Book · 2015
The Nightingale
by Kristin Hannah
One sister hides a Jewish family in Nazi-occupied France while the other guides downed airmen across the Pyrenees under the code name 'the Nightingale.'
What does Reddit think of The Nightingale?
The word that keeps showing up is "cry." Specifically ugly cry (↑147), and quite a bit despite comparing it, then immediately un-comparing it, to Hemingway (↑113). One r/suggestmeabook post (↑156) treats that reaction as the selling point: "highly acclaimed... about two sisters in Nazi-occupied France," pitched entirely on impact, not premise. Reddit pairs it two ways after that. Sometimes it's WWII-comfort reading, filed next to The Alice Network as a same-era double feature (↑102). Sometimes it's grief literature, grouped with The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns (↑139), company that argues for a shared weight of loss rather than overlapping settings. r/booksuggestions carries real volume too, this isn't only a suggestmeabook phenomenon. Nothing displayed here disputes any of it. The book's reputation, at least in this sample, goes undefended because nobody attacks it.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · WWII-France sisters premise
- · 'Ugly cry' as the recurring shorthand for the reading experience
- · Paired with The Alice Network as a same-era double feature
- · Grouped with The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns as grief literature
Common praise
- + One suggestmeabook commenter (↑147) says flatly that it makes you ugly cry, and means that as a recommendation.
- + It gets paired with The Alice Network as a matched WWII-France set, not a lone pick (↑102).
- + A commenter groups it with The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, company that argues for its weight rather than its plot (↑139).
Common criticism
- − Nobody in this sample argues with the book, the closest thing to pushback is a commenter walking back their own Hemingway comparison mid-sentence (↑113).
- − The praise leans entirely on emotional impact, nobody in the displayed quotes talks about the prose or structure.
- − r/booksuggestions reads flatter than r/suggestmeabook's warmer reaction, the two subs aren't fully in agreement.
Who it's for
Pair it with The Alice Network if you want a matched WWII-France set, that's the combination r/suggestmeabook reaches for (↑102). Want something that hits like The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns? This gets filed in that company too, on shared grief rather than genre (↑139). Bring tissues, multiple commenters aren't speaking figuratively about the crying. Need a book that argues with itself or its readers instead? The sample here doesn't have that fight to offer.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for The Nightingale?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“I can recommend a highly acclaimed book that you may enjoy reading: "The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah. This is about the two sisters in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.
“The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. It makes you ugly cry
“The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah made me cry quite a bit. Not the same kind of read as a Hemingway, but about WWII
“I’m a crier so for me it’s a lot of books! When I read the Nightingale by Kristin Hannah I had to go lie down for a while after I finished. A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner, Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy, A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman, House in the Cerulean Sea and Unde…
“I don’t have any recs but just came here to say how amazing is The Nightingale! One of the best books I’ve read…also Kristin Hannah always has a way of breaking me!
“Honestly you’re probably better off without her if she is selfish enough to complain you’re not giving her enough attention while you’re in the hospital after a major surgery. Here is a sampling of some of my faves from various genres, - The nightingale by Kristin Hannah ( if this doesn’t make …
“The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah! I enjoyed this more than All The Light we Cannot See.
“The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah made me bawl my eyes out at the end. It’s based during the Holocaust and how the women were surviving those times. It’s a historical fiction book and one of my favorite books of all time. I don’t know if other people would consider it a sad book though.
“Anything by Kristin Hannah tbh. The Great Alone, The Nightingale, Firefly Lane, Winter Garden. They’ll all make you cry. She is such a phenomenal author.
“Don’t judge me but Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer, it was a fun escape from the world for a while and it reminded me of when I was in middle school. Sometimes you need some twilight in your life My other favorites have been The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah, The Devil all the Time by Donald Ray P…
“The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah...I hardly get that emotionally invested but this had me tearing up multiple times.
“The Nightingale by Kirstin Hannah, idk if alta the saddest book ever but 100% emotional destruction
“The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. Follows the very different stories of two sisters during the Nazi occupation of France. One of my favorites
“The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. Finished it recently, cried several times.
“Has she read any of Kristin Hannah’s other novels? The Nightingale and The Four Winds are also fantastic reads.
Convinced? Pick up The Nightingale
What else does r/suggestmeabook read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
The Nightingale — frequently asked
Is The Nightingale as sad as Reddit says?+
Yes, per the displayed data. One r/suggestmeabook commenter (↑147) says outright it makes you ugly cry, and another (↑113) reports crying quite a bit despite comparing it unfavorably in tone to Hemingway. Nothing in this sample disputes the book's reputation for devastation.
Should I read The Nightingale or The Alice Network first?+
The data doesn't argue for an order. An r/suggestmeabook reply (↑102) offers both in the same breath as a WWII-France pair, not a sequence. Read The Nightingale for the sisters' story, The Alice Network for its own separate cast.
Is The Nightingale similar to The Kite Runner?+
In effect, not plot. A commenter (↑139) groups the two together with A Thousand Splendid Suns as books that share heavy, loss-driven reading experiences rather than overlapping settings. If that combination has wrecked you before, this sample says expect the same.
Does r/booksuggestions rate The Nightingale as highly as r/suggestmeabook?+
Not quite. The scored displayed excerpts put r/booksuggestions at a flatter, more neutral read than r/suggestmeabook's warmer reaction, though the subreddit still recommends it in the same WWII-fiction lists (↑139).