Originally, it was the cover and title of the novel that encouraged me to borrow it from my local library. As someone who’s fascinated with medicine and the human body, I love reading medical stories.
Set in 1817, the novel focuses primarily on two characters: Hazel Sinnett who comes from an upper crust family in Edinburgh and a pauper named Jack Currer who lives from one coin to the next working in the theatre during the day and by night, a resurrection man stealing bodies from graves. Practically a ghost in her own home, Hazel boldly disguises herself as a man and enrols at the Edinburgh Anatomist’s Society; yet her secret is quickly discovered and Hazel is expelled from the course. Before expulsion, however, she manages to strike a deal with Dr Beecham: if she can pass the Physician’s Examination, she will be admitted to the Edinburg Anatomist’s Society as a physician. For this reason, I anticipated this novel to be your run of the mill cliched and hackneyed ‘follow your heart and go against the grain, even if it antagonises everyone around you.’ Yet as one unpacks Hazel’s background and her family’s story, I can see that the author has given her something of a Mulan quality in more ways than one.
In saying all of this, I don’t feel comfortable giving the novel a five star rating. Personally, I found it slow moving and it took two thirds of the novel to get to climax and for the link between Jack and Hazel to become apparent.
After meeting by chance at the Anatomist’s Society, Jack and Hazel join forces to procure corpses for Hazel to use in her medical and anatomy studies. The grave digging and body snatcher scenes have a way of adding some tension to the novel as it kept me wondering when and how they would be discovered; also, what it would mean for the future Lady Almont after she becomes engaged. They also added some darkness to the novel that stopped it from becoming your usual cliched ‘follow your heart’ story. Schwartz has a way of writing the exhumation scenes in a way that has one gagging when the stench of corpses almost jumps off the page at you. Not to mention the gruesome descriptions. The worst part: the use of resurrection men to procure corpses for doctors and medical students alike to learn from actually happened all those centuries ago!
The story reaches its second climax after Hazel and Jack uncover corpses missing body parts and mutilated. Amidst this, Jack and many others are disappearing off the streets in droves.
Without giving away the ending, I will say the following: it hit me like a sledge hammer and was far from the usual cliched ‘follow your heart’ ending, which typically results in everyone getting what they want. The weirdest part, however, was that I was both surprised and saddened by this. Given ‘Anatomy: A Love Story’ is half of a duology, there is hope for a satisfactory ending.Show moreShow less
Set in 1817, the novel focuses primarily on two characters: Hazel Sinnett who comes from an upper crust family in Edinburgh and a pauper named Jack Currer who lives from one coin to the next working in the theatre during the day and by night, a resurrection man stealing bodies from graves. Practically a ghost in her own home, Hazel boldly disguises herself as a man and enrols at the Edinburgh Anatomist’s Society; yet her secret is quickly discovered and Hazel is expelled from the course. Before expulsion, however, she manages to strike a deal with Dr Beecham: if she can pass the Physician’s Examination, she will be admitted to the Edinburg Anatomist’s Society as a physician. For this reason, I anticipated this novel to be your run of the mill cliched and hackneyed ‘follow your heart and go against the grain, even if it antagonises everyone around you.’ Yet as one unpacks Hazel’s background and her family’s story, I can see that the author has given her something of a Mulan quality in more ways than one.
In saying all of this, I don’t feel comfortable giving the novel a five star rating. Personally, I found it slow moving and it took two thirds of the novel to get to climax and for the link between Jack and Hazel to become apparent.
After meeting by chance at the Anatomist’s Society, Jack and Hazel join forces to procure corpses for Hazel to use in her medical and anatomy studies. The grave digging and body snatcher scenes have a way of adding some tension to the novel as it kept me wondering when and how they would be discovered; also, what it would mean for the future Lady Almont after she becomes engaged. They also added some darkness to the novel that stopped it from becoming your usual cliched ‘follow your heart’ story. Schwartz has a way of writing the exhumation scenes in a way that has one gagging when the stench of corpses almost jumps off the page at you. Not to mention the gruesome descriptions. The worst part: the use of resurrection men to procure corpses for doctors and medical students alike to learn from actually happened all those centuries ago!
The story reaches its second climax after Hazel and Jack uncover corpses missing body parts and mutilated. Amidst this, Jack and many others are disappearing off the streets in droves.
Without giving away the ending, I will say the following: it hit me like a sledge hammer and was far from the usual cliched ‘follow your heart’ ending, which typically results in everyone getting what they want. The weirdest part, however, was that I was both surprised and saddened by this. Given ‘Anatomy: A Love Story’ is half of a duology, there is hope for a satisfactory ending. Show more Show less