The Swiss Nurse

Title: The Swiss Nurse
Author: Mario Escobar
Major Themes: Spain, Spanish Civil War, France, Refugees, Mario Escobar, World War II
Synopsis: As people flee to France to escape the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, Elisabeth Eidenbenz, from Switzerland, does all she can to alleviate their suffering, and especially to help expectant and new mothers.

A few weeks ago, I went to Goodreads to leave a review on a book I had just read, and noticed, in a list of books that “readers also like,” The Swiss Nurse. Something about the cover caught my attention, so I did a little looking and soon decided that it was one I wanted to read—and found a copy available! I won’t say I enjoyed it, because so much of the story was awful, being a war story. However, I found it worthwhile and very well written.

It was 1939, and the Spanish Civil War was raging. Elisabeth Eidenbenz had come to Spain from her native Switzerland two years before and done all she could to relieve suffering in the war-torn country—but now, with Franco’s troops coming ever closer, she had to flee, taking everyone with her that she could. On arriving in France, she tried to continue her work with the refugees, soon realizing that what she most needed to do was to set up a home for the pregnant women and new mothers, so they would have a safe place to give birth and recover. How could she accomplish this—and for how long, especially after Germany invaded Poland and then turned to overrun France?

Isabel, whose story is told in first-person, was working in Barcelona when the war reached her and she had to flee. Her husband Peter, an American who had joined the fight against Franco, did his best to reach her in time, but had to flee for France, himself. Both eventually reached the same refugee camp on the beach, which had little or no shelter for the thousands of people crammed into it. Once they eventually found each other, they were quickly separated again by the authorities. Would they ever reach safety?

What a story! I had heard of the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s/early 1940s, but never knew much about it. Who would have thought that people from so many different countries joined in the fight there? I sure didn’t! The Swiss Nurse makes the horrors of that war and its effect on the people who had to flee the fighting come alive. In the midst of all the horror, however, there was still hope, still goodness. Elisabeth and those who worked with her shared love and care with all they could, and did everything possible to save lives. Even though this is not an overtly Christian book, still God’s love shines through. Read this book if you like to read books about World War II, but be sure to read my warnings first.

I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

WARNING: Chapter 1: a mother is killed in a bombing while feeding her baby, and two men fight with a knife. Chapter 2: damned war three times, people killed and dumped into a mass grave. Chapter 3: Goddam men, a bus blown to bits by a missile. Chapter 4: mother bleeds to death over her baby, damn well, Catalan bitch, men killed while trying to kill another man. Chapter 5: damned brute. Chapter 6: damned Fascists. Chapter 8: gun aimed at Peter. Chapter 9: damned ideologies, gun against Peter’s neck. Chapter 12: man has to let friends die. Chapter 13: good God. Chapter 14: damned war. Chapter 15: Oh God. Chapter 16: a married couple is intimate (one sentence). Chapter 17: a woman is raped. Chapter 18: damn it all, a baby is stillborn. Chapter 21: Good Lord. Chapter 41: Damned Nazis. There are likely many more instances of language and violence along these lines; I tend to skip over them while I read and forget to highlight them. What I have here should give you an idea of whether or not you want to read the book.

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