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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
I found this book very disappointing. The premise, the development of a determined woman seeking to become a doctor during the Civil War, is great. The historical details, including the abysmal gaps in medical knowledge and care, seemed on target and characters like Lincoln, Hays, and Stanton leapt off the page. (There are NO people of color as characters, however, which seemed beyond tone deaf.). But no one should write a Civil War novel with so poor a sense of how people at the time spoke and wrote. And then there were all the many times when the author simply abandoned sentence structure, for no good artistic reason I could appreciate. The pace is mostly deadly slow and plot points tend to be repeated endlessly -- though not always consistently -- with no additional elucidation. I must admit I warmed very little to any character, especially the central one, hard and guilt ridden Mary Sutter. Finally there is just too much martyrdom in this book. I'd skip it if I were you.
What a wonderful book. Once again I read a book and feel like I learned so much and I want to learn more and that life doesn't turn out how you expect. Mary Sutter was incredible. I loved this book.
Much darker than I had anticipated. I am not a Civil War buff, so I was reading this for the medical angle -- too much war history for my taste. It is interesting as medical history, but I can't say I really enjoyed the read. Very fast paced (except in those military sections). Maybe I should have tried to read it more slowly.
A lyrical and descriptive story of a woman who wants to be a surgeon at the beginning of the US Civil War. The story is told in third person from multiple viewpoints, including Abraham Lincoln.
This was surprisingly good, for something I picked up randomly because I had store credit at the bookstore. It's a novel about a young midwife from New York who, denied the chance to study to be a doctor (or so it appears), volunteers as a nurse during the Civil War.
Reading about the main character's experiences as a nurse and midwife was fascinating (though there were a *lot* of gruesome amputations of legs). Keeping all the different love triangles straight in my head was less so. The bits about Lincoln fighting with his generals seemed superfluous.
Reading about the main character's experiences as a nurse and midwife was fascinating (though there were a *lot* of gruesome amputations of legs). Keeping all the different love triangles straight in my head was less so. The bits about Lincoln fighting with his generals seemed superfluous.
Historical fiction that takes place during the Civil War . I like the way the author determines what the historical figures might be thinking during that time. Lincoln, Hay, and Barton make appearances which was very cool. I also like the settings of the battles that took place where I used to live in Virginia. Historical fiction fans would like this.
Mary was a midwife and an aspiring surgeon during the civil war era. The medical aspect of this book was fantastic. During the surgeries and childbirth I would become weak thinking of the pain and blood. This also opened up a part of the civil war era I hadn't known very much about, how the troops were taken care of. It covers the politics of getting help to the men, as well as the lack of resources that existed. Very interesting!
The relationships seemed weak and forced, characters often shallow and just playing their plot point. Not a strong point, and I think it lowered the impact of the deaths in the story.
Overall a solid and fascinating read!
The relationships seemed weak and forced, characters often shallow and just playing their plot point. Not a strong point, and I think it lowered the impact of the deaths in the story.
Overall a solid and fascinating read!
I generally don't enjoy Civil War fiction, but this was an exception. There were passages and phrases that were lyrical without coming across as being overdone. I connected with the characters and the situations they found themselves in. A word of caution: there are adult situations and some language in this book.
The Civil War history was the most interesting thing to me. The book group discussion was pretty good, but several people commented that characters' motivations didn't seem clear.
It didn't hurt my rating that this story starts in Albany, NY, the city I currently live in!
Interesting story of a young midwife who wants to be a doctor but is rejected from training, so she goes to Washington DC during the Civil War to learn on-the-job. We hear so many stories of what it was like on the battlefield; this was a different point of view - both that it is narrated by a woman and that it is a bit removed from the actual battles until the end.
I liked the first part of the book better than the end. The story lines involving the (chaste) love interests of Mary were weak compared to the rest of the story.
After reading this book, I can't imagine why modern day people want to reenact Civil War battles!
Interesting story of a young midwife who wants to be a doctor but is rejected from training, so she goes to Washington DC during the Civil War to learn on-the-job. We hear so many stories of what it was like on the battlefield; this was a different point of view - both that it is narrated by a woman and that it is a bit removed from the actual battles until the end.
I liked the first part of the book better than the end. The story lines involving the (chaste) love interests of Mary were weak compared to the rest of the story.
After reading this book, I can't imagine why modern day people want to reenact Civil War battles!