Narrated by Polly Stone

When I first discovered Kristin Hannah’s books in the early 2000’s, I thought of her as the author of light and fluffy stories. Then, with the publication of Winter Garden, I felt like she had come into her own, exploring more than just the bonds between women. She showed a depth I adored, and I’ve been a devoted listener ever since.

As you might imagine, I was delighted when The Nightingale was released in February of this year. The story sounded intriguing. The idea of the French resistance is one that has fascinated me for years, and I was eager to see what Ms. Hannah would do with it. 

Although they are sisters, it’s hard to imagine two more different women. Vianne is married and the mother of a young child. She is content to live life in a quaint French village, and, even when her beloved husband is called to serve in the French army, Vianne is convinced Hitler will be defeated before very long, returning their lives to normal.

Isabelle, on the other hand, is impetuous and beautiful. She resents Vianne for not being supportive of her, but that’s not the only thing that drives her. Isabelle doesn’t believe the Germans will be driven out of France quickly. She becomes involved with the resistance movement, risking her own life and Vianne’s in the process.

Vianne’s world is shattered when a Nazi captain takes up residence in her home. She wants to hate him, but his kindness slowly wins her over. Is it possible she could be falling in love, just as Isabelle is developing feelings for an enigmatic Frenchman who serves by her side?

This was my first time listening to narrator Polly Stone’s work. Her performance here is slightly above average, although it did not wow me. Her general narrative is well done. She’s very good at infusing her words with just the right amount of emotion necessary to bring each and every scene to life. Her characters were easy to tell apart, making dialogue tags almost completely unnecessary.

Accents were Ms. Stone’s downfall here. Most characters were French. I expected a French accent when these characters were speaking. What I ended up with was a very poor facsimile of one. I can’t think of something to compare it with. All I can say is that it definitely did not sound French. The German characters faired slightly better, though I can’t go so far as to call it authentic. I would have preferred hearing Ms. Stone leave the accents out altogether, instead of performing them in such a subpar manner.

Overall, I found The Nightingale difficult to get into. It’s an idea with a ton of potential, but it fell flat somewhere along the way. I had a hard time feeling invested in any of the main characters. I wanted to be able to cheer them on, but they seemed more like character sketches than full-fledged people. The setup took forever, and so, when the book finally hit its stride, it was too little too late.

Shannon

Narration:  C

Book Content:  C-

Steam Factor:  You can play it out loud

Violence:  Descriptions of war, sometimes vivid

Genre:  General Fiction

Publisher:  Macmillan Audio

The Nightingale was provided to AudioGals by Macmillan Audio for review.