Season 2:
The Nightingale
by Kristin Hannah
This book was brutal, and we weren’t sure we were going to make it through, but we did. It’s unfortunate how relevant this story is in today’s world. Take some time to sit with it, be uncomfortable with it, and learn from it. Fair warning: you WILL cry. A LOT!
From Goodreads: In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says good-bye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.
Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gaëtan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others.
Episode 13: Murder Holes with Birders
Hey book girlies and ... birders? Don't worry, gamer guys, Ian will be back next time, but to start off season 2, we have a special guest, our favorite Disco Court patron, Bri, joining Sara to discuss The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. This story promises to be heavy and possibly hard to get through, but a highly important read.
Episode 14: Criminals, Communists, Pirates, and Thieves
We continue our exploration of Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale, getting Ian all caught up on what he missed (we told you he wasn't in the murder hole!) and dealing with the harsh realities of World War 2. What does survival look like? What does resistance mean? How can one be loyal to a cause without drawing attention to oneself? And are pirates and thieves the same thing? Guess you'll have to listen to find out!
Episode 15: Reckless Abandon
As we continue to get into The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, we of course have to take deep, steadying breaths because this book is already hitting us hard. Difficult situations, unavoidable circumstances, impossible choices, and the fear of the consequences influence our protagonists in their choices. Is rebelling an act of justice or simply reckless abandon? And again, we find ourselves asking who are the monsters in this story? What makes a person a monster? If there's anything we've learned, it's this: as readers of historical fiction, we know roughly what is in store for our characters, but we have no way of saving them.
Episode 16: You May Be A Creep If You Write Lists
This was never light and fluffy, but The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah continues to get darker and heavier. Hindsight makes this even scarier, and we don't know who we can trust or what people even know. All we know is that Beck and Vianne need to chill out with their little dalliance flirtation, Isabelle needs to watch her back if she wants to make any sort of progress with the rebellion, and we all need to be a little bit more like Rachel, sassy, supportive, and forgiving of mistakes, even those that deeply wound us. And if you think you need to start making a list for anything, you don't.
Episode 17: It's Pronounced "On-Ree," Not "Henry," So Take A Drink!
Hey book girlies and gamer guys. Your favorite nerds are back after a short mental health break, and we're diving right back into The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. Of course, we've discovered a new drinking game for you while editing this week's episode: take a drink any time Sara Americanizes a French or German word. Bonus points if it's someone's name. EXTRA bonus points if it's Henri pronounced as "Henry." (Seriously, we edited out several takes of the incorrect pronunciation where we could, but there were some lines where it was said incorrectly, and neither of us caught it, so we just bulldozed through, and, well, take a drink of hydrating water about it)
While this episode isn't exactly light and fluffy, we can at least breathe a tiny bit easier through this one.
Episode 18: If I Can't Win, No One Can!
Hey book girlies and gamer guys! Thank you so much for your patience with us through our impromptu sabbatical. We're glad to be back and jumping right back in where we left off. This episode, continue reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, and we focus on the separate stories of the sisters Vianne and Isabelle. Vianne is getting uncomfortably close to Captain Beck, and he is getting creepier by the second. Isabelle is defiant as ever, but can she hold her tongue to save not only her own skin, but her new colleagues' as well? The question still remains: in a world at war, can you trust anyone?
Episode 19: The Closet Pisser
The espionage was fun while it lasted, but unfortunately for Ian, this book is not actually about espionage. It's about suffering, and doing so secretly with no praise. But we learned that Sara is still illiterate, that Isabelle is still an idiot, and that Ian is usually right, unless he's wrong, in which case, he's a sourpuss.
Episode 20: The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Rebellion
As we continue The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, we are getting further into the war and further into the different kinds of rebellion of the war. There's the boisterous rebellion that Isabelle has always expressed, the quiet rebellion of her father, Julien, and the survivalistic rebellion of Vianne, who on the surface is just trying to make it through another day, another month, another year, just waiting for her husband to return and for her life to go back to normal. But is her act of simply surviving a form of rebellion? If so, how much sway will that have on the war at large?
Episode 21: When Fiction Becomes Far Too Factual
WARNING: This episode contains extremely heavy and difficult themes, including the death of a child. Please be advised.
Because of this episode, we are at a crossroads as to whether or not we want to finish this book. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is turning out to be a much heavier emotional roller coaster than we were expecting, and we don't remember signing up for this ride. Suddenly the facts are starting to outweigh the fiction, and it's a hard pill to swallow. But it's necessary to discuss in order for us to heal. Please just take some time for yourselves and hold your loved ones close.
Episode 22: Too Many Goodbyes
Somehow we are still continuing The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, even after the heartbreaking realities from last week. But of course, we have more goodbyes, more heartaches, more discomfort, and not a lot of solace, not a lot of answers, and not a lot of hope, even knowing the outcome of the war. But the heaviness subsides a bit this week, and maybe, just maybe, we will get through this without too many more tears.
Episode 23: Dead, Dying, and Deadly
We are getting ever-so-close to the end of this book, and we still have far too many questions for our comfort. And with all the drama, what will happen next? Where will things go from here? Who is that mysterious old lady? We're just glad there were no tears this time.
Episode 24: The Old Lady and the Man She Should Have Killed
We're not entirely sure if we finished this book, or if this book finished us, but we are certain we know who the old lady is and who she should have killed. Join us for the last episode of season 2 when we wrap up The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. We've laughed, we've cried, we've cried some more, and mostly we've just cried throughout this entire journey. We're glad to be done with this book, but we're even more appreciative having read it. It is all too relevant.
And be on the lookout April 5, 2025 for SEASON 3 of A Pod of Sass and Sarcasm!