Book Review: ‘The Women’ by Kristin Hannah

Book Review: ‘The Women’ by Kristin Hannah
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Updated 17 October 2024
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Book Review: ‘The Women’ by Kristin Hannah

Book Review: ‘The Women’ by Kristin Hannah

Kristin Hannah’s “The Women” is a powerful and evocative exploration of women navigating the complexities of personal and societal challenges.

Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the novel captures the essence of female resilience, friendship, and the bonds that connect women across generations.

Initially, the plot didn’t grab me. I was intrigued by the premise of women serving as nurses during the Vietnam War, but I wasn’t overly excited to dive in.

However, once I started reading, I found myself completely captivated — a testament to Hannah’s exceptional storytelling.

The novel introduces us to a compelling main character from an affluent family whose older brother volunteers for the military and heads to Vietnam.

This sets the stage for her internal conflict: Torn between societal expectations and her own desires, she decides to follow him by enlisting as a nurse.

This choice thrusts her directly into the heart of the war, allowing readers to witness not just her experiences but also the broader challenges faced by women in such roles during that tumultuous time.

Hannah’s vivid portrayal of the wartime environment struck me. Her descriptions of the sights, sounds, and even smells of Vietnam made the setting incredibly real.

I felt immersed in the oppressive heat and distant sounds of conflict; it was as if I were experiencing the war alongside the characters.

As I progressed through the book, I realized it felt like three distinct parts, each evoking different reactions.

The first part, set in Vietnam, was intense and gripping. The character development was exceptional; each nurse had a unique voice, making them relatable and memorable.

The second part deals with the main character’s return to the US. This transition is portrayed with sensitivity, capturing the struggles of veterans adjusting to civilian life after the horrors of war.

Many readers, especially those with military experience, will find that this section resonates with them. The contrast between the chaos of the battlefield and the mundanity of daily life highlights the inner turmoil facing returning soldiers and the societal indifference they often encounter.

In the third section, toward the end of the novel, the character has completed her journey.

She has learned a lot, and she has begun to recover, as has America, from the war. The reader is shown the life that she has established for herself, and it left me wanting more.

Hannah skillfully depicts the political climate surrounding the Vietnam War, including the protests and shifting public opinions.

This adds another layer, highlighting how changing attitudes affected both soldiers and the women who supported them.

“The Women” is a beautifully crafted narrative that transcends its initial premise to explore profound themes of identity, resilience, and the complexities of war.

Hannah’s powerful storytelling and deep character development make this a must-read, transforming what began for me as a lukewarm interest into an unforgettable literary experience.

This book not only tells the story of women in war but also invites readers to reflect on the lasting impact of conflict on individuals and society. I wholeheartedly recommend it. This story will stay with you long after you turn the last page.


Book Review: ‘America’s View of the East, Cinematically’ by Abdulmohsen Al-Mutairi

Book Review: ‘America’s View of the East, Cinematically’ by Abdulmohsen Al-Mutairi
Updated 22 May 2025
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Book Review: ‘America’s View of the East, Cinematically’ by Abdulmohsen Al-Mutairi

Book Review: ‘America’s View of the East, Cinematically’ by Abdulmohsen Al-Mutairi

Saudi journalist, filmmaker and cultural commentator Abdulmohsen Al-Mutairi launched his long-anticipated book — “America’s View of the East, Cinematically” — at last month’s Saudi Film Festival.

Cementing his reputation as a vital voice at the intersection of cinema and Arab identity, the book is a natural progression from his award-winning documentary, “Memories From The North,” tackling Western portrayals of the East with the same precision, intellect and emotional clarity.

Al-Mutairi drew wide attention for his documentary, which offered a poetic look at the Gulf War of 1990-91 and was named best short documentary at the 2022 festival.

“The documentary looks to me like a chapter in a book, because both memories and the war look like chapters to us. To me, the war is a timeline, there is a beginning, middle and an end,” Al-Mutairi told Arab News at the time.

“America’s View of the East, Cinematically” continues that mission, serving as both critique and chronicle of how Arab and Eastern identities have long been distorted by the cinematic lens of the West.

“This encyclopedia will be a building block added to what the Saudi Film Festival has started since its launch in 2008 and an effective tributary in the path of Saudi cinema, reinforcing what the festival organizers believe in and what they seek to achieve by emphasizing that the film industry must be accompanied by a knowledge industry directed at those working in the local and Arab cinema field,” according to its introduction.

More than critique, the book offers a kind of cinematic reclamation.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Book of Alchemy’ by Suleika Jaouad

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Book of Alchemy’ by Suleika Jaouad
Updated 22 May 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Book of Alchemy’ by Suleika Jaouad

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Book of Alchemy’ by Suleika Jaouad

In “The Book of Alchemy,” Suleika Jaouad explores the art of journaling and shares everything she’s learned about how this life-altering practice can help us tap into that mystical trait that exists in every human: creativity. She has gathered wisdom from one hundred writers, artists, and thinkers in the form of essays and writing prompts. Their insights invite us to inhabit a more inspired life.


What We Are Reading Today: Pico Iyer’s essay ‘The Joy of Quiet’

What We Are Reading Today: Pico Iyer’s essay ‘The Joy of Quiet’
Updated 21 May 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Pico Iyer’s essay ‘The Joy of Quiet’

What We Are Reading Today: Pico Iyer’s essay ‘The Joy of Quiet’

Pico Iyer’s essay “The Joy of Quiet” dissects modern life’s paradox: the louder our world grows, the more we crave silence. The essay was first published in 2012 in The New York Times.

With the precision of a cultural surgeon, Iyer — a travel writer famed for his meditative prose — exposes how digital noise erodes human connection, leaving us drowning in a sea of notifications yet thirsting for meaning.

But this isn’t a diatribe against technology; it’s a forensic examination of our collective burnout.

He maps a silent counterrevolution emerging in the unlikeliest corners: Silicon Valley CEOs fleeing to Himalayan monasteries, Amish-inspired “digital sabbaths” trending among younger generations, executives paying to lock away their phones and nations like Bhutan trading gross domestic product for “Gross National Happiness” as radical acts of cultural defiance.

Iyer’s genius lies in reframing silence as an insurgent act of self-preservation. A Kyoto temple’s rock garden becomes a “vacuum of stillness” where fractured minds heal; a tech mogul’s secret retreats — funded by the same wealth that built addictive apps — mock his own industry’s promises of liberation.

The essay’s sharpest insight? Our devices aren’t just distractions but “weapons of mass distraction,” systematically severing us from presence, empathy and the sacred monotony of undivided attention.

Critics might argue Iyer romanticizes privilege (not everyone can jet to a Balinese silent retreat), yet his message transcends class: in an age of algorithmic overload, solitude becomes not a luxury but psychic armor.

He anticipates today’s “attention economy” battleground, where mindfulness apps monetize the very serenity they promise to provide.

His closing warning: “We’ve gone from exalting timesaving devices to fleeing them,” feels prophetic in 2025, as AI chatbots colonize conversation and virtual reality headsets replace eye contact.

Less self-flagellating than Orwell’s colonial reckonings, “The Joy of Quiet” offers no easy answers.

Instead, it dares readers to ask: When every ping demands obedience, what revolution begins with a silenced phone? What if reclaiming our humanity starts not with consuming more but with the radical courage to disappear?


What We Are Reading Today: ‘In Asian Waters’ by Eric Taliacozzo

What We Are Reading Today: ‘In Asian Waters’ by Eric Taliacozzo
Updated 21 May 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘In Asian Waters’ by Eric Taliacozzo

What We Are Reading Today: ‘In Asian Waters’ by Eric Taliacozzo

In the centuries leading up to our own, the volume of traffic across Asian sea routes—an area stretching from East Africa and the Middle East to Japan—grew dramatically, eventually making them the busiest in the world.

The result was a massive circulation of people, commodities, religion, culture, technology, and ideas.

In this book, Eric Tagliacozzo chronicles how the seas and oceans of Asia have shaped the history of the largest continent for the past half millennium, leaving an indelible mark on the modern world in the process.


Book Review: ‘Hope in the Dark’ by Rebecca Solnit

Book Review: ‘Hope in the Dark’ by Rebecca Solnit
Updated 21 May 2025
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Book Review: ‘Hope in the Dark’ by Rebecca Solnit

Book Review: ‘Hope in the Dark’ by Rebecca Solnit

In an era of climate collapse and political upheaval, Rebecca Solnit’s “Hope in the Dark,” first published in 2004 and later updated in 2016, redefines hope not as naivete, but as a radical act of defiance.

Part manifesto, part historical corrective, the book resurrects forgotten victories to prove that progress is often invisible, nonlinear, and collective.

Solnit, a historian and activist, dismantles the myth of powerlessness by spotlighting movements that reshaped history despite seeming futile in their moment.

The Zapatista uprising of 1994, she argues, redefined revolution not as a single explosive event but as a “slow conversation” across generations. The fall of the Berlin Wall — unforeseen by experts — she wrote exposes the fragility of oppressive systems when met with sustained dissent.

Her 2016 update weaves in Black Lives Matter and the Standing Rock protests, framing them as modern iterations of this “subversive hope.”

Central to Solnit’s thesis is the metaphor of darkness, rejecting apocalyptic fatalism: “The future is dark … like the darkness of the womb.”

Hope, for her, is the audacity to act without guarantees, a lesson drawn from anti-nuclear campaigns of the 1980s and post-Katrina mutual-aid efforts like the Common Ground Collective.

Stylistically, Solnit merges lyrical prose with critical urgency. She chastises media narratives that equate activism with failure if immediate victories are not won, noting that the eight-hour workday and abolition of slavery were once deemed impossible.

Her chapters unfold as interconnected essays, blending memoir (her 1980s anti-nuke protests) with global dispatches (Chile’s democratic revival, Ukraine’s Orange Revolution).

Critics may crave more policy prescriptions, but Solnit’s goal is philosophical: to reframe activism as a practice of storytelling, where every protest rewrites the dominant narrative.

The book is not a roadmap but a compass, guiding readers through despair with historical proof that “the impossible is inevitable.”