Customer Reviews

5 star:		(244)
4 star:		(173)
3 star:		(77)
2 star:		(41)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

Midwives is a wonderfully written and powerfully told story of a family's life in small-town Vermont and the events that changed it forever. Gripping and real, Chris Bohjalian has woven together a murder mystery that will have readers guessing until the very end.

Sybil Danforth, midwife and mother of the story's narrator, 14-year-old Connie, has a thriving practice and normal family life. Then the unthinkable happens: on a cold winter night in the middle of coaching Charlotte Bedford through her lengthy and strenuous labor, tragedy strikes -- Charlotte dies while trying to give birth to her son. With phone lines heaving with ice and roads too treacherous to drive upon, Sybil is forced into a decision -- to save the unborn baby via a homemade Caeserean or let him die along with his mother.

As the events of that evening unfold, readers are privy to shocking information: the Caesarean Sybil is forced to perform may have been done on a living woman. Soon a courtroom battle ensues, pitting the medical community against midwifery, and readers will be left wondering after each page is turned what really happened on that cold, dark night.

Chris Bohjalian is a very talented writer who has obviously spent a lot of research on this novel. Telling this story in a female voice as accurately as he did makes Midwives all the more compelling and authentic. His writing style was very easy to understand even though it jumps back and forth between past and present. A hearty mystery with a riveting conclusion. I will be reading more by this author.

This is a book I couldn't put down. It is amazing how Mr. Bohjalian was able to put into writing the feelings of women during childbirth. Certainly it is difficult enough to express those feelings, but to do so as a man shows an incredible amount of compassion and understanding. A lesson to us all, I'm sure. This is a tightly written novel concerning a normally safe home birth gone terribly wrong, and how it affects the lives of all those involved. It twists and turns and leads the reader to wrong assumptions over and over again. At the same time it manages to bring forth the mystery and wonder of life, and especially the moment of birth. The novel is written from the point of view of the Midwife's daughter, who is, at the time of the writing, a doctor, specifically an OB/GYN. Armed with first hand knowledge as well as her mother's copious notes, Constance spins the story of her mother's passion for midwifery, devotion to her trade, and tragic loss of that love after the death of one of her mothers. The trial scenes are wonderfully exciting and maddening at the same time. But more important is the story of love and support in the Danforth family, though not without it's stress and misunderstandings. And Constance tells her own story of growing up and through the tragedy of the public trial, her mother's too close relationship with her lawyer, and her father's struggle to understand and support his wife. All in all, a wonderful book that surprised me a great deal. Thanks to my wife and our book club for getting me to read it.

While reading 'Midwives: A Novel' I was captivated and yet appalled by the graphic portrayal of a midwife caught within a horrific tragedy. As both a 'survivor' of an unexpected c-section performed in a rural area hospital,and consequently, mother of an intelligent and beautiful sixteen-year-old young woman, I remain awed by Mr. Bohjalian talents. The uncanny irony of a man's ability to craft a story from a young girl's perspective with such accuracy was startling. I was washing clothes while reading the novel, inevitably causing lengthy pauses, and found myself reflecting on my own values, beliefs, and morals. At one particularly compelling twist, I stopped the incessant reading to curiously inquire of my husband (a non-reader), after explaining the plot and subplots of the novel, to genuinely give his idea of a moral and ethical response if he were ever confronted with such a dire circumstance. Although emotionally torn between the mind bending realism of Sybil Danforth and her friend, the innocent but fateful Charlotte Buford Bedford, I will always be endeared to the true heroine, Ms. Connie Danforth, for her stoic goodness. A novel that I will pass, effortlessly, to all my reading friends.

this was a great book. I couldn't put it down and the ending was terrific. It was unexpected and kept me gasping the phrash "oh my god" for a good five minutes at least. I loved it and would recommend it to everyone but stay clear of the others books by this author. I was so amazed by Midwives - I ran out and bought WATER WITCHES & LAW OF SIMILARS and they really sucked in comparison to Midwives - and at the end I was like "that's it - that's the end". the author might just be a one hit wonder but his one hit is fantastic.

This book is written in the voice of a young woman, Connie, who was a 14-year old girl in 1981. Through her eyes, we hear the story of her mother, Sibyl Danforth, a lay midwife, who goes on trial when one of her home births goes terribly wrong.

Through Connie's eyes, the reader is taken on a page-turning journey by a well-crafted narrative that moves back and forth in time like a jigsaw puzzle. We feel the emotions of her first kiss as well as her feelings about seeing her loving family endure this event. The writer captures everything -- the nuances of the parents marriage, the deep belief her mother has for her calling to be a midwife, the seasonal changes in the State of Vermont, the controversy between home and hospital birth, and the wonder of the birth process itself.

The story moves swiftly, pulling the reader into the time, place and internal feelings of Connie as well as the people around her. The physical descriptions of the births and the detailed medical information was fascinating and essential to the plot of the story.

The writer is a man, but you'd never know it and I applaud him for this wonderful book which will echo in my mind for a long time. I literally could not put it down and, even though I had peeked at the ending before I started the book, I still felt every bit of the suspense that the writer intended.B

Written from a teen-ager's point of view, Connie's whose mother is on trial for a mishap that went wrong during what was supposed to be a normal delivery. This book describes the ordeal that Connie went through while watching her vibrant mother slowly dissolves into a confused woman filled with self-doubt.

This is an interesting book ~~ you'll learn more about childbirth than you ever wanted to know ~~ and it does preach the cons and pros of midwives compared to hospital births. This is a story of a love between a mother and a daughter, wife and husband, friendships, loyalties, client and lawyer ~~ it covers a lot of range in this book. It changes the way you perceive things too ~~ I didn't know much about midwives or what their roles are ~~ I usually hear of the old tales where midwives are usually dirty and so forth, but not in this book. Sibyl takes care of her clients better than a lot of doctors do ~~ only something went wrong with one delivery. It seems that Mother Nature was conspiring against her as well as a jealous intern. This book does provoke a few emotions, so be warned.

It is a quick read as well and not as depressing as some of Oprah's other books. It's a learning experience.

Sybil Danforth is a competent and respected midwife in small town in Vermont, until a home birth goes terribly wrong in the middle of a winter storm. Having done everything that she could to save the mother's and baby's lives, it is inconceivable to Sybil and her family that she is to be held criminally responsible for the loss of the mother, Charlotte Bedford. The story of the aftermath of the tragic incident, the trial, and the effect on Sybil and her family is told by Sybil's daughter, Connie, who was fourteen that year.

The story unfolds in chronological order, more or less. It segues easily into flashbacks to add clarity to the events. Each chapter is prefaced with an excerpt from Sybil's personal diary, then begins as Connie uncovers another subtle shade of emotion that colored that summer and fall, and unfolds as she continues on with the story. The characters are beautifully drawn and completely real. I was constantly amazed that this was a work of fiction, because it read as if someone were recalling actual events and genuine emotions.

I am in awe of Chris Bohjalian and his ability to write this superb book - for so many reasons. This man did a brilliant job of telling the story in a woman's voice. But we don't just hear Connie's voice, we also hear Sybil's voice through her diaries. By the time Connie tells the story, she is a grown woman, remembering how it felt to be a teenager and live through these devastating events. Not only is it a tragic story of a shocking chain of events, it is the touching story of a family, and a gripping courtroom drama. Most brilliant of all, is that the story never falters, it never loses its momentum, and it never feels false. How Bohjalian ever conceived of the storyline is beyond me, much less the small details that lends the book such incredible realism. It is a story of staggering depth and emotion, through the very last page.

Connie, the daughter of our midwife, narrates this story of her mother's trial. She is struggling through the challenges of her teenage years, as well as her position on her mother, the lawyers, and the chaos that the family goes through after an accidental death to a client of her mother's.

The author does a fantastic job portraying the feelings of this girl, and describing so many of the feelings around pregnancy and childbrith. I found myself amazed with that aspect of the book, as well as the intense storyline.

As the book portrays different times in the family's life, the trial, and peeks into life afterwards, the reader is taken on a fascinating journey. The ending also, will have you debating what you really think about Sybil and her decision, making this a great choice for book groups.

This was made into a movie, which I did not think was near as satisfying as the book is. I give the book 5 stars because the story line is fresh and imaginative, as well as very believable, and the writing style is very gripping and beautiful as well. It is too bad people aren't still talking about this book, because it is a great read!

While reading Midwives, I had to stop several times and remind myself that this book is not only fiction but it was written by a man. How wonderful is the writing that Chris Bohjalian can really get into the brain of a daughter telling the story of her mother and her horrific experience. I continued to be pulled into the story and found myself thinking of the characters during my daily activities. I am still not convinced that this story is purely fiction. Writer does what few can do, convince you of his character and their experience and leave you thirsting for more information.

Sibyl Danforth became a midwife after being truly called at an emergency birth. The ex-hippie suddenly knew that being a lay midwife, helpign mothers have babies at home, comfortable and with their families, was what she was truly meant to do. Sibyl loved her profession, and wrote moving journal entries about her work with pregnant women.

However, one stormy Vermont night, things went wrong. After a woman died during labor, Sibyl decided to save the baby by performing a Cesarean section. She is charged with involuntary manslaughter for her act. The state's attorney general takes the trial not just as an indictment of Sibyl, but as a diatribe against the entire home-birth community and lay midwives in general. The entire book is suspenseful, and the end really makes the reader reconsider much of what they have come to believe.

Bohjalian writes an incredibly moving story about a deeply personal decision. The reader comes to know the midwives and to understand both the medical and legal debate through this work of fiction. The writing is evocative and beautiful, and the book is very strongly recommended.