You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

This thread is for any random chat about The Rose of Sebastopol.

There is no separate thread for spoilers this month so please warn people if your comment contains spoilers

***SPOILER ALERT**** - that'll probably do it :P

***SPOILER ALERT****

In the beginning, I thought Mariella was a pain in the rear. I admired Rosa for her fortitude and spunk. I did not care for Dr. Thewell at all - could see right through his false veneer to his inner core of self-absorption and, he was a cad, too! (Does anyone still use that word? I think today he would be called a "dog" or something - really a "cheat!") And, while I was unsure of Max, I came to love him in the end.

I loved the way Mariella evolved from being a simpering young lady in the beginning to becoming a woman strengthened by her own sense of right and wrong. Her love for Rosa was her driving force even in the face of betrayal. And, believe me when I say this, wholeheartedly, whichever your love leans, Mariella's love for Rosa was undeniable and admirable, too.

I would re-read this book and will recommend this book to friends who want to learn about war in all its gory detail, Florence Nightingale, and the Crimean War and the deep affection of love, too.

***SPOILER ALERT***
Yes! I did not like Mariella at first either. Thewell was oily and false to me as well. I was proud of her when she stayed behind even when her parents demanded she return home. That was when I really started to love her. I had always heard of the Crimean War, but had never read about it in depth or really understood where it was. I have questions about the relations between some of the characters but I will ask later when more of us are done.

I liked Mariella more than I liked the selfish Rosa! But that's not saying much ... the only character I really liked was Mariella's father. And later, Max - I liked his cockiness and 'funness' :)

It was interesting to learn about the Crimean War ... although I'm not sure how well Florence Nightingale was portrayed! I think I'd like to read a bit more about her - I don't think the book showed her in a very good light!

SuzieR:

Do you think the book tried to show a more human side to Florence Nightingale and show that even she could become ill despite all of her protective measures?

Yes, maybe Wanda, I didn't think of it like that! And I suppose the book wasn't really about her after all ... more her followers.

I found the whole 'hand-washing' aspect of the medical/nursing care very interesting and something still topical now (at least in the UK/NHS!)

Wanda wrote: "SuzieR:

Do you think the book tried to show a more human side to Florence Nightingale and show that even she could become ill despite all of her protective measures? "

If I had read this book without knowing who Florence Nightingale was, I would have thought she was just someone who rounded up some nurses, went to the Crimea, got sick after two weeks and that was the end of her career!

Yes, and thank goodness we all knew better than that. I felt that the author just glossed over Florence Nightingale so as not to allow her character to overtake the book. Much of Ms. Nightingale's principles were carried out through Rosa - cleanliness, willingness to help all fallen soldiers. To me, that is why the author had Ms. Nightingale in the background so much - to use her as a reference point and a minor character. So to me that is why she was sick and not mentioned so much. I was puzzled about her being mentioned only so briefly and when I thought about it, I thought that to mention her any more would detract from the story. But, who knows, these are only my thoughts. Do they make sense? I hope so and if not, please tell me - no hard feelings or offense - it's all discussion.

Started this last night and then left it in frigging work today boooooooo :(

Jenny wrote: "Started this last night and then left it in frigging work today boooooooo :("

Do you like it so far?

I've only read about 10 pages but so far so good. I know nothing about the book and haven't read any of the comments in these threads (so I don't spoil it) so I have no idea what it's going to be about yet. It's a good things that I was looking forward to reading it tonight. Bad that I left it in work :(

That is extremely frustrating!

Jenny wrote: "I've only read about 10 pages but so far so good. I know nothing about the book and haven't read any of the comments in these threads (so I don't spoil it) so I have no idea what it's going to be a..."

Darn it! If I could, I would email pages to you.

I got it back :) I'm on page 87. Not very much has happened yet but I think I like it so far!!

Not sure what to make of Rosa yet. She reminds me of someone in something :P but can't remember what. Hopefully it will come to me.