Look first, her mother always said, for the common.
My Name Is Mary Sutter
begins in Albany New York, in 1861 just before the start of the Civil War. The titled character is a gifted mid-wife who dreams of becoming a surgeon...a dream, everyone constantly reminds her, that is impossible for a woman. However war, along with loss, death and tragedy, brings unexpected opportunities. At the core of the story is the question...what price, what sacrifices, what hardships are we willing to take on to live the life we want to be ours?
The book of course, reminded me of Gone With The Wind and Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain, only from the North's point of view. The main character is an unconventional, stubborn, determined young woman, who frustrates everyone who loves her. She falls in love with a charming young man who marries her uncomplicated, pretty sister before heading off to war. Devastated, Mary chases her own dream to Washington D.C. where the war and hardships roll at her with a power and pace she's hardly prepared for. The stench and filth of Washington is only the beginning of the horrible conditions. The city is in chaos. The hospitals are absent of even the most basic necessities. The doctors have little knowledge to prepare for the onslaught of wounded soldiers and the dysentery and typhoid caused by the crowded and unsanitary conditions.
Author Robin Oliveira has written an outstanding first novel with just the right balance of historical details and narrative. It's extremely well researched especially about the horror of medical care during the Civil War. Although the story is a sad one of a country and family divided, it is also full of courage, hope and redemption.
.
.
Posts
