My Name Is Mary Sutter

February 15, 2010
The Civil War offers a 20-year-old midwife who dreams of becoming a doctor the medical experience she craves, plus hard work and heartbreak, in this rich debut that takes readers from a small upstate New York doctor's office to a Union hospital overflowing with the wounded and dying. Though she's too young for the nursing corps, Mary Sutter goes to Washington, anyway, and, after a chance meeting with a presidential secretary, is led to the Union Hotel Hospital, where she assists chief surgeon William Stipp and becomes so integral to Stipp's work she ignores her mother's pleas to return home to deliver her sister's baby. From a variety of perspectives—Mary, Stipp, their families, and social, political, and military leaders—the novel offers readers a picture of a time of medical hardship, crisis, and opportunity. Oliveira depicts the amputation of a leg, the delivery of a baby, and soldierly life; these are among the fine details that set this novel above the gauzier variety of Civil War fiction. The focus on often horrific medicine and the women who practiced it against all odds makes for compelling reading.

Kimberly Farr narrates this remarkable Civil War novel with refinement and precision. Mary Sutter is an appealing and capable protagonist--yet she's far from perfect. Farr gives her voice a gentle strength. A midwife who longs to be a surgeon but is perpetually refused entrance to medical school, Mary finds opportunity in the war to learn about medicine. But it also forces her to confront the imperfections of her family and to discover her ability to endure the ordeals she encounters. Farr successfully portrays a wide range of characters--from Abraham Lincoln to Mary's twin sister, Jenny--using subtle variations to differentiate their individual voices. Fans of historical fiction will be hard-pressed to find better. K.O. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine