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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
A fascinating perspective on the civil war, though sometimes difficult to read (horrors of war).
I liked this book alot. It's the tale of a Civil War-era midwife who wants to be a surgeon, and the writing is strong.
We’re in pre-Civil-war Albany, New York, home of Mary Sutter, a midwife. Mary is a serious young woman whose wishes to become a surgeon have been dismissed on every side. She sees the war as an opportunity to get what she wants – and get away from her twin sister. This is a very interesting tale, but I would have liked to read more about the midwifery; and honestly, I don’t have the stomach to read about amputations and yucky war stuff. If you are a Civil War buff, I do think you would enjoy this one – it’s just not my thing.
To be honest, I listened to this book on cd in my car. I really loved it in the beginning, but I did find my mind wandering about halfway through. I don't think enough acutally happens to keep my interest. Perhaps there was too much medical terminology for me as well. I did like the story, just a little uneventful.
This was a very interesting historical fiction. I loved the characters and thought it gave a new view on the civil war from the perspective of the medical personnel.
War scenes were hard to get through, but the medical stuff was fascinating.
This book took me a while to get into, and seemed to be a gritty look at the medical field during the Civil War. Focusing on Mary Sutter, an accomplished midwife who wanted to be a surgeon who fought her way into the war hospitals and even the battlefields to aid soldiers, the story evolved. I personally could have done without the chapters that were told from Lincoln's POV since they took the focus off the main characters. Yes, they provided a timeframe for the battles, but I skimmed over those. The end redeemed any weak points that the novel had.
A couple elements attracted me to this book: Civil War history and a woman struggling to be free of traditional roles. It delivered on both counts, however, I felt the structure was a bit weak and disjointed. It seemed to lack focus as the voice passed between too many tellers, including President Lincoln. The frequent forays into military strategy were distracting. In the end, though, I enjoyed the different perspective to America's deadliest war although it pales in comparison to "Cold Mountain." The book was a good preface to Ric Burns' new PBS documentary on Death and the Civil War
premiering 9/18.
premiering 9/18.
While the Civil War isn't really my thing, there was a lot of fascinating bits in this story. I especially enjoyed reading the author's "behind the book" blog post about the writing of this novel and the immense amount of research she did to get as much accuracy as possible.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Despite a few plot contrivances, I was fascinated by the story. Mary Sutter is a skilled midwife who dreams of becoming a surgeon, and as you can imagine, she faces many obstacles to accomplishing this. I have to say the Civil War is not one of my favorite periods for historical fiction, but this story beautifully weaves medicine, family and love relationships, and political and military history. It is a beautifully written book, but the compelling story never got bogged down in language. And I genuinely cared about each character, despite their many flaws. Very satisfying read.