childhood was over after what they experienced.
Other titles/works referenced in our discussion:
- Born on the Fourth of July (book) by Ron Kovic
- China Beach (TV series)
- The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
- The Quiet American by Graham Greene
- The Fog of War (2003)
- Going After Cacciato by Tim O’Brien
- All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
- Last Night I Dreamed of Peace by Thuy Tram Dang
- “Mother’s Little Helper” – 1966 song by the Rolling Stones
- “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield -1966 protest song, with the lyrics “ There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear”
Upcoming titles:
- February 19th, James by Percival Everett
- March 19th, Same Page Community Read: The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson
- April 16th, Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
- May 21st. The Boys from Brazil by Ira Levin