Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Mary Sutter is a highly sought after midwife who dreams of being a doctor. Since she lives in New York in the 1860s, her ambition is unlikely to be realized. . .until the advent of the civil war. This book paints an excellent description of the medical practices and difficulties of the day. I wonder now, when we read the death tolls of the Civil War, how many of the deaths are directly attributable to injuries incurred during the fighting, and how many were due to illness and unsanitary conditions. I'm amazed at all those who survived medical care at that time, given the ignorance with regard to cleanliness, sterilization techniques, etc.
I enjoyed this story but could have done with a little less of the civil war itself. The war plays a large part of the storyline but there could have been less history without taking away from the main story.
I really enjoyed this book, and towards the end I couldn't put it down. Mary Sutter is a fantastic heroine — strong willed, talented, determined, flawed. I loved her. This book is very much about the Civil War, but it's also about the history of medicine and the struggles of ambitious women in an exceptionally patriarchal society. It's also about love, in its many forms.
The writing is not perfect. It's sometimes overdone — either overly literal or too self-consciously "literary". But the flaws were relatively minor and didn't detract much from what is, essentially, a great story with wonderful central characters. It is Robin Oliveira's first novel, and I look forward to reading more by this author.
The writing is not perfect. It's sometimes overdone — either overly literal or too self-consciously "literary". But the flaws were relatively minor and didn't detract much from what is, essentially, a great story with wonderful central characters. It is Robin Oliveira's first novel, and I look forward to reading more by this author.
Great sense of life leading up to and during the American Civil War, especially related to those who were not soldiers.
I wanted to love this book. But it just didn’t work for me. I recently read Midwife of Hope River and loved the birth descriptions. I’m both a birth doula (for women) and a veterinarian so I guess I have him FIH standards. But in Mary Sutter one birth just included a line “it didn’t feel right”. Jenny’s birth story just didn’t seem realistic and Amelia’s reaction to it completely off for such a seasoned midwife.
Then there are the love “stories”. Too many and I didn’t care about any, especially Mary’s potential link ups.
And the the war stuff with McClellan and Lincoln. It was accurate, but distracted from the central story of Mary. Those sections needed serious editing.
I was left unsure about what the primary story was as so much of the book veered away from Mary becoming a doctor.
I did enjoy the author’s portrayal of D Dix. That was good.
There were lots of good bits - but the whole story didn’t gel.
I see there is a second book. If they ta available from my library I may read it as I believe in the potential of this author. I think editing let her down.
Then there are the love “stories”. Too many and I didn’t care about any, especially Mary’s potential link ups.
And the the war stuff with McClellan and Lincoln. It was accurate, but distracted from the central story of Mary. Those sections needed serious editing.
I was left unsure about what the primary story was as so much of the book veered away from Mary becoming a doctor.
I did enjoy the author’s portrayal of D Dix. That was good.
There were lots of good bits - but the whole story didn’t gel.
I see there is a second book. If they ta available from my library I may read it as I believe in the potential of this author. I think editing let her down.
Historical fiction novel that takes place during the Civil War and follows Mary Sutter as she attempts to become a surgeon.
Excellent story about Mary's quest to become a surgeon, set against the backdrop of the civil war.
Nice historical about a young single woman named Mary Sutter, who has legendary skills as a midwife but secretly yearns to become a surgeon. Mary goes to local surgeon James Blevens and asks to become an apprentice. Unfortunately Blevens is eager to go to the war and rejects her request, devestating Mary. Then a potential beau is stolen by her prettier twin sister Jenny. Mary reads about a call for nurses in Washington DC on the same day she learns Jenny is expecting a child, and runs away in pain to join the cause. The story mostly focuses on Mary's experiences nursing and learning medicine during the war. I have to admit the flow of the story wasn't real great. I enjoyed the storyline, but think it would have been much better if the book had been broken up between two or three books in a series. The storyline focused so much on the war period that the ending seemed very rushed. But overall I really liked the book and the characters were realistic. I just wished I could have spent a little more time with each of them. Three and a half stars.
I'm not really a fan of historical fiction, so it's saying something when I was sucked in by this book. It's about determined Mary Sutter, who wants more than anything to be a surgeon during the Civil War. While focused, she has a compassion for others and a fine-tuned intuition.
I liked that this book wasn't a romance, per se. It explored human relationships but not necessarily romance, which kept the book focused on Mary achieving her medical dreams and not Mary waylaid by a husband and a handful of children.
Strong writing, strong female character, good plot.
I liked that this book wasn't a romance, per se. It explored human relationships but not necessarily romance, which kept the book focused on Mary achieving her medical dreams and not Mary waylaid by a husband and a handful of children.
Strong writing, strong female character, good plot.