The Swiss Nurse, by Mark Escobar is based on real events during the Spanish Civil War and then WWII in France. It is the story of Elisabeth Eidendenz, a Swiss teacher who helped orphans during the war in Spain, who crossed the Pyrenees Mountains after the defeat of the Republic, and then opened a maternity hospital care for Spanish refugee women who were pregnant in deplorable refugee camps. After Germany invaded France, she also helped hide Jewish women and children. She was aided by the Swiss Red Cross, Mennonites, and Quakers.

The stories of Spanish immigrants are based on testimonies of survivors. This book shows the horrors of war, man's inhumanity to man. Escobar also shows that even in the midst of the some of the worst evil the 20th Century saw, there was light and hope given by good people in the world. The book is full of faith-restoring passages. May we never forget, so we will never repeat. I was able to read an ARC on #NetGalley.

3.5 STARs
A well researched novel based on true events/people. I felt it was good depiction of war and how it impacted each individual featured.
The story starts off in the now and goes back in time like a storytelling but this was not picked up again until the end and felt disjointed to me. I would rather have gone straight into the story or linked back to the storyteller for more fluidity.
I did not link emotionally to the characters and felt bad for this due to the fact it is based on real life - I just felt a disconnect and the writing about the horrors felt described at times so I think this was why.
I really liked how we got to see different viewpoints and this worked well.
Thank you for the ARC and this is my honest review.

A gripping story based on real life, this story spans the end of the Spanish War and the beginning of WW2. It focuses on life in the refugee & prisoner camps along the southern border of France. While fascinating, I did find it a bit disjointed as the story kept jumping from person to person. The disjointed feeling could be because it's translated from another language. It does highlight the terrible conditions people lived through and the injustices that took place.
I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

The Swiss Nurse was an interesting read based on the true events of Elisabeth Eidenbenz, at the end of the Spanish Civil War and during WW2 for the Spanish refugees and Jews in France. It highlights the courage, bravery and determination of many people. As an avid reader of historical books, I thought it had a lot of protentional, however I felt it missed the emotion to be the heartfelt, teary, gripping, page turner it could have been, although there was POV from different characters, they all felt like the same person. I knew little of the Spanish Civil War so found The Swiss Nurse a thought-provoking introduction about a woman that did wonderful things during a time of hardship. 2 ½ stars.

3.5 ⭐

Eager to escape General Francisco Franco’s repressive regime at the end of the Spanish Civil War, half a million refugees began La Retirada, their long voyage of escape. Awaiting for them after an arduous trek by foot, were deplorable conditions in French refugee camps. It’s against this backdrop that Escobar’s latest, The Swiss Nurse, is set.

When all around her was pain and sadness and she had every reason to do nothing, Elisabeth Eidenbenz risked it all and make room for her humanity to shine. Appalled by the conditions in the refugee camps, she created the Elna Maternity Hospital and the Mothers of Elne in a desperate scramble to save those who couldn’t help themselves - expectant mothers exiled during La Retirada. France was witness to countless refugees after the Spanish Civil War and Eidenbenz was bold enough to make a difference in their lives.

Author Escobar has given us a roving camera view of life at this time by offering readers three different points of view: Isabel, a refugee who requires the services of the maternity hospital, Peter, her husband who gets caught up in political turmoil, and Elisabeth, the heroine of the story. In doing so, Escobar paints a true picture of this slice of history.

I struggled to write this review. I really wanted to like this one more than I did and it bothered me so much that I set it on the backburner…for months! With renewed optimism, I attempted it again and concluded that, although it’s well researched and translated, I was unable to connect to the characters in a meaningful manner. The atrocities and swearing added to my fatigue and, unfortunately, Eidenbenz’s courage and efforts weren’t strong enough to pull me out of a funk.

Although my least favourite of his novels, this book still manages to honour Elisabeth Eidenbenz, a true hero who left an unbelievable legacy.

I was gifted this copy by Harper Muse and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This novel takes place during the Spanish Civil War and the days leading up to World War II. Mario Escobar has taken real personalities from the era and built a novel around things these people accomplished to help the disenfranchised and refugees from Spain. The particular character, Elisabeth Eidenbenz, saw a great need among the Spanish refugees in France, and worked as hard as she could to fulfill that need with a maternity hospital. She was outspoken, bold, and took no prisoners (so to speak) where fulfilling these needs was a necessity rather than a luxury. The biggest need she filled was creating a maternity hospital for the expectant mothers.

Isabel is one of the refugees who ends up needing the maternity hospital, especially after being malnourished in the refugee camp. She is unsure where her husband, Peter is, but eventually finds him. Peter spent an inordinate amount of time in prison camps in France for various slights against the powers that be at the time.

Elisabeth, Isabel, and Peter have their own story lines throughout the plot, so it's like three plots in one cohesive novel. This is the kind of book that takes contemplation to sense all of the nuances of the times and events, the twists and turns of the plot, and the absolute horror that was going to be coming to France in the near future.

For Isabel and Peter, and later their daughter Lisa, they not only had to get out of Spain, but they also had to find passage from France to America. The State Department thwarted every attempt until they finally relented and gave them the Visas and documentation they needed to leave France, but they had to leave under assumed identities to get away from the camps.

I found this book to be compelling and hard to put down. It stretched my knowledge of World War II and the surrounding events and put faces and voices on people who would otherwise have no representation. Elisabeth is based on an historical person who did many of the things outlined in the book. I give it Five Stars.

Harper Muse provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

I always enjoy historical fiction especially ones based on an actual person. This is my first book by Mario Escoba and I was a little disappointed.

The story is about the brave and courageous women who helped rescue children during the Spanish Civil War and WWII.. it is written in dual timelines about three different characters which could be a bit confusing at times. The many foul words were not necessary in my opinion. I didn’t feel connected to the three main characters in the story and didn’t feel compassion towards them.

Overall I would give this book 3 stars. It did enlighten me on the Spanish War which I knew nothing about and the events that happen during this time.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse for an ARC copy of this book.

Thankful for Harper muse and Netgalley for allowing me to read an ARC of the Swiss Nurse. I really was hopeful for this novel as I love historical fiction however I really struggled on this one. I did not connect with any of the characters really and felt like they did not mesh into the role. I may just be in a slump however I was not able to easily finish them.

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.

Another great book by this author. I enjoyed reading this. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read.

This is a story based on a true story of a brave and courageous woman who helped save women and children during the Spanish Civil War and World War II. It tells a heartrending and heartwarming story full of hope, strength and fear.

This is a good book and I do like an historical fiction based on fact. I did enjoy this to a point but found the story being told by three characters became a little confusing and I think the characters themselves could have been a bit better developed.

Having said that, the tale itself was great and I really learned a bit more about these wars and what happened during these times.

A good read and I would give it 3 1/2 stars.

The Swiss Nurse by Mario Escobar features three different viewpoints that tell a different, yet unique event that occurred during World War II. While time-slip novels are interesting and different viewpoints usually work really well, I had a hard time following the different viewpoints in this novel. I don’t know if when the story was translated that the smooth transition to show the perspectives got muddled. There was a lot of carnage and damage from bombs, but the characters seem pretty stiff and one-dimensional. I had a hard time keeping track of the characters and if there were relationships between the different characters. As a word of caution, there are many foul words in the story and that did not make me happy either. I do not believe they need to be in any story. No matter the genre. Overall, The Swiss Nurse by Mario Escobar did not deliver what was promised. It was pretty hard to follow the characters and the plot. It might because of the translation from one language to another.

I received a complimentary copy of The Swiss Nurse by Mario Escobar from Harper Muse Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

I had pretty high expectations concerning "The Swiss Nurse", as I am fond of historical fiction, but I ended up disappointed.

The story is told alternatively between three characters: a Swiss nurse, Elizabeth (a true character, although by reading this book, we don't know how much is true and how much is fiction); a Spanish refugee, Isabel, and her American husband, Peter. I understand the choice to show different characters' points of view, but as a result, we don't get to know any of them well. I expected Elizabeth and Isabel to become very close as they are "together in the most important work of their lives" according to the book summary, but even though they do work together, they rarely interact on the pages.

I didn't find the characters endearing, and instead of having compassion for their suffering, I was mostly annoyed at all the bad things happening to them. To me, the author didn't manage to make the reader feel close to any character - not the three protagonists, nor all the (many) side characters, who basically all died horrible death every couple of pages. Rather than eliciting pity and horror, it rather normalised violence and inhumanity.

As a consequence, it wasn't a very enjoyable book. Books about war are of course not fun to read, but at least you should finish it by feeling compassion for the characters, or admiration for the protagonists... I was disappointed that despite its title, we didn't get to know so much about the Swiss nurse. The note at the end of the book gives minimum detail about the rest of her life. Also, the prologue and epilogue didn't bring anything at all to the story.

I therefore would not recommend this book, but I was still glad to have read a book taking place during the Spanish Civil War as it made me discover this conflict I knew nothing about (although I am still very confused as it was never really clear what was happening between who and why in the book, according to a neophyte like me).

A fascinating and gripping tale during the war. A gripping, well-written descriptive novel. I fell in love with both the characters and the story.

A beautifully written and based on real events. Mario escobar does a wonderful job of bringing this book to life.

I have read every book Mario Escobar has ever written, and I will continue to do so. Forever. He has written many novels, but I believe this one might be his best yet! This novel is so incredibly inspiring and heart-aching and, what is most incredible - based on a true individual and her courage, compassion and ingenuity was astounding! An excellent story by one of the top WWII fiction authors, but I think anyone regardless of whether they like historical fiction or not should read and would enjoy this wonderful novel. Wonderful, captivating writing gives this novel the depth and ability to pull in any reader. Vivid, descriptive story-telling, with interesting characters that have depth to them, and are skillfully rendered. Mr. Escobar has done a lot of research, and it shows. I highly recommend this author and all of his other books I have read have been nothing less than fantastic. He is definitely an auto-buy author for me, and I can't wait to own this novel in print.

Absolutely captivating novel giving a deep insight into the Spanish war and Spanish refugees in South of France. Even though I believed the novel was about the actual Swiss Nurse Elizabeth (a real character), she only appears in parallel with the main character of the book, Isabel whom we follow in much greater detail since the bombing in Gerona.
I enjoyed this novel very much but felt that both prologue and epilogue were definitely not necessary as they brought (for me) nothing interesting to the story. My first novel by the author, and I now intend to read more of his books!
I received a complimentary ARC of this novel from NetGalley and I am leaving voluntarily an honest review.