The Winter Soldier | 
so-soOof. It feels a little weird to still be championing Daniel Mason's writing, when in other hands, I'd be explaining that this novel lived up to every expectation of a tragic war-torn novel and its predictable plot beats. Did I see everything coming? No. But did I guess exactly how it would end just over halfway through? Yes. We can have the discussion about an author skillfully leading you towards a conclusion, 1/?
Offering prospective partners that will make materially advantageous matches to banish the ghostly remembrances of the woman he's still in love with? Yeah, exorcism sounds about right.
Taking a moment to be grateful for modern medicine. 🫣 If anyone wants to fill me in on the early medical trivia that explains why beef tea is good for skin infections, I'm all ears!
“...the curative power of manliness...“ Yeesh. 🤦🏼♂️
Learning is improved when silly goosery is involved. 🤪
pick#BookedInTime
This is my second book by Mason and I preferred this one. Beautifully written story set during World War One, on the Eastern front. Though it is a war story there is also a mystery and a little romance. As someone much smarter than me said “this novel convinces you with every sentence” 5 ⭐️
Checking in, how are your reads?
“Yes, Doctor, we remember her. She went to Kraków. No, she went to Jaroslaw. No, to Sambor. So to Stryj. She was from the mountains, Doctor, wasn't she? She was going home, she said.
Perhaps if you go there, they will know.
And on. And he would continue, a ghost searching for its flesh.”
pickThis was more of a love story - or, more precisely, a story about love - than a romance as such and the grittiness of the war setting meant it avoided the mushiness that makes me avoid romances. The writing is impressive, especially when describing the natural world, with some gorgeous turns of phrase. The initial tone is a foreboding that builds to a harrowing scene with the titular character while the second half of the book is ... ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Starting this one today. I'm not a huge fan of romance so hopefully the other aspects mentioned in Anthony Doerr's blurb will un-mushify it enough that I'll enjoy it.
Un-mushify is totally a word 😉
Getting a bit of reading done in my favorite summer reading spot before heading over to my bestie‘s house for the day. I haven‘t read this author before and I‘m enjoying this one so far. A co-worker told me The Piano Tuner was one of the best books he ever read so I‘m definitely going to check it out too.
pick4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was such a great historical fiction novel! I enjoyed the history narrative mixed with the medical cases seen during war, and also I enjoyed the fact that you could not predict what would happen next in the love story. I highly recommend this one!
Aside from graphic descriptions of battle wounds (which was not good for my weak stomach 🤢), this was a good story about a young man thrown into the military at the start of WWI to serve as an army doctor, despite the fact that he had not finished medical school. Doing his best to help the wounded and not get killed in the process, he manages to find love, which for reasons besides the war, was most inconvenient.
#aboutasoldier #magnificentmarch
I just finished a book from 2019 and this is my first one for 2020 since I am still testing for my Teacher cert.
Last book of 2019. Have my first book of 2020 picked out. Wonder what adventures I'll go on this year.
This was a good one. World War 1 is severely under represented in literature, and Daniel Mason did a great job capturing the gritty details. The details can be graphic, but that makes it all the better when representing this speck of history.
pickThis was good and the story held my attention. Was surprised by the ending! And although part of war and necessary since this is the story of an enlisted army doctor, my queasy stomach could have done without the detailed description of battle injuries!
#soldiersstory #booked2019
#booked2019 fall is all wrapped up now with these six read:) I have two books left for summer to complete the full challenge..
pickGood writing but longer than necessary. Surprising end. WW1 love story- a little gruesome in a few parts but it adds to the story.
Some of my books planned to read in July.
#julytbr #bookchallenges #bookchallengebyerin11 #popsugar2019
Thank you so much @MicrobeMom for the great book and pop!! I have been wanting both of these for a while and am so happy that you know me so well 😉
This was such a fun swap, thanks for hosting @kstadt929 !!!
#FunkoPopAndBookSwap
Bought this from the B&N sale. Sounds amazing!
pickI really loved this historical fiction. It follows a young man who wants to be a doctor through the terrors of war and after. He falls in love (duh?) which becomes its own post war adventure.
#BookMail Pt3 The next in my “missing” Goldsboro package is October BOTM. Set in 1914 Vienna, Lucius is a 22yrold med student at the outbreak of WWI. After enlisting, instead of the well run field hospital he‘s expecting, he‘s sent to a freezing, typhus ridden outpost in the Carpathian Mountains. With just a nurse to help after the other dr flees, he learns a brutal form of surgery as well as trying to help soldiers with shell-shock. #WarIsHell
Bedtime reading. Just started this novel and I am dazzled.
pickPick! A tale of desperation and guilt, love discovered and lost, in a small church converted to a hospital in the remote Carpathian Mountains during WWI. Recommended!
I‘m riding a great book wave! This is everything I‘m currently reading and ALL of them are compelling. 😁
Just started this and am riveted! Described as a story of love and medicine through the devastation of WWI.
Trying to double task but the music is catchy and Zac Efron is so handsome 🤩
Which doesn't really help to dissuade me from my biased hypothesis around the purpose of many historical novels. 2d
But having sen it coming, I'm closer to miffed than sad.
So, rant over, back to me again affirming that I absolutely love how Mason writes. I continue to maintain he has gotten better, I prefer his more recent releases to his backlist, but he captivates me on a story and sentence level, 2d
I have one more book, his first, and I'll be caught up with his body of work. Here's to hoping his debut departs from the bleak/tragic that were his second and third efforts.
The particulars: If you have a problem with the discussion of medical afflictions and early twentieth century treatments I'd recommend skipping this one. There's a fair amount of ick. 2d
War is hell, acknowledged, this book deals in some of the less front line versions of that hell, the soldiers suffering from physical and mental wounds, the callous bureaucracy, the inconceivable hard-heartedness in an impossible position that is those looking for more canon-fodder. 2d
Does one mistake define the rest of your life?
2d
Now for a walk, and then picture books.
⚠️animal experimentation, discussion of early medical procedures 2d