Customer Reviews

The Midwife's Tale

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It is rare to find a novel that is has such a strong voice, is evocative, literary and still good old fashioned story telling, but Laskas has written one. And a fine novel this is down to the happy ending, one of the hardest things to carry off.

I stayed up till 2AM to finish this book, and cried at the end. And for me that merits five stars.

This is a wonderful book written by a wonderful new writer.

This is a wonderful story of bonds of love shared by mothers and their daughters as well as the love between men and women. Elizabeth, the midwife whose tale we are caught up in, isn't perfect but she is strong, smart and interesting. This is indeed a strong telling of a moving story but I wasn't aware that this kind of well-written novel was out of style.

One thing I loved about this book was that somehow, though it's not written in the sort of folksy dialect usually used to depict mountain people, the author lets the true voice of these people shine through. It's a very skillful job and gives the reader a real sense of place.

I look forward to the next book by this author.

I have read literally dozens of novels and essays depicting Appalachian "Mountain Folk" and this one is now at the top of my list of favorite suggestions. Being a 'Mountain Girl' myself, I found Elizabeth's narrative of the life around hers to be close to home. I could almost smell the various tea's she would brew and the stenched mold of a certain poor house she had to go to, bringing back memories for me that had faded. I inhaled the strength of the relationship she had with her Mother and her Grandmother. After all, what "Mountain Person" isn't a protege' of their carefully handed down lineage?

I can't brag that I read this book in a lapping time because it
is the very first book that I actually lingered and savored like a fine dessert. I took my sweet time. Something took over me like never before and with every few pages I stopped, pondered and reflected what had just sunk in. And like no fiction I've read before, this amazing author taught me some dislikable things about myself that I had to come to terms with. Of course, I discovered things that I am proud of too, so this was quite a ride. That is how provoking this book is.

Anyone that was looking for a tale solely on midwifing, didn't take the time to search inside the pages and therefore they only have the right to be critical of themselves. This is an excellent read. My one and only qualm is that I felt the last few chapters became rushed, leaving me with wanting more from
Elizabeth. I'm hoping there may be a sequel that is detailed with the narrator and the love she finally found with David.
I can hope, can't I?

Gretchen Moran Laskas has done an exceptional work here and it is
hard to believe this is her first novel. I'm anxious for more because it is obvious she knows "Mountain People". And I also credit her for not decimating us in any way, but instead she has portrayed Appalachian People as the strong, hard workers we are.
Even if you are not a Mountaineer, you will enjoy this finely weaved historical story. I'm happy it now belongs in my personal library.

I was given this book to read by a friend who suggested that we consider it for one of our monthly book club readings. I had not heard of the author and have to admit that I waited a couple of weeks before picking the book up to read. Let me say that I am an avid reader. I belong to a book club that has been meeting once a month for 13 years. This book was beautiful and so very well written. So good in fact that I wish I could contact the author! I just finished the book last night, so I'm a bit spellbound. I loved the characters in the book and especially the interesting story. This is a talented writer and I hope to see more from her. Definitely a book we will read and discuss as a group. I highly recommend it.

This book is such an enormous pleasure to read--"pleasure" is an odd adjective to ascribe to a novel so filled with tragedies and hardship, yet Laskas's writing and storytelling are so strong that every page seems to crackle. The characters, the landscape, the story--the life of this once and future midwife--are portrayed with tremendous passion and depth. The rhythms, of language and structure, give the book an epic flair, yet epic in a particularly feminine sort of way. It is filled with blood, sweat, tears--there is suffering, but at the same time, like the Appalachian mountain on which the characters live, something always endures.

This is a book for people who are looking for books to cherish, books to lose themselves in, cry over, read passages again and again.

I picked up this book on a whim, needing something to read, and am glad I did. It is a wonderful book, well written, an achingly good story. Like many other reviewers, the book had me in tears by the end. I would love to read more from this author, as another reviewer suggested, perhaps Lauren's story? One reviewer didn't like the book because of the main character; but that was what made the book so good, the human-ness of it all, the faults and honesty of it.
In some ways this book is for those of us who grew up on Laura Ingalls Wilder; it is that sort of tale but for women who are mature and have grown up - this is why or how Elizabeth's character and voice resonated for me, she was real.
Another reviewer wrote how the book will be on her shelf next to other American classics. For me the book went straight next to Anita Diamant's The Red Tent, another wonderful book.

I was enthralled with THE MIDWIFE'S TALE from the opening paragraph and could not put it down. This book, set in early part of the 20th century, tells the tale of Elizabeth Whitely as she struggles with both the triumphs and the burdens of her profession, midwifery, and her own loneliness when the man she has loved most of her life falls for another. This is a love story, surely, but one not strictly confined to a relationship between a man and a woman. It illuminates the complicated bond between mothers and daughters, the friendships forged by women everywhere, and intricate ties of a close-knit community.

A lovely, moving novel.

Gretchen Laskas has written a lyrical debut novel that reads like an Appalachian love song plus complications. Unforgettable characters, a startlingly realistic sense of place and a strong plot make this a natural pick for readers devoted to well-written fiction.

Imagine a novel that's not at all hip or sarcastic, a novel that's timeless, one that you'd want to pass along to your mother, to your daughter, to your best friend.

Gretchen Laskas has given us such a novel. In it, she conjures up the speech and perceptions of a backwoods woman in early 20th century West Virginia - a midwife - and she does this gracefully and without a trace of condescension. This is the kind of book you just want to inhabit - it all seems so real.

I'll keep it on my classics shelf alongside TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and Annie Dillard's AN AMERICAN CHILDHOOD...

"A Midwife's Tale" is a solid, intelligent book, the compelling story of Elizabeth Whitely, last in a long line of midwives who have served the women and children of a remote West Virginia valley for generations. It begins prior to World War I when Elizabeth, training under her mother, discovers the brutal dark side of midwifery. It is the first of the harsh realities of life she will face.

Laskas has drawn a unique character in Elizabeth Whitely, a strong woman who meets disappointments with courage and a great generosity of spirit and happiness with spirited enthusiasm. All the characters in this novel are invested with such original, yet believable, human traits that even the fanciful strains of the story are plausible. It's a complex story, with surprising twists and turns and a truly memorable heroine making her way through it all.

The time and setting of "A Midwife's Tale" are unique, yet never threaten to overpower or even intrude on the story. So seamlessly does the author blend the aspects of a distinctive region that it was only once that I even noticed the dialect. Yet I was always "knew" the geography and history of the place, as well as "heard" the sound of the characters' voices. I've read well-received books by more experienced authors who don't do this nearly as well as Miss Laskas.

"A Midwife's Tale" is a wonderful love story and a polished, literary first novel. I still think about it, even though it's been weeks and many books in between since I read it. I highly recommend it.