The Winter Soldier

By: Daniel Mason

Narrated by: Laurence Dobiesz

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

The epic story of war and medicine from the award-winning author of The Piano Tuner is "a dream of a novel...part mystery, part war story, part romance" (Anthony Doerr, author of All the Light We Cannot See).

Vienna, 1914. Lucius is a twenty-two-year-old medical student when World War I explodes across Europe. Enraptured by romantic tales of battlefield surgery, he enlists, expecting a position at a well-organized field hospital. But when he arrives, at a commandeered church tucked away high in a remote valley of the Carpathian Mountains, he finds a freezing outpost ravaged by typhus. The other doctors have fled, and only a single, mysterious nurse named Sister Margarete remains.

But Lucius has never lifted a surgeon's scalpel. And as the war rages across the winter landscape, he finds himself falling in love with the woman from whom he must learn a brutal, makeshift medicine. Then one day, an unconscious soldier is brought in from the snow, his uniform stuffed with strange drawings. He seems beyond rescue, until Lucius makes a fateful decision that will change the lives of doctor, patient, and nurse forever.

From the gilded ballrooms of Imperial Vienna to the frozen forests of the Eastern Front; from hardscrabble operating rooms to battlefields thundering with Cossack cavalry, The Winter Soldier is the story of war and medicine, of family, of finding love in the sweeping tides of history, and finally, of the mistakes we make, and the precious opportunities to atone.

"The Winter Soldier brims with improbable narrative pleasures...These pages crackle with excitement... A spectacular success."—Anthony Marra, New York Times Book Review

©2018 Daniel Mason (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"The beauty of The Winter Soldier persists even through scenes of unspeakable agony. That tension reflects the span of Daniel Mason's talent. As a writer, he knows how to capture the grace of a moment; as a doctor, he knows how wrong things can go...The Winter Soldier draws us into the deadly undertow of history that swept away so many in the early twentieth century. The redemption the story ultimately offers is equally unlikely and gorgeous, painfully limited but gratefully received in a world thrown into chaos."—Ron Charles, Washington Post

"Not only does Mason make every crumb of pertinent history, culture, and geography so real throughout this saga that a reader feels instantly teleported into all of it but The Winter Soldier delivers, in shocking detail, a relentless inventory of the era's medical knowledge and practices...The novel's pacing clips along tightly; its closure, when at last it comes, proves deeply, memorably moving...One is reminded of a dozen greats: Doctor Zhivago, The English Patient, For Whom the Bell Tolls."—Joan Frank, San Francisco Chronicle

"The Winter Soldier held me by the throat from the first lyrical page to the last. A story which manages to be as original as it is timeless, and above all, credible."—Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of Room

Good story + Terrible ending= disappointment

3 stars only because of beautiful writing and interesting story until the end. So completely implausible given the arc of the story. As if the author reached the desired word count and then had nowhere to go with it. Well folks, let’s throw this character into the ending no matter how stupid. Sigh. The air came out of the balloon....with a giant thud.

Great Book

I loved this book. "Cutting for Stone" was one of my favorite all time books and this is the first book I've read since that has ignited a similar fire in my soul. The characters are heartbreakingly amazing, carrying their agony, passion and regret with dignity through the unimaginably horrific backdrop of World War One. The main characters are full of surprises as they approach each challenge with the motive, "First, do no harm." Though the blood and gore of wounded soldiers is at the forefront, it's the esthetic heart-felt longings of the doctor with all his honest self-examination and determination that caused me much disappointment at its end. I will continue to think about this band of disparate humans thrown together as a family. Love is so much stronger than hat.

Disappointing

Decent story with a disappointing ending. It was like the author just decided he needed to finish this thing after dragging it on for too long.

struggled to get through the first half

I struggled to get through the first half of the book, which was predominantly about war,. It went into great details of the horrors and atrocities of war, which is more than I want o hear about. I know it happened, and there were many components that were integral to the plot, like developing the father as a complete war enthusiast, but I felt it was over indulgent. it reminded me of my German teacher in high school, and how dark her outlook was on life.
There was some redeeming quality near the end, and I did want to finish the book to discover the outcome. Sadly that was a let down.

Not a Romance Novel

Absolutely beautifully written. What a delight.For those who were disappointed in the ending... You will certainly be disappointed if you think this is a romance novel. It's a story of coming of age during war, dealing with grief and guilt and in the end understanding what it takes to begin to heal.

An Amazing Book!

This book is fantastic! It melds history, love, loss, war and the fierce determination of the human spirit. I am going to buy this book in hard copy as I want to read parts of it again. I finished it in three days, putting it down only when other duties so required. I highly recommend it!

Winter soldier is a hidden gem

I love historical fiction and this story does not disappoint. Such a great ending, with a sad little twist. The narrator is spectacular as well.

A Doctor's Story

As a physician, I have a particular interest in narratives and fiction by and about physicians. This well-written book will appeal to medical practitioners and students. It belongs on the same shelf as Arrowsmith, by Sinclair Lewis and The Cunning Man by Robertson Davies (both available on Audible). Osler wrote: "To talk of disease is an Arabian Night's experience." This holds true for The Winter Soldier. I look forward to more books by Daniel Mason.

Worth the read

A very slow book... kinda tedious, but... the ending... that made it worth it. It's not Marvel. It's not fast paced. It's not a light read. It's not a page turner either. But, you feel accomplished at the end, as hopefully the main character does...
It's been a while since I've read something like this and I look forward to Mason's books.

Like Listening To A Painter

Daniel Mason uses his words like a painter uses his paint brush. He is beautifully descriptive, making you feel like you can smell, hear and see what he is describing. He truly has a gift! Where he falls short, is in his plot. This story was long and drawn out, with a very disappointing climax. He leaves you with unanswered questions, and unresolved feelings...