Book Review: The Rebel Wife

I had a hard time putting down this post-Civil War novel by Taylor Polites. I was even reading during breakfast and lunch, which is quite an unusual feat for this mom who usually saves reading for bedtime. The novel was that engrossing.

Augusta Branson is a new widow, thrown into a world of chaos and confusion just when she thought life might be returning to some semblance of normalcy after the Civil War. Born into a wealthy, well-respected Southern family, Augusta lost seemingly everything during the war: her father, brother, and her lifestyle. She is forced by her mother to marry a Eli, a man hated by her society for his political standings.

When Eli dies of a strange sickness, Augusta quickly realizes that she knows absolutely nothing about anything—that, as a rich southern woman, she has been kept in the dark her entire life. The Judge, who has been a father figure of sorts to her, informs her that she has no money—that her husband was scoundrel. But her husband's trusted servant, Simon, has a different story. Can she trust a former slave, whom she has believed to be vastly inferior, over her kin and mentor, the Judge?

 Augusta begins uncovering all kinds of truths she doesn't want to believe. She'd like to just exist in the oblivion that the doctor-prescribed laudanum brings—but can she really trust the doctor to know what's best for her? Are her servants hiding something? And most of all, how will she and her young son survive? 

Polites is an excellent writer, and this story of life in a violent time of upheaval after the war is mesmerizing. Highly recommended.

Book Review: The Judas Field

My 86-year-old father and I flew out to Seattle (from Tennessee) a few weeks ago to visit his sister, my aunt. Strangely, my father did not bring a book with him for the long flight, so I gave him Howard Bahr's The Judas Field: A Novel of the Civl War. He devoured it well before the end of the flight, which included a long nap on his part, as well.

At several points while reading, my father said, "Listen to this." He'd then read me a beautifully poetic passage from Bahr's book. My father and I are suckers for word crafting. When he handed it back to me, he said that he really enjoyed it but didn't know if I would like it.

I did like it, actually. The Judas Field is stark and sad, but the story is well told and vivid. Cass Wakefield is a Civil War veteran, haunted by the horrors of the war. Twenty years after the war, an old friend asks him to take her to Franklin, TN, where her father and brother were killed. She wants to dig up the bodies and rebury them in Mississippi.

Cass reluctantly agrees and embarks on a painful journey full of horrific memories and an array of ghosts. The discriptions of the battles as remembered by Cass are really amazing; Bahr is masterful enough to conjure up a nearly tangible vision of the horrors of battle. This novel is the gritty heart and soul of a soldier in the midst of slaughter that was the Battle of Franklin.

The novel is beautifully written and terribly sad, but a truly mesmerizing window into how lives are altered forever by war.

Book Review: My Name Is Mary Sutter

As Robin Oliveira's first novel, My Name Is Mary Sutter has set the standard high for the author. This novel set during the Civil War was so fabulous, so compelling that I mourned when I had finished it. I mean, not like sobbing uncontrollably or anything like that, but I was bummed. I wanted more.

Mary Sutter is a strong young woman who has a singular focus: to be a surgeon. During Civil War times, this was considered outrageous. Women were nurses, not physicians. Mary futilely attempts to intern with a few surgeons, but they all refuse her. Ultimately, she escapes from her privileged home in Albany, New York and heads to Washington, DC, where she is thrown into a gritty world of amputations, pain, exhaustion, and constant heartache. In a rundown hotel-made-hospital, she becomes a surgeon.

I have nothing but praise for Oliveira. Her writing is delicious. Her characters are vivid and memorable; the dialogue is excellent; the historical perspective fascinating. I will wait with expectation for her next novel and hope it can be even half as good as Mary Sutter.

A great companion to this novel is March, by Geraldine Brooks, which I reviewed recently. The two together depict a side of the Civil War that doesn't get as much attention as the battles and lives of soldiers.

Thanks to Wisteria at Bookworm's Dinner for the initial recommendation of this novel!

Other Reviews of My Name Is Mary Sutter
Fiction Writers Review: "Mary herself is a symbol of what women have historically brought to the American experiment, showing incredible tenacity in the face of injustice and patient nurture in the aftermath of violence."
ReadSpace: "Combine that with real people and events from history, a set of very human characters who give perspective to what is happening, and even a love story and this book moves beyond just a Civil War story."
CaribousMom: "In the pages of her novel, Oliveira captures the chaos, death, and trauma of under supplied hospitals and overwhelmed doctors and nurses…bringing to life the amazing stamina and courage of those who filled those roles."
My Friend Amy: "…should appeal to readers interested in the history ofmedicine, war-time medicine, the advancement of women's rights, and the Civil War."
Take Me Away Reading: "his was truly a powerful book with a strong female lead."