How Did I Get Here?
In 1854 Russia, young medical student Andrey Rozhdestvensky is struggling with hunger and in great need of clothing and shoes. The government makes medical students an offer: anyone who serves a year on the Crimean front providing medical care will have his final year of medical school waived and become a fully qualified doctor. This is the answer out of Andrey’s poverty-stricken life, but he is in for a rude awakening.
After a grueling trip from Moscow to the Crimea, he is faced with horrible filth and overcrowding. Diseased and wounded soldiers share beds soaked in blood, vomit, and urine. Many men are lying in filth on the floors. A group of women have been sent to assist, and against all expectation of the doctors, they prove to be very helpful in improving conditions. Among these women is Maria. She is a plain, large woman who is hard-working and kind, and with a good sense of humor. Andrey sets his sights on one of the attractive nurses and is repulsed by Maria. He reluctantly comes to respect Maria, and they develop a bond and camaraderie. This relationship and the way it unfolds are a delightful part of this book.
This is the second in Marlow’s series of Petrovo books, but it completely stands alone. The connection between the books is the village of Petrovo. In the first one, Who Is To Blame?, Marlow writes about the dichotomy between the lives of a noble family and the peasants of Petrovo during the time of the serf emancipation. In How Did I Get Here?, Andrey grows up in Petrovo, goes to university in Moscow, and eventually returns to Petrovo after his military service. This is a great addition to the stories around Petrovo, and I am looking forward to another one in Jane Marlow’s series.
