PUBLISHERS WEEKLY - REVIEW
A Gypsy woman's search
for healing leads to a passionate affair with a New York docter in Bollow's uneven but spirited first novel. Yana Kejako,
a volatile artist, checks into the eponymous sanitarium sometime in the 1880's after traditional medicine fails to heal a
debilitating arm injury. Her initial skepticism about Zastro seems justified: despite the doctor's impressive track
record, his methods (bizarre machines, magnetic allignments and metallic-threaded clothing designed to cure all female "ailments--
physical, mental, and sexual") are decidedly odd. But he's a powerful figure, and Yana soon joins with a group of women
who venerate Zastro despite-- or in some cases because of-- his bizarre but precise dedication to the healing power of
electrical currents. Though the controlled environment stifles her so much she contemplates leaving, her plans change
when sparks fly between her and Zastro. Yana uses her stereotyped Gypsy wiles to seduce the repressed but deeply passionate
doctor. Bollow's descriptions of Zastro's oddball methods are entertaining, and she sets up an intriguing triangle between
Zastro, Yana and a fellow patient, a jealous nymphomaniac. . . . Bollow shows promise. (Copyright
- Reed Business)
MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
Dr. Zastro, a renowned physician of the
1880's, specializes in hypnosis and electromagnetic healing, utilizing machines
that employ electrical stimulus. Every year, Dr. Zastro selects six women, each with a different ailment, for treatment
at his sanitarium for a period of three weeks. Although Dr. Zastro is devoted to the care of the women, he holds the
popular belief among males of the 19th century that females are the inferior sex. As a disciplined, self-isolating physician,
Dr. Zastro is initially irritated by independent, free spirited Yana Kejako, who has come to his sanitarium for treatment
of an arm injury due to a horse-riding accident. Half-Gypsy and half-Irish, Yana is an anomaly among women of the 1800's;
she is not afraid to speak her mind or question those in authority and does not submit to males. Although the two are
diverse culturally and in mindset, they are drawn together with a passion that cannot be denied and which is freeing for both.
When it seems they have found common ground through their love, an unforeseen event threatens to separate them forever.
Ms. Bollow has written a spellbinding story filled with yearning desire and heart-wrenching
loss. Her characterizations are deftly portrayed and her depiction of the developing romance between Yana and Dr. Zastro
delivered with sensitivity and sensuality. This historical peek into the views and practices of the medical field during
the late 1800's regarding the treatment of women is fascinating to read, as is the manner in which females were perceived
and treated by men. A compelling book and one I recommend without reservation. (Christy Tillery
French)
MICHELE COZZENS - REVIEW (Author
and Book Reviewer)
"Once upon a time there was a man named Phillipe and a woman named Yana... and
then what happened?" "Dr.
Zastro's Sanitarium For the Ailments of Women", a love story between two seemingly mismatched individuals, has a fairytale
essence. Set in the 1880s, this is the story of Dr. Phillipe Zastro, founder of a pioneering healing place for women, and
Yana, a
flamboyant and intelligent Gypsy who enters his three-week program. Both strong-willed individuals, they inadvertently fall
in love, and the story revolves around their secretive coupling and the complications that arise around them and because of
them.
Filled with
colorful and provocative secondary characters, there's rarely a dull moment during the initial three-week period,
when a handful of selected women of varying classes and degrees of education come to the sanitarium for Dr. Zastro's special
and famous form/s of electrical healing. The women face a myriad of ailments, from sore limbs due to injury to nymphomania.
The author, Ludmilla Bollow, transports the reader to this time and place, through artful prose and excellent storytelling.
I don't think I've ever read a more tasteful and sensitive account of a couple experiencing lovemaking for the first time.
There are several beautiful moments in this book, particularly when we learn about "the Gypsy maxim" through Yana.
Beyond the three weeks in the Sanitarium, the story takes
twists and turns into the future and paints a full portrait of this couple, for better or worse. A true delight to read and
I highly recommend.
(Ms. Cozzens is the author of "I'm Living Your Dream Life," and The
Things I Wish I'd Said" - McKenna Publishing Group)
OnceWritten - Book Review - by January Keck This pre-turn of the century romance, a resonating tale of epic
proportions, in which a respected man of science (Dr. Zastro) meets his artistic and most expressive alter ego in the form
of Yana-- a fiercely independent Gypsy woman.
A physician devoted to the methods of scientific treatments amidst the soothing and colorful environs
of his most respected establishment, Zastro uses his electrical machines to deliver soothing impulses and colored light therapy
to relieve the troubled senses and over-stressed bodies of his female patients rather than resorting to the more drastic and
popular surgical techniques of his day.
Against the good doctor's very dedicated, logical and orderly will, he awakens to unearthly
attraction and delight in the most unexpected mind and spirit of the person of Yana-- who is high-spirited, assertive, and
seeks to change his beliefs as to whether science and the creative temperament can be opposing, yet cohesive.
Yana, steeped in the tradition of her Gypsy heritage struggles to remain faithful to her nature
while embracing the love that sparkles in the air around her. Dr. Zastro's destiny is foreshadowed by dark events at
work within the personalities that abide within the confines of the sanitarium. Old ideas must be cast aside and reborn
into more wondrous undertakings of the heart before these two unlike and equally attracted souls will be allowed an experience
of time in togetherness. A tale that will leave you altogether quickened
and breathless as it did me.
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What They're Saying--
" ...A delightful book by a talented writer, with
a beautiful cover. A gift sure to please any reader, but especially history buffs, healthcare professionals, and women
of all ages." (Nancy Gall-Clayton, Author.)
"In this immediately captivating novel.... From the
first sentence I was hooked, and as a male reader, found the women's lives both historically accurate and refreshingly stimulation
(sometimes shockingly so.) (Gary Park - World Traveler)
"I read only the first page, and already I'm hooked...
What a rich beginning. You get off the ground immediately..." (Barbara Vroman - Novelist, Author)
"Wow, "the sanitarium" is destroying my well-laid plans to start Christmas shopping. I
can't put it down!" (Peggy Dean - Author & Columnist.
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"The book is terrific! The contrast between the tight, controlled
world of the clinic and the gypsy freedom works well, and the medical detail is both powerful and frightening."
(Alan Woods - Ohio State Professor & Admin.)
"Just finished reading Dr. Zastro.
I wanted to tell you that I really loved it! Found it kept getting better and better right up to the last page, choking
me up quite often." (Annie Sosman - Author & Artist)
"POWERFUL-HEART WRENCHING-SUSPENSEFUL & SURPRISING. I just finished reading the book
today. When I got to the last chapter, I had tears in my eyes! (I am a man.) The entire story has "WORD PICTURES"
that are so vivid that I could actually SEE, FEEL & SMELL the atmosphere, flowers and all the other elements present in
the various scenes.... I not only learned from this story but also received an insight into HUMAN BEHAVIOR under very
unique circumstances." (Sonny Marcus - Business Owner)
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"Wonderfully sexy. What a world Ludmilla has brought alive
from the past. Reading Dr. Z. every night... such dreams it kicked
off! Still reading it and wishing it was twice as thick. Wowza!"
(Robin Rice Lichtig - Playwright)
"I enjoyed this book.... I was able to see the way women were thought of and sometimes
treated at this time period.... I think if one is looking for something a little bit different, this is the book for
you." (Elizabeth B. - Mount Mary Student.)
"Set in the 1880's America, Dr. Zastro pits the good doctor against the fiery young
Gypsy named Yana. It's patriarchial zeal versus feminist fervor, science against mysticism, establishment versus
bohemian rhapsody." (Shepherd Express)
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