Summary and Themes of the Novels The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, The Road by Cormac McCarthy and Gil Adamson's The Outlander

The first novel I have chosen is called The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. This novel takes place in France, during the second world war. The main characters of this novel are two sisters named Vianna and Isabelle. In the novel, they are attempting to flee France while they are immensely involved in the war. One topic that I see becoming prominent is family because the two sisters are protecting each other while trying to leave their war-ridden country. Another topic that I see become prominent in this novel is violence because this novel takes place during WWII, and any wars involve numerous deaths, attacks, and threats, especially when there are numerous countries involved.

The second novel I have chosen is called The Road by Cormac McCarthy. This novel takes place in America, following an apocalypse. The main characters are a father and his son, who are referred to as The Man and The Boy in the novel. The two are attempting to survive while travelling through post-apocalyptic America while being one of the very few that were not impacted by the apocalypse. One topic that I see becoming prominent is death because an apocalypse usually results in the altered minds of almost everybody living in that country, usually resulting in mass murders, mass rapes, or even mass cannibalism.

Another topic that I see becoming prominent is paternal love because this is the journey of a father and son trying to survive during their journey, and many parents tend to always put their child first in a situation of life or death, even if it means sacrificing themselves, purely out of the love for their child.

The third novel I have chosen is called The Outlander by Gil Adamson. This novel takes place in the Canadian west in the year of 1903. The main character is Mary Boulton, who is a 19-year-old widow. I think she is trying to accomplish fleeing from the police, as she has killed her husband. One topic that I see being prominent is trust, as she is fleeing the law, so she must put trust in herself and those she encounters to not be exposed to law enforcement. Another topic that I see being prominent is survival, as Mary is a fugitive, so she must find a way to survive while on the run, but also while trying to maintain her cover and not get arrested.

The book that I have chosen is The Nightingale. I want to study this book because the adventure involved in the plot of the story is exciting to read about. What drew me to it was the short synopsis that was on the back of the novel, which was simply describing the main plot of the story. At this point, one thematic concept that has presented to me is the importance of family.

Another thematic concept that has presented to me is the struggles of survival during rough times in people’s lives. As I read this novel, I expect a lot of adventure as well as drama to unfold. I believe that there will be drama about love, death, and survival, which also adds to the adventure within the novel as it makes everything much more interesting to read. At this moment, the only question I have is for the end of the novel, which is if the two end up completing their journey successfully.