Finished: The Women (Kristin Hannah) An excellent, powerful book covering the life of Frankie McGrath, a young nurse who enlisted and went to Vietnam to help, and came back, like any other surviving nurse who served, with the scars and nightmares of the war etched on her heart and mind, to a family who told people she was abroad to study because they were ashamed that their daughter would even dream of enlisting in the military. I grew up in the 1960's and 70's, and can vividly recall the drafting of teenaged boys to be sent off to fight in what seemed to be, in my young eyes, this never-ending battle of so much death and destruction. I hated the war, but never once felt anything but admiration for the "boys" who went and served, and the lucky ones that actually made it home. I was almost 15 years old when the troops started coming home in 1973. Of course, my idyllic teenaged world continued on with me mostly oblivious to the actual impact that the war had on our troops, on their families, on their lives. I didn't even grasp the thought that there must be medical doctors and nurses who frantically fought to keep the soldiers alive until I was in my thirties. The Women is an incredibly vivid book about Frankie, and the other fellow nurses she grows close to, and the relationships they have and don't have amidst the war, and the lives they save and the lives they cannot, and the shattered young men they send home if they are lucky, but never quite whole again. I'm so, so glad I read this book! Kristin Hannah had so many references and conversations with people who had direct experience in the war and her book is a reflection of that. I do really like the summary that Amazon has about the book, so will include that below. This book will stay with me forever. 

"Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets―and becomes one of―the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era."

 Finished: The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Diaz) What a truly good book, but oh so heartbreaking for many characters! The title never grabbed me enough want to read it, even though it has been on my to read Pulitzer Prize list for awhile. I'm so very glad I finally read it. Oscar Wao is Dominican, with a long line of family from the Dominican Republic, now living in the "ghetto" of New Jersey with his tough-as-nails, native Dominican mother, Beli, and his rebellious sister, Lila. He is sweet, naive and terribly overweight. He has dreams of writing an epic tale and becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkein, whose Lord of the Rings books he absolutely worships. The only dream that ever seems to top that one, is his dream to find love with a woman, but with his stature and looks, no woman will give Oscar a second glance, much less have a conversation with him. I was fascinated with the extensive notes in the book which explained every Dominican reference in detail. And...I was chagrined at never having absorbed a single bit of the history of the Dominican people living under the horrific rule of a merciless dictator. The book explores Oscar's life, and his sister's unconditional love for him, and the heartbreak they both endure as they make what appear to be the worst decisions in their love lives (or lack thereof for Oscar) and suffer the consequences. The chapters on every character are fascinating! When the book goes back in time to the history of Beli's parents, once respected medical people in the Dominican Republic, their lives are reduced to rubble by the dictator because her father tries to hide his beautiful older daughter from the lascivious man. Beli, her parents' last daughter, is actually born into the world with a father who will die in prison and a mother who dies soon after her birth. She is eventually found and raised by her grandmother and defies everyone and everything as she grows into the tough, unyielding woman she becomes. She loves only her children, Lila and Oscar, and moves to the United States to keep them safe, and to keep them under her thumb as best that she can. Until I read Beli's chapters, I could not understand how unrelenting she was, but oh my God, what a tragic family history. There are many references to the fuku, a curse that the famliy believes has haunted their family for generations. Everything is blamed on the fuku, and everyone is apparently, eventually impacted by it. Oscar's story is told by his college roommate, Junior, who was the love of Lila's life and would do anything for her, including rooming with and "keeping an eye" on the naive Oscar. Of course, Junior also has a pension for cheating on Lila, despite his adoration of her, and their relationship does not last. The book, though, is told with Junior's voice. He guides us through the relationships he has with both Lila and Oscar, and the love and respect he grows to feel for Oscar as a brother and a man. Oscar does eventually have a a couple of meaningful relationships with women, who see Oscar for who he is, but neither of them last and Oscar is plunged back into loneliness. As the title says, Oscar's life is brief but wonderous, and I don't want to give away any more details! I'm richer for having read his story, though, and those of his family members. A great book!