historical fiction – The Source 4 Books

At one time the US was filled with pride and unwavering belief in the government. When asked what would you do for your country, boys signed up to be part of the military with pride – theirs, their families, and the country’s. Then came that awful day in November when President Kennedy was shot.

Fear of communism spreading in Asia lead the US to begin its offensive in Vietnam, a place few knew where to find on a map. In the early days of the conflict Frances Grace (Frankie) McGrath attends her brother Fin’s going away party that his parents were holding before he shipped out. A recent graduate of the Annapolis Naval Academy, Fin and his buddy Rye were being honored by Connor McGrath, a father that took military honor to heart, and posted pictures of them on his “heroes” wall in his study. Frankie, a newly graduated nurse, signs up with the Army Medical Corp to be near her brother, but before she leaves, the family learns that Fin is killed in action.

From her first day “in country” we see Frankie grow into a new person. The horrors she and her fellow nurses (and best friends) Ethel and Barb live through are as real and haunting as foot soldiers and pilots experienced. We see how Frankie opens herself up to being in the world. Throughout her time there she struggles with her belief in who she is, what she is able to be, and becomes a top-rated surgical nurse, a great friend, and more.

When finally returning after 2 tours in Vietnam, Frankie is spit upon and called a baby killer by strangers in the streets. She realizes her parents not only will not put her picture on the wall of heroes, but that they told their friends she had been studying abroad in Florence.

Women who served in Vietnam had an especially difficult time getting support when they returned; they were being told there were no women in Vietnam, or that they didn’t see actual combat. When reaching out for help, the VA shunned these women. When the men were starting to get help, there was still no where for these women to turn. The betrayal of the country, as well as the personal betrayals Frankie faced, add salt to the wound. Frankie finds help from the most surprising places.

A truly important story to tell, Kristin Hannah acknowledges that this took her decades to complete. She has done well by the women of Vietnam, being true to the horrors that impacted their lives both while they served, and for the decades since.

Could this be a metaphor for the country? We went to Vietnam not knowing what we were supposed to do or who we were, and came back knowing less, only to struggle with what reality had dealt us. But in the end, battered and worn, we stand face to face again with who our true self is? Or could the relationships that Frankie have mirror the country? She was lied to, but wanted to believe so desperately. She struggled against what it meant about who she was. Did the country and Frankie keep themselves believing past the time they should have? Did the pain of betrayal bring the country to the brink? All are parallels I see clearly here. Ultimately, when the country faces itself years later, wiser about what happened, did we find our true selves again? Did Frankie? The question is left open.

Guilt and complicity. What you have done and what you have not done. Both are things that can torment people. I had heard John Boyne speak about his book All the Broken Pieces , and was intrigued by the idea of what you are complicit of allowing versus what you have committed – and how the sins of the parent are cast on the child. All these ideas led me to buy this book.

I admit, I never read the first book, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. I also admit I had no idea of the backlash – that the book was considered controversial in its way of conveying the atrocities

The story is simplistic, while trying to deal with complex issues. Gretel grew up faithful to the Third Reich, proud of the part her family played in it, including her father’s role as commander of Auschwitz. As Gretel’s mother states, it was the Jewish problem – first the problems they made for Germans that forced the need for extermination, and then for the problems they wouldn’t stop talking about after the camps were closed – that were a disgrace. Gretel, however, understood the terrible things her father had led. She knew her place in allowing this to happen, even as she hid behind “I was only a child” excuses. This was underscored in the book by others excuses – they were only following orders or they didn’t know anything about it. Being forced to see the horrors by the French Underground, other Nazi hiders, documentary films and camp survivors, Gretel understood she would live with guilt for the rest of her life. She kept her true self away from others. She tried to atone for the sins she knew, in the only way she knew how.

As the parts of history are unraveled, and the new realities of cruelty she faced within her own building, Gretel finally takes action – to not be one that stands by doing nothing, fulfilling her destiny as she and others had hoped it would be. It is, however, a destiny that is rooted in violence – acting on the brutality of her father’s answers for solving a “problem.”

I felt this was an interesting read. I am glad I have taken my time to read this. With so much hatred in the world, in the US particularly, understanding the need to stand up and speak out is just as important as jumping into the fight directly. While I understand that it only glimpses at the true horrors that were experienced by those that were taken and lost their lives at these camps, I don’t believe this story is about them. As in every story, there are always two sides. You do not need to agree with them both, but to ignore them is to do the same thing the Germans did to the Jews. Not all Germans are monsters, just as not all Jews are bad. For me, it is Gretel’s final decision to act with brutality to solve a problem that doesn’t make her a saviour but that allows her to accept she is her father’s child.

Tag: historical fiction

The Women by Kristin Hannah

All the broken places