Customer Reviews

My Name Is Mary Sutter: A Novel

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The publisher of MY NAME IS MARY SUTTER hopes for a first novel that is memorable, compelling, readable and exceptional. MY NAME IS MARY SUTTER fills the bill. In the contemporary USA nearly 50% of medical students are female. During civil war times,it was considered preposterous that any woman could aspire to be a physician and surgeon. Mary was a skilled midwife, having learned this from her Mother Amelia. People sought Mary out to deliver their babies. Mary was skilled, tender, and dedicated. Nonetheless she aspired to be a doctor.She was ridiculed, pushed aside, told she wanted too much and forced to be a charwoman rather than a nurse. As the civil war wound on with its horrible butchery, Mary's skills were needed and respected. In the war surgery consisted of amputations. Medicines were crude and often in short supply or nonexistent. The soldiers and the medical people who assisted them suffered terribly. More soldiers died from disease and inadequate treatment than in battle.
Mary persevered and became a physician and surgeon.In this quest she had to overcome heartbreaking and gut-wrenching circumstances of personal and profession grief. This book is worthy of your time and attention. Don't pass it by.

Mary Sutter is from a well-to-do family in Albany New York and the females in her family have been midwives for generations, but Mary dreams the impossible dream of being a surgeon. When the sabers rattle between the North and the South and the men of Albany gleefully join the Army, Mary heads for Washington City - if she can't be a surgeon she'll nurse instead - and she is soon literally up to her neck in wounded soldiers. Mary's story takes her to several battlefields and through her eyes we see the horror of what these poor soldiers suffered at the hands of ignorant politicians and incompetent generals. I haven't the words for it, so I will let these quotes do the *talking*,

"If we let one on the train who will die anyway, it will doom two."

"In all the world, there is not medicine enough to heal what ails the Union army, mopping or no."

"How do you forget coffins? How do you forget to supply tourniquets? How do you forget that people might die?"

"Days later, the citizens of Washington would remark that the Potomac had turned the color of rust, but would not make the connection until news of the enormous numbers of casualties came pouring in."

"If they had just washed their hands between patients, then all those deaths could have been prevented."

This is a novel that will move you and anger you. I actually had to put it down a couple of times and take an emotional break with something lighter. You will learn a whole lot more about the removal of limbs than you might ever wish to know and if you are the least bit fainthearted this might not the book for you. One more thing, if you're expecting "a gorgeous love story" as one jacket blurber mentions - you are not going to find it here. Yes there are three men who love Mary but that is not the main focus of this book, nor should it be considered *chick lit*. Like other reviewers, I wasn't that fond of the chapters with Lincoln and his cronies but other than that this is a solid five star read, and would make an excellent book club choice.

What a fascinating and powerful story this was. A midwife that wants to be a surgeon during the time in history that women were still not allowed into medical school (if you could even call them that), the Civil War is breaking out and her fraternal twin sister has just snagged the man that Mary is interested in. Mary is determined though, that she will become a doctor. She finds her way into medical work in every way she can including working at a horribly filthy and dilapidated hospital in Washington as the wounded soldiers are brought in.

Eventually she walks up to the White House to Abraham Lincoln's aid and ask for resources to help the soldiers in the field, where she convinces a surgeon to teach her to do surgery by doing leg amputations one after another. Although careful and skilled, she and the other doctors are distressed to see their patients who seem to be on the mend, succumb to fever and infection. It is only in the few years following the war that the germ theory was learned of and that if they had only washed their hands between patients and cleaned their instruments, many of the Civil War soldiers could have been saved from death.

A book that so easily could have broken down into a trite love story gone wrong, or a skimming the surface of her desire to be a doctor and the two doctors that loved her. The author instead puts us in the mud and vermin infested hospitals and you begin to experience and learn about the Civil War in ways that I had never before known. Of troops sent out with no training, no supplies and no food. No knowledge of true sanitary practices. Of a country that has tilted on its axis as states fight each other and at times brother against brother. Robin Oliveira deals with it all and makes this a novel that will haunt you and make you realize in many ways the futility of war and the discrimination that women had to go through to do the things that they are so capable of--such as being doctors. Of women being given permission to be themselves. I expect many good things in the future from this author.

There's no doubt that the historical research that went into this novel was incredible - the level of detail about the living conditions, the time period, the medical issues... The author has done an amazing job of taking us to the Civil War. But this "serious novel" is depressingly serious. There's no escapism here, so if you're reading for enjoyment, this may not be the book for you. The characters are torn by their personal conflicts. The soldiers die needlessly, due to a lack of understanding of infection. The war is driven by generals that seem petty and petulant. Lincoln broods over the loss of life and sees nothing but hardship ahead.

I deeply respect the effort that went into this book, but as someone who reads for enjoyment, this wasn't the right book for me. I applaud the story being told, but found it a bit of a slog.

I have never read a debut novel as powerful, well-written, confidently paced or heartbreakingly beautiful as Robin Oliveira's My Name is Mary Sutter. This is an absolutely stunning book that I found impossible to put down. The characters were incredibly vividly wrought--from Mary to Jenny to Stipp to Bonnie to Amelia--I cared so deeply about all of them. The research required to create this novel must have taken several years; I honestly learned more about the Civil War from this book than I ever did in a history class. I could smell, taste, hear and see the battlefields, the fear, the carnage. And all the while I was rooting for this amazing, tenacious woman who just wanted to learn the art of surgery.

With words so carefully chosen, scenes so exquisitely rendered, Oliveira has written a debut novel that astounds. I raced through the first three hundred pages then slowed down and took a few days to finish the final sixty-four, because I didn't want the book to end. I wanted more from Robin Oliveira, and I'll bet you will too. Highly, highly recommended.

`My Name is Mary Sutter' has a promising premise - that of a young woman who wanted to become a doctor during the Civil War era. Although it's fiction, the author, Robin Oliveira, presented her novel against the very real historical background of a war that cost thousands of American's their lives. Unfortunately, this novel is only slightly less dry to read than a history book. The love interests in Mary Sutter's life weren't fully developed and yet, in the end, that is where the author lead the story. The anticipation of Mary becoming a physician seemed to fizzle out as the story progressed. Only interesting when the story revolved around Mary, it dragged on relentlessly when narrating historical facts about the war and President Lincoln. About half way through the book I just wanted to stop reading it, but anticipating a reward if I plugged on through, I finished. Sadly, the ending was anticlimactic and my only reward was knowing I was done. If you want to read about the Civil War, Oliveira did her homework, but if you want a classic, romantic, novel about an early feminist, you won't find it in Mary Sutter.

Compelling, well written and well researched. It just wasn't something that resonated with me. Robin Oliveira has certainly done her research and it shows. Her vivid descriptions of birth and death and battlefield hospitals are graphic and not for the squeamish. War is horrible, and war time conditions in any era are difficult. War time conditions during the Civil War were abominable and are, I believe, accurately portrayed here.

The story was more clinical than moving. The historical aspect showing the early days of the suffrage movement and western medicine was fascinating. However, I never cared about nor had sympathy for any of the characters. Mary was strong and driven and brave. She just wasn't very likeable. Overall, a fascinating disappointment.

On the eve of the Civil War, Mary Sutter is a young, unmarried midwife practicing in upstate New York. Heir to her maternal family calling in midwifery, she works along with her mother and mentor, Amelia. Mary is brilliant and has surpassed her mother both in skill and knowledge, but Mary wants more than to be a midwife. She is driven to become a surgeon, although medical schools were closed to women in the mid-1800's. Nevertheless, Mary continues to seek admission through personally contacting the schools, even though she is not given access to the decision makers.

Robin Oliveira has written a story of one woman's determination to achieve her desires; Mary is embued with courage and has the persistent nature which allows her to pursue her dream. The strongest portions of this novel dealt with the historical characters' interaction with Mary, and with the battle scenes and resulting medical situations. The portion of the book focusing on the battle at Frederick MD and Mary's triage efforts was riveting. The scene in which Mary, out of the necessity of having too many amputations for one doctor to perform, becomes a surgeon is intense. It is evident that Oliveira has done her research and has been able to synthesize the information so that the novel flows seamlessly from scene to scene. Descriptions and events are vividly set out so that the reader has a feeling of actually becoming a part of the action.

I felt Oliviera's writing was somewhat less forceful when it came to characterization. Mary was interesting, but not exciting or sympathetic; she suffered from the same intensity which plagues many driven individuals who are perceived as one-dimensional. Although she has an emotional aspect, Mary presents as a stoic personality. Jenny, her twin sister; Christian, her younger brother; Thomas, for whom Mary has undeclared feelings which must remain secret since he marries Jenny; and Amelia were essentially characters who have been done previously in other novels. They represent the beautiful, but flighty sister; the mischievious younger brother; the orphaned neighbor who has been taken into the family's heart; and the loving, supportive mother. William Stipp, the surgeon who eventually becomes Mary's romantic interest, presented the most potential to become an interesting character. However, his background was only briefly explored so that the reader was engaged but was never completely presented with the complete details. His life might well become a sequal/prequal to "My Name is Mary Sutter" as that life appears to have numerous incidents and emotional incidents upon which Oliveira might expand.

I felt "My Name is Mary Sutter" was an excellent, but not particularly outstanding read. I was not overcome by emotion as were some other reviewers, nor was I unable to put this novel aside when life called. However, the book is definitely above average and Oliviera shows potential as a writer of novels which do not follow a formula. Anyone interested in a different perspective on the Civil War and on women's efforts to become doctors will find this interesting.

Another all nighter was spent reading this captivating book about a woman who wanted to become a medical doctor. Mary Sutter and the rest of the characters in this book that will take you back to the Civil War era. The detailed research shines as author Robin Oliveira details various medical procedures used by midwives.

She also describes how independent women, women who worked when most women stayed at home, managed to care for their families while heading off to lying-ins or delivering babies.

Her research also shines as she accurately details the history of the Sutter family who have roots back to France and later America as they take part in the wealthy railroading industry.

Highly recommend.

In the early 1860's, Mary Sutter, a young midwife, wants more. Known locally as the most talented midwife, she wants to learn the entire body and become a doctor. She approaches a medical school and is turned away. She then asks a local doctor to teach her and again is denied.

But events are about to overtake everyone's life in America. The War Between the States is beginning, and families are torn asunder and cultural conventions are changed forever. Mary leaves her family and moves to Washington where she hopes to achieve her goal. Her brother, her brother-in-law and the local doctor that denied her all enlist. Mary becomes a nurse in a hospital in Washington.

As time goes on, the doctor in charge of the hospital realises that Mary is different from the other nurses, and that she has the ability to do more. Hospitals and doctors are overwhelmed with soldiers, both wounded in battle or taken ill with one of the epidemics that swept Army camps. With so much need, throwing away the talents of anyone willing to help is not possible. As the war progresses, Mary gets her chance to learn medicine and become a surgeon.

Robin Oliveira has created a book that will remain in readers' minds long after the last page is read. Neither war nor early medicine is glorified or simplified. The butual cruelty and waste is laid bare. Readers learn the history of President Lincoln's decisions and his inability to get talented generals. It is difficult to imagine how different war was with the limited medical knowledge available. This was the first war with mass amputations. Doctors learned from these about keeping wounded individuals alive. Sanitation's role was unknown, as were most medicines and procedures. The breaking apart of families by war is also portrayed realistically. There was no ability to communicate easily; letters could take weeks to arrive. Transportation and getting from one city to another took days if not weeks. A soldier might be dead for weeks or months before the news got back home to his family.

This book is recommended for historical fiction readers, and well as those interested in how women fought the bonds that kept them from the professions. Many historical fiction books are written in medieval times. While those are interesting, this look at our own country a century or so ago is breaktaking. This is Robin Oliveira's first novel. I know I'll be anxiously awaiting her next one.