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dimitypee 's review for:
My Name Is Mary Sutter
by Robin Oliveira
I probably would have given this novel a 2.5/5 if possible. I find myself becoming pickier and pickier about the historic fiction I really enjoy and I was expecting this one to make the list. The Civil War!, midwives!, and it was featured on the Amelia Bloomer list 2010-seemed right up my alley. For the most part, I did enjoy this first novel but I also found some parts to be quite problematic. My biggest quibble is Oliveira’s inclusion of real historic characters. I didn’t mind that honest Abe and Dorothea Dix make guest appearances but I found the chapters that featured them instead of Oliveria’s richly imagined characters distracting from the story and made the book somewhat disjointed. I also think Oliveria goes out of her way to include dialogue that testifies to the chronology of specific Civil War battles, etc. I prefer the historic fiction I read to include more detail about daily life in the time, than the military ins and outs that I skim through. Finally, I found the extremely variable chapter length to be distracting at times.
Despite all my complaints, she did write a well researched book about one woman’s ambition to rise above the constraints placed upon her by her era. I enjoyed the idea that Mary Sutter was able to grow personally in her ambitions amidst great national and personal tragedy. I would recommend this book to people who already enjoy historic fiction, but would not use it as a stand out of the genre to entice someone in. I would be interested to read Oliveira’s future works because I think she is still finding her feet as an author and has great potential.
Despite all my complaints, she did write a well researched book about one woman’s ambition to rise above the constraints placed upon her by her era. I enjoyed the idea that Mary Sutter was able to grow personally in her ambitions amidst great national and personal tragedy. I would recommend this book to people who already enjoy historic fiction, but would not use it as a stand out of the genre to entice someone in. I would be interested to read Oliveira’s future works because I think she is still finding her feet as an author and has great potential.