The NightingaleThe Nightingale
Score Modern
What it's about
France, 1939. In the village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac watches her husband Antoine leave for the front, sure the Nazis won't invade. They do, and when a German captain takes over her house, Vianne and her daughter have to live with the enemy or lose everything. As food runs out and the danger grows, she's forced into one impossible choice after another, while her younger sister takes a far more dangerous path of her own.
Why it's worth reading
It's one of the most loved novels of the past decade: a #1 New York Times bestseller and one of the ten best-selling books of 2015. It's a story about the quiet kinds of courage that history rarely records, and it hits hard.
You'll love it if you liked
All the Light We Cannot See
The Women
The Book ThiefGood to know
Keep tissues nearby. It deals with war, hunger and violence, but it's built around two sisters, and it's very hard to put down.
By the numbers
- Readers95 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller87 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz64 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #2 of the 233 romances we rank
- #5 of the 116 historical novels we rank
- #19 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #36 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving, Uplifting
More by Kristin Hannah
The Women
The Four Winds
The Great Alone
Home FrontIf you like this, read next
Water for Elephants
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The Garden of Evening Mists
Lessons in Chemistry
Anna Karenina
KatherineExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is The Nightingale worth reading?
Yes. It's one of the most loved novels of the past decade: a #1 New York Times bestseller and one of the ten best-selling books of 2015. It ranks #36 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 90.0 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Nightingale about?
France, 1939. In the village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac watches her husband Antoine leave for the front, sure the Nazis won't invade. They do, and when a German captain takes over her house, Vianne and her daughter have to live with the enemy or lose everything. As food runs out and the danger grows, she's forced into one impossible choice after another, while her younger sister takes a far more dangerous path of her own.
How long does it take to read The Nightingale?
About 11 hours (448 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Nightingale?
If you liked it, try All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, The Women by Kristin Hannah or The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.