The Sweet Blue Distance

I can think of no better way to describe this book than as a compelling saga of the pre-Civil War American frontier. Author Sara Donati, once again, does NOT disappoint.

If you're unfamiliar with this author, Donati has created a family of characters (listed at the beginning of this book) who appear in different configurations in many of her books. In this novel, the focus is on nurse/midwife Carrie Ballentyne, who leaves her comfortable New York home (at Waverly Place for those who have read those two Donati novels) to take a job assisting in a physician's practice in Santa Fe, NM.

It's 1857 when the book begins. Readers get to experience, alongside Carrie, the long journey across the United States -- on newly established trains, by show more boat down the Mississippi River, across the Western plains by stagecoach, and on horseback. At this time in the Old West, indigenous tribal nations still control significant areas and the U.S. Army is working to impose order on the newly annexed southwest territories taken after the brutal Mexican-American War (1846-48). So, during the long journey, there are dangers to be faced, friendships to be made, even a bit of romance.

This is a tense period in American history. The abolitionism movement is growing stronger, amid states disagreeing over legalized slavery, and the American Civil War (1861-65) is just a few years off. White settlers in the West expect to take whatever land they want and dominate both indigenous peoples as well as those longstanding residents who were formerly ruled by both the Spanish and Mexican governments. Added to that are the prejudicial attitudes toward those who intermarry across racially distinguished groups. In other words, lots of racism in every direction.

Into this setting, Carrie brings her own personal challenges. Would she be accepted by the locals? Will she get along with the physician and his wife, with whom she will both live and work? Will expectant mothers who are white accept her care if she also treats Mexican and indigenous women? How will single men behave around a woman who arrives from the East expecting to practice her profession and remain single?

I enjoyed being submerged in Donati's vivid descriptions of American life during this time period, which was so vastly different in the Western territories from what was happening in the more developed Eastern states. Even just the infrequency of all kinds of communication kept the West so much more isolated. Though it was also fascinating to see how so many of the same issues (i.e. imposed expectations for women, racism, white privilege) were playing out in different ways in both areas.

It's a long (762 pages) but well-researched book but I found it easy to become engrossed in the story and found myself eager to find out how Carrie's new adventure would play out. show less

I can think of no better way to describe this book than as a compelling saga of the pre-Civil War American frontier. Author Sara Donati, once again, does NOT disappoint.

If you're unfamiliar with this author, Donati has created a family of characters (listed at the beginning of this book) who appear in different configurations in many of her books. In this novel, the focus is on nurse/midwife Carrie Ballentyne, who leaves her comfortable New York home (at Waverly Place for those who have read those two Donati novels) to take a job assisting in a physician's practice in Santa Fe, NM.

It's 1857 when the book begins. Readers get to experience, alongside Carrie, the long journey across the United States -- on newly established trains, by show more boat down the Mississippi River, across the Western plains by stagecoach, and on horseback. At this time in the Old West, indigenous tribal nations still control significant areas and the U.S. Army is working to impose order on the newly annexed southwest territories taken after the brutal Mexican-American War (1846-48). So, during the long journey, there are dangers to be faced, friendships to be made, even a bit of romance.

This is a tense period in American history. The abolitionism movement is growing stronger, amid states disagreeing over legalized slavery, and the American Civil War (1861-65) is just a few years off. White settlers in the West expect to take whatever land they want and dominate both indigenous peoples as well as those longstanding residents who were formerly ruled by both the Spanish and Mexican governments. Added to that are the prejudicial attitudes toward those who intermarry across racially distinguished groups. In other words, lots of racism in every direction.

Into this setting, Carrie brings her own personal challenges. Would she be accepted by the locals? Will she get along with the physician and his wife, with whom she will both live and work? Will expectant mothers who are white accept her care if she also treats Mexican and indigenous women? How will single men behave around a woman who arrives from the East expecting to practice her profession and remain single?

I enjoyed being submerged in Donati's vivid descriptions of American life during this time period, which was so vastly different in the Western territories from what was happening in the more developed Eastern states. Even just the infrequency of all kinds of communication kept the West so much more isolated. Though it was also fascinating to see how so many of the same issues (i.e. imposed expectations for women, racism, white privilege) were playing out in different ways in both areas.

It's a long (762 pages) but well-researched book but I found it easy to become engrossed in the story and found myself eager to find out how Carrie's new adventure would play out. show less

The Sweet Blue Distance by Sara Donati was a very good historical fiction story although at 800 pages, it did seem too long and I felt it could have benefited if the author had shortened it somewhat. As the author herself says, “ I write big, long detailed novels...”

The story is set in 1857 as a young midwife, Carrie Ballentyne, takes the perilous journey west from New York City to Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory to take up her profession there. She is accompanied by her younger brother and they travel by train, steamboat, stagecoach and horseback. On the journey she makes friends with Eva, a young widow, who becomes her fast friend. She also meets Eli, a surveyor, and these two share an immediate spark. Their love develops and they show more make plans to marry even though she is a white woman and he is of mixed races. Once in Santa Fe she realizes that the doctor’s family that has employed her is not exactly normal and Carrie is forced to take on added responsibilities and concerns.

The story is very detailed from the birthing of babies, to the culture and the social and political stature of the territory. From the foods they ate to the way they dressed, the author weaves her tale with vivid images as Carrie builds a new life for herself. show less

Story of a midwife in the 1840’s who travels from New York to Santa Fe to work for a doctor’s clinic as a midwife, she is too late to deliver the doctor’s wife’s baby and quickly sees that all is not right with the family. This book was way too long, it could have been 300 pages shorter.

This historical fiction novel is about a mid-19th-century midwife who moves from New York to New Mexico to take on a new job. Almost half of the book is about the journey from boat to train to covered wagon to horseback just to get to her new home. I love both the medical and pioneering parts. So far, Donati hasn't disappointed me with any of her novels.

Pretty close to perfect. Almost good enough to add to my favorites shelf. Not quite.