The Women is a novel based on memoirs of an army nurse during the Vietnam War.     The author chooses a well-to-do naive young lady (Frankie) who wants to contribute and make her family proud.      As a newly graduated nurse she enlists and after basic training lands in the war zone, as a novice in a Evac Hospital.    The experience is difficult, but she adapts and becomes a competent nurse, then chooses to reenlist for another year.    During her time she experiences all kinds of trauma and heartbreak.    She falls in love and after returning home she awaits her lover, but hears that he was killed in a crash.

Frankie has nightmares, fits of anger, and resorts to alcohol and drugs.     As readers we can see that she is suffering from PTSD, but it takes her years to learn to cope.     Her life is an emotional roller coaster and one disaster follows another.    The author sets up each emotional upheaval for the reader, but the plot felt somewhat contrived and predictable.    Some of the characters are one-dimensional and the plot sometimes feels like melodrama.

The strength of the story is the retelling of the plight of women who went to Vietnam, then returned to hostility and denial.    The author frames all of this with reference to the political history, the protest movements, and the changing culture of American during the war and afterwards.

There were similarities to another book by the author, The Great Alone.    Both books will be enjoyed by many readers, and will resonate for a large sector of the population.    When the book is adapted for the screen it will attract faithful viewers of prime time dramas.   For readers who wish complexity, character development, and a more subtle, imaginative storytelling, there are better books available.

Recommended for many readers, but with the caveats noted – 4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0

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