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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Very well written. I was questioning through most of the book if this was fact or fiction. The historical details along with the interesting storyline really caught me. This book fit what I wanted at the time. Interesting, mildly thought provoking, but not something that required a lot of emotional involvement.
This is the type of book that I should have LOVED. Takes place in the Civil War era, which I used to obsessed with. Main character is a strong-willed woman who wants to be a doctor more than anything. Yep. Guess what?
This book sucks.
It is so incredibly slow. The war doesn't even start until halfway through the novel. We focus on 3.5 different main characters at random times and in random places. At one point the story veers away from Mary for several chapters, and you are left to wonder ... where did she go? Did she run away because the plot was so bad? Is she hiding from all the "letters to family/friends" inserted in random places? Did she get squicked out by the gross old doctor guy who wants to jump her bones in the middle of a battlefield?
I vote for all of the above.
I cannot tell a lie. There are some decent scenes. The scene at Antietam and the aftermath was, I thought, very moving. Okay. I have now touched on the one good scene in the book.
The pacing was terrible. As in, put to me to sleep (literally) terrible. The characters all felt flat and forced. (Also, why does Mary refer to her mother by her first name? Isn't that totally 21st century?) The love interest made me gag. Even the hospital scenes aren't particularly well done. And here's the saddest thing: Mary is not a likeable character. She's a total brat ("strong willed" my butt. How about a self-centered wishy washy goober who HAS A DREAM but then decides NOT TO DREAM but then DREAMS AGAIN LATER.)
I just...this book. It makes me cry. It makes me cry crocodile tears and I can no longer formulate a review for the travesty contained within its pages.
This book sucks.
It is so incredibly slow. The war doesn't even start until halfway through the novel. We focus on 3.5 different main characters at random times and in random places. At one point the story veers away from Mary for several chapters, and you are left to wonder ... where did she go? Did she run away because the plot was so bad? Is she hiding from all the "letters to family/friends" inserted in random places? Did she get squicked out by the gross old doctor guy who wants to jump her bones in the middle of a battlefield?
I vote for all of the above.
I cannot tell a lie. There are some decent scenes. The scene at Antietam and the aftermath was, I thought, very moving. Okay. I have now touched on the one good scene in the book.
The pacing was terrible. As in, put to me to sleep (literally) terrible. The characters all felt flat and forced. (Also, why does Mary refer to her mother by her first name? Isn't that totally 21st century?) The love interest made me gag. Even the hospital scenes aren't particularly well done. And here's the saddest thing: Mary is not a likeable character. She's a total brat ("strong willed" my butt. How about a self-centered wishy washy goober who HAS A DREAM but then decides NOT TO DREAM but then DREAMS AGAIN LATER.)
I just...this book. It makes me cry. It makes me cry crocodile tears and I can no longer formulate a review for the travesty contained within its pages.
I really enjoyed this book. The medicine part was really fascinating, and from what I already knew seemed pretty accurate. Warning: the author does not pull any punches, if you don't like it when people die don't read it, that's my only spoiler.
The things that kept me from giving this a 5:
-the bits and pieces of romance felt forced, as if the author's publisher made her add it so someone would read it.
-the end is..... so incredibly lame. It's weak and out of nowhere. I can't stand when that happens.
-Not everything is answered, obnoxious.
Despite those faults I really did enjoy the book, especially because it helped me put together a new list of biographies I need to read. i.e. Dorothea Dix, John Hay, and Clara Barton.
The things that kept me from giving this a 5:
-the bits and pieces of romance felt forced, as if the author's publisher made her add it so someone would read it.
-the end is..... so incredibly lame. It's weak and out of nowhere. I can't stand when that happens.
-Not everything is answered, obnoxious.
Despite those faults I really did enjoy the book, especially because it helped me put together a new list of biographies I need to read. i.e. Dorothea Dix, John Hay, and Clara Barton.
I wanted to like this book more than I did. Honestly, it took me till the last 4-5 chapters to feel some kind of connection to Mary or any of the other characters besides James Blevins.
Starting the book I was so excited to read about a woman who was determined to be more than just an acclaimed midwife, she wanted to be a surgeon in a time that did not allow women to fulfill such rolls. While I don't think characters need to be always likable and warm, I would have enjoyed getting to know Mary in a more human way rather than he coldness, guilt and sadness. I would have loved to see more fond memories with her mother, laughter with her sister and brother. I found myself not wholeheartedly believing her grief over her brother when we saw very little positive interaction between the two other than brief moments.
So many other things that were odd to me, the constant flashbacks to President Lincoln, while it was nice to see that Oliveria took time to be historically accurate, I didn't see a point to so many of the side tracking. Sure, John Hayes was important to introduce Mary to Lincoln so that she could request what she wanted/needed, but overall ehh.
The last few chapters actually left me wishing the whole of the book as the emotion and connection that those chapters had. I finally could see what it was that all the men saw in Mary.
Overall I wish I could have liked it more than I did.
Starting the book I was so excited to read about a woman who was determined to be more than just an acclaimed midwife, she wanted to be a surgeon in a time that did not allow women to fulfill such rolls. While I don't think characters need to be always likable and warm, I would have enjoyed getting to know Mary in a more human way rather than he coldness, guilt and sadness. I would have loved to see more fond memories with her mother, laughter with her sister and brother. I found myself not wholeheartedly believing her grief over her brother when we saw very little positive interaction between the two other than brief moments.
So many other things that were odd to me, the constant flashbacks to President Lincoln, while it was nice to see that Oliveria took time to be historically accurate, I didn't see a point to so many of the side tracking. Sure, John Hayes was important to introduce Mary to Lincoln so that she could request what she wanted/needed, but overall ehh.
The last few chapters actually left me wishing the whole of the book as the emotion and connection that those chapters had. I finally could see what it was that all the men saw in Mary.
Overall I wish I could have liked it more than I did.
4.5 stars.
I really liked this book a lot! Just great historical fiction. Had a little bit of everything, love interest, strong woman, medicine, war. I haven't read much about the civil war and just really found it fascinating. I loved the medical aspect (being that I work in medical research).
I just read this after reading the Postmistress and can't help but compare. Mary Sutter was what I had expected from Postmistress. Learning about life during war time and how hard it can be to communicate and keep in touch with people in a time when we didn't have constant communication. It wasn't the main focus of this story, but played key parts.
I really liked this book a lot! Just great historical fiction. Had a little bit of everything, love interest, strong woman, medicine, war. I haven't read much about the civil war and just really found it fascinating. I loved the medical aspect (being that I work in medical research).
I just read this after reading the Postmistress and can't help but compare. Mary Sutter was what I had expected from Postmistress. Learning about life during war time and how hard it can be to communicate and keep in touch with people in a time when we didn't have constant communication. It wasn't the main focus of this story, but played key parts.
Meh, it was ok.
I generally like a strong female lead, but I found Mary very annoying at times.
I generally like a strong female lead, but I found Mary very annoying at times.
I haven't been swept in by a novel in a while. I loved this one. The character of Mary Sutter, who wants more in life than what women can achieve at that time, was great, I was rooting for her right from the start. Actually, the whole cast of characters is great. They're all human, with their flaws and tempers and bad decisions - I really cannot stand perfect characters. I'm not usually into having real people in historical fiction as they're not always well, but Robin Oliveira did a great job of having them all come to life, especially Lincoln.
The writing is great, too. Quite a few scenes are really intense. The first amputation scene especially found me compulsively reading on as I felt all the feels and it was so nerve wracking. The beginning can feel a bit slow as the Civil War breaks out and the story develops, but that didn't bother me, as the rhythm of the story was well constructed, with a slow beginning and then the pace picking up and up towards the end. The use multiple points of view was skillfully used, as well as the use of letters from time to time, which I really liked.
My only criticism (hence my rating of 4 stars instead of 5) was that there was a little bit too much gathering of skirts and messy curly hair, but I can be very nit-picky about such details.
You need to check this book out :-)
The writing is great, too. Quite a few scenes are really intense. The first amputation scene especially found me compulsively reading on as I felt all the feels and it was so nerve wracking. The beginning can feel a bit slow as the Civil War breaks out and the story develops, but that didn't bother me, as the rhythm of the story was well constructed, with a slow beginning and then the pace picking up and up towards the end. The use multiple points of view was skillfully used, as well as the use of letters from time to time, which I really liked.
My only criticism (hence my rating of 4 stars instead of 5) was that there was a little bit too much gathering of skirts and messy curly hair, but I can be very nit-picky about such details.
You need to check this book out :-)
This was gory,heart-wrenching, beautiful, breathtaking, and fascinating. The character of Mary Sutter is a strong, defiant woman, determined to follow her dream of practicing medicine. She is willing to do whatever necessary in order to achieve that goal, including browbeating surgeons, nursing supervisors, and even the President of the United States to accomplish her goal, and she does.
The surgery and battle scenes were horrific, the characterizations beautifully created.
I finished this and wished Mary Sutter wasn't a fictional character, so I could learn more about her.
The surgery and battle scenes were horrific, the characterizations beautifully created.
I finished this and wished Mary Sutter wasn't a fictional character, so I could learn more about her.
I wanted to like this book but I was mostly just bored by. I'd give it a 2 but gave extra credit for the history that we don't usually learn about.