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marymarsh94's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a while to get into this one. Overall the story was told pretty well.
jennie_cole's review against another edition
3.0
The Swiss Nurse is Mario Escobar's latest book about civilians during WWII in Europe. This is based on a true story about a Swiss run expectant mothers hospital in southern France during the war. Escobar's novel follows Isabel, a Spanish woman who is trying to find her American husband at the end of the Spanish Civil War, and Elizabeth, a Swiss woman who convinces the charity she works with to fund an expectant mothers hospital for the Spanish women stuck at the refugee camps in southern France after fleeing Franco.
Like Escobar's other books this is a story of regular people doing great things in the face of injustice and evil. You want to get to the end of the book to find out how the story ends, even though you kind of know from the beginning. If you are a fan of Escobar's books then you will enjoy this. Would I recommend this to someone who does not already have it on their list? Probably not. And I say that because I feel like this genre of WWII civilian novels needs to be over. Not every story needs to be told and I feel like that is what we are getting to now.
Like Escobar's other books this is a story of regular people doing great things in the face of injustice and evil. You want to get to the end of the book to find out how the story ends, even though you kind of know from the beginning. If you are a fan of Escobar's books then you will enjoy this. Would I recommend this to someone who does not already have it on their list? Probably not. And I say that because I feel like this genre of WWII civilian novels needs to be over. Not every story needs to be told and I feel like that is what we are getting to now.
booknerd315's review against another edition
2.0
Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review.
I would give this a final 2.5 star read. I love historical fiction and I get very excited when I find books that focus more than WW2 stories. The synopsis to this book is what drew me in- heroic women, Spanish Civil War (something I know little about) and dual timelines.
The synopsis sounds so much better than the actual execution of the book. This is my first book of Escobar and I felt like this book had a lot of telling instead of showing plus it felt a bit like whiplash. You are told about one main character then the next page we are told about a major event that focused on the second main character.
I'm disappointed because I usually devour historical fiction and I love trying to find new authors. But this book just didn't fare well for me as a reader.
I would give this a final 2.5 star read. I love historical fiction and I get very excited when I find books that focus more than WW2 stories. The synopsis to this book is what drew me in- heroic women, Spanish Civil War (something I know little about) and dual timelines.
The synopsis sounds so much better than the actual execution of the book. This is my first book of Escobar and I felt like this book had a lot of telling instead of showing plus it felt a bit like whiplash. You are told about one main character then the next page we are told about a major event that focused on the second main character.
I'm disappointed because I usually devour historical fiction and I love trying to find new authors. But this book just didn't fare well for me as a reader.
morgangiesbrecht's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to enjoy this book because it sounded so intriguing. Nursing? WW2? High stakes? That stunning cover?! Yes, please! Unfortunately, I felt rather disappointed & a bit overwhelmed.
This book was an insight into an event I knew little about—the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). As a history lover, I greatly appreciated how well-researched & informed the story was. Beforehand, I had no clue of the war’s effects on & proximity to WW2 & all the chaos it unleashed in Europe. Some unfamiliar eras you can read about and still understand… but with this one, there was so much information presented (often in large chunks of dialogue) that it was hard to take in at times. And the politics… I still don’t fully understand them.
Character wise, I was super excited for a story about a nurse, but I often found Elisabeth’s story (the nurse) was overshadowed by Peter & Isabel’s POVs. Personally, I LOVED Elisabeth. She’s strong, determined, sacrificial, empathetic—like I said, I loved her! I would have been happy to read an entire book with just her POV because I wanted more of her story/journey. Don’t get me wrong, Peter & Isabel were okay, and my heart broke for them & those they met on their journeys, but I guess I went into this story with different expectations.
The main thing I struggled with was how bleak this story was. The atrocities were vivid. There was so much heartache, so much loss, so much darkness. And not a lot of hope. I’m not against raising awareness of the horrors of history, far from it. If we aren’t remembering history, then we’re doomed to repeat it. But I believe we need to temper that bleakness with a silver lining of hope. By the end, I was emotionally drained & exhausted, and still had questions.
In terms of content, there was a lot of language/swearing. Way more than I was expecting, and I quickly lost count of all the usages. There are hints of a married couple having intimacy (not shown), a woman remembering her wedding night (not detailed), and prostitution & trafficking play a part in the story along with 2-3x non-graphic s*xual assaults. There are traumatic births, mentions of suicide, and all around, a lot of dying. It isn’t a read for the faint of heart.
That said, even though this wasn’t the book for me, I do appreciate the author bringing a relatively obscure part of history to life, and this quote resonated with me, as it feels especially relevant to our modern era:
“‘That’s the problem. In our world today, ideology has infected everything. You’re either for something or against it, and nobody cares about the truth.’”
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.
This book was an insight into an event I knew little about—the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). As a history lover, I greatly appreciated how well-researched & informed the story was. Beforehand, I had no clue of the war’s effects on & proximity to WW2 & all the chaos it unleashed in Europe. Some unfamiliar eras you can read about and still understand… but with this one, there was so much information presented (often in large chunks of dialogue) that it was hard to take in at times. And the politics… I still don’t fully understand them.
Character wise, I was super excited for a story about a nurse, but I often found Elisabeth’s story (the nurse) was overshadowed by Peter & Isabel’s POVs. Personally, I LOVED Elisabeth. She’s strong, determined, sacrificial, empathetic—like I said, I loved her! I would have been happy to read an entire book with just her POV because I wanted more of her story/journey. Don’t get me wrong, Peter & Isabel were okay, and my heart broke for them & those they met on their journeys, but I guess I went into this story with different expectations.
The main thing I struggled with was how bleak this story was. The atrocities were vivid. There was so much heartache, so much loss, so much darkness. And not a lot of hope. I’m not against raising awareness of the horrors of history, far from it. If we aren’t remembering history, then we’re doomed to repeat it. But I believe we need to temper that bleakness with a silver lining of hope. By the end, I was emotionally drained & exhausted, and still had questions.
In terms of content, there was a lot of language/swearing. Way more than I was expecting, and I quickly lost count of all the usages. There are hints of a married couple having intimacy (not shown), a woman remembering her wedding night (not detailed), and prostitution & trafficking play a part in the story along with 2-3x non-graphic s*xual assaults. There are traumatic births, mentions of suicide, and all around, a lot of dying. It isn’t a read for the faint of heart.
That said, even though this wasn’t the book for me, I do appreciate the author bringing a relatively obscure part of history to life, and this quote resonated with me, as it feels especially relevant to our modern era:
“‘That’s the problem. In our world today, ideology has infected everything. You’re either for something or against it, and nobody cares about the truth.’”
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.
emeryclarke's review against another edition
3.0
I have found very few historical fiction novels focusing on the horrors of Franco's Spain and had high expectations for this book. Historical fiction focusing on an often overlooked (at least in this genre) part of history from an author with multiple well-received novels under his belt. Sounds amazing, right? Sadly, wrong.
The characters seemed empty. As tragedy strikes around them, again and again, they get through, they go on, but rarely internally react. External reactions, sure "she burst into tears," "he raised his weapon," but the emotional toll is never tallied, it is never truly felt by the character or the reader. Sometimes the missing connection was almost passed off under the guise of "God will provide." I'm not sure if Escobar was honestly trying to make this a religious book, or if he didn't know how to write emotions and used this as a cover. This missing connection was a serious struggle for me which almost lead me to DNF the book.
The Swiss Nurse is neither a fun, nor happy book. With the disconnect of the main characters and the constant horrors they endure, you feel empty and detached by the end of the narrative. I would caution that should you try to read it, do so at the appropriate time emotionally.
Thank you Netgalley for the audio arc of this book for my honest review.
The characters seemed empty. As tragedy strikes around them, again and again, they get through, they go on, but rarely internally react. External reactions, sure "she burst into tears," "he raised his weapon," but the emotional toll is never tallied, it is never truly felt by the character or the reader. Sometimes the missing connection was almost passed off under the guise of "God will provide." I'm not sure if Escobar was honestly trying to make this a religious book, or if he didn't know how to write emotions and used this as a cover. This missing connection was a serious struggle for me which almost lead me to DNF the book.
The Swiss Nurse is neither a fun, nor happy book. With the disconnect of the main characters and the constant horrors they endure, you feel empty and detached by the end of the narrative. I would caution that should you try to read it, do so at the appropriate time emotionally.
Thank you Netgalley for the audio arc of this book for my honest review.
eguillotaj's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to Harper Collins Christian Publishing for the opportunity to read this book!
Based on true events of the Spanish Civil War and WWII, this book tells the stories of some of the heroes and victims of tragedy. Elisabeth Eidenbenz was a Swiss nurse. She fought hard to provide hope to mothers and children who may otherwise not have lived. Her bravery and strength saved hundreds of lives.
This book was truly heartbreaking. A must read!
Based on true events of the Spanish Civil War and WWII, this book tells the stories of some of the heroes and victims of tragedy. Elisabeth Eidenbenz was a Swiss nurse. She fought hard to provide hope to mothers and children who may otherwise not have lived. Her bravery and strength saved hundreds of lives.
This book was truly heartbreaking. A must read!
aprilische's review against another edition
1.0
I thought this would be much more about the mothers, children and nurses at the maternity home but I felt that it hardly was at all! There were so many boring details about the war and fighting that i felt didn’t add to the story at all. I had huge hopes for Elisabeth’s story, but man did this fall short. Characters had no depth and I didn’t relate to any of them. Not sure how a book in this subject matter could be boring, but this one managed it.