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Midwives

by Chris Bohjalian (Goodreads Author)

3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 · rating details · 74,254 ratings · 2,630 reviews

The time is 1981, and Sibyl Danforth has been a dedicated midwife in the rural community of Reddington, Vermont, for fifteen years. But one treacherous winter night, in a house isolated by icy roads and failed telephone lines, Sibyl takes desperate measures to save a baby's life. She performs an emergency Caesarean section on its mother, who appears to have died in labor....more

Paperback, 384 pages

Published November 8th 1998 by Vintage (first published April 1997)

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Jan 10, 2012 LeiAnn rated it 3 of 5 stars

The premise of the book is that a very experienced lay (not certified) midwife has a messy delivery in a patient's home in which the mother ends up dying. In order to save the baby when her efforts at CPR fail, she performs a cesarean on the mother. The baby, incidently, does live because of her efforts. However, her inexperienced assistant and the father of the baby both have their doubts about whether or not the mother was actually dead at the time of the incision, and the midwife goes to tria...more

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Marianne I wouldn't be so against home births, if only the woman was effected, but there is an human being that doesn't have a voice. If there is even a tiny r...more
Dec 18, 2011 07:45am

Elena I am a registered nurse working with CNMs in a freestanding birth center. I felt compelled to comment because of the assumption that a woman choosing...more
Jan 04, 2012 11:32am

Jun 29, 2011 Tyler rated it 4 of 5 stars

my mom insisted i read this book for years. now it's on the oprah book club so i feel lame saying i read it, because i find oprah's book club to be lame and i find the 'oprah book club' logo on a books front cover detrimental. But it was an interesting book. I liked it; a quick read. It follow the court case of a midwife in vermont who delivers a baby via an emergency c-section in which the mother dies and then they discover that the mother wasn't actually dead before the c-section occured. it's...more

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Feb 03, 2010 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: women, esp. mothers

Recommended to Stephanie by: Stephanie Hodnett

I LOVED this book, which was totally unexpected. It was absolutely riveting for me. There wasn't a slow part in it.
I really enjoyed the organization, with the journal entries, and the tone associated with the author's reflections (kind of "if only..."). It made the whole book feel like you were hearing an exciting story first hand, where the story-teller felt compelled to add little bits of insight or extra information along the way to help enhance your experience. I really enjoyed how it begin...more

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Jan 04, 2008 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

So the Washington Post Book World says that this will keep readers up late until the last page is turned. I started the book this morning, and only had hopes that it'd be as good as the last few books I've read. Didn't think I'd do all 370 pages today. LOL

I guess depending on how you feel about midwives and home births, you could view this book as an injustice upon Sibyl, or an injustice against the woman who died. Personally, I feel that a woman has the choice as to whether she wants a home bir...more

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Oct 17, 2007 Silvana rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is told by the prespective of a 30 year old woman who is recalling her life and turmoil at age 14. The cause for the turmoil...her mom, a self-appointed 70's-throwback-midwive who preforms a C-section on a patient in an extreme situation, to save a dying baby from his alreay dead mother. Why the drama? Well, maybe the birthing mother wasn't dead..so the court drama begins. Will her mothr be convicted of involuntary manslaughter or will the jury find her innocent?

All I can add was that...more

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Feb 26, 2008 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I would like to preface my comments with a recommendation that if you are pregnant or are planning to have children sometime soon this would NOT be a good book choice. Having said that, I thought this book was exceptional. I was definitely drawn to this book, having delivered both of my children with a nurse midwife. This story is told from the adult daughter's perspective regarding her mother's role ( a midwife) during a home delivery gone bad. As I noted in someone else's review, I had to stop...more

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Aug 13, 2007 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone

Shelves: my_favorites

I didn't read this book because it was an Oprah read...I don't think I even knew this was one until today. I found it at a little independent bookstore in Monterey years ago. This was one of those books I couldn't put down but... because of the intense emotional content of the book I ended up stepping away from the book a couple of times. I was amazed by the authors ability to write about such an emotional subject(home childbirth gone wrong)and had to remind myself numerous times that it was wri...more

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Jul 01, 2009 Bonnie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: recommended, reviewed-books, fiction

I’ve had Midwives, Chris Bohjalian’s fifth novel, on my to-read list for quite a while, but I resisted reading it until now because of some personal baggage: my only son was born, perfectly healthy, in a hospital; but the labour was prolonged, resulting in life-threatening complications that brought me back to the hospital in isolation for almost three weeks during which I was not even allowed to hold my own newborn child.

Midwives is a story about a pregnancy that goes wrong, but not in a hospi...more I’ve had Midwives, Chris Bohjalian’s fifth novel, on my to-read list for quite a while, but I resisted reading it until now because of some personal baggage: my only son was born, perfectly healthy, in a hospital; but the labour was prolonged, resulting in life-threatening complications that brought me back to the hospital in isolation for almost three weeks during which I was not even allowed to hold my own newborn child.

Midwives is a story about a pregnancy that goes wrong, but not in a hospital: in a home. The novel is mainly told through the eyes of Connie, the daughter of midwife Sibyl Danforth. Each chapter begins with an entry from Sibyl’s diary. Connie’s narration does require a degree of concentration from the reader. Bohjalian takes us back and forward in time, from Connie telling the story as an adult, going back to when she was fourteen. And because she was the point-of-view character, Connie had to overhear many, many conversations. Once I had the narrator, and the author’s narrative technique, firmly fixed in my mind, I was able to settle in to reading this compelling novel.

For years Sibyl enjoyed a thriving career as a “catcher” of babies. And then, one cold winter night, after a difficult and lengthy labour, Sibyl realizes she needs to get the mother, Charlotte to the hospital. But the phone lines are down, and Sibyl drives her car into a snow bank. She returns to continue to assist in the birth, and then Charlotte collapses. Believing Charlotte has had a stroke, Sibyl attempts CPR, and after some time, concludes that the mother has died – but that there may still be time to save the baby. She performs a caesarian section, and saves the baby, but did she kill Charlotte in the process? Sibyl’s inexperienced apprentice, Anne, and Charlotte’s husband, Asa, later contend that she did: that Charlotte was still alive before Sibyl performed the operation. The coroner comes to the same conclusion, and Sibyl is charged with involuntary manslaughter. The book is the story of the trial and the events leading up to it.

As I read this novel I was never bored; and as I approached the end it became, for me, more and more of a nail-biting page-turner. I found the trial and the complementary battle outside the courtroom – medical community against midwifery – very interesting reading. Throughout the story Bohjalian casts doubt even as he leads the reader – sometimes “astray” – to certain assumptions. For example, Charlotte hid her medical history from Sibyl. Did this contribute to her prolonged labour and resulting collapse? Then there’s our discovery, before the end of the book, that Connie is now, as an adult, a certified OBGYN. We must assume that this is because of her mother’s experience. Finally, we never really know what happened that night until the very end of the book. Clearly that was Bohjalian’s intention, and he pulled it off very well.

Read Midwives with an open mind, and you’ll form your own ideas about why and how Bohjalian decided to write this story. He certainly did his research, and he makes us think: the major issues surrounding midwifery and the dangers associated with any birth are presented without the author taking sides.

For myself, in the end, I feel I didn’t so much read Midwives, as ingest it. Looking back, I think that if I had had a certified midwife, along with a doctor, working with me during my pregnancy, things might well have turned out better. Interestingly, Chris Bohjalian himself has been quoted as saying that “in a heartbeat” he and his wife would be comfortable having a baby at home, or using a nurse-midwife at the hospital.

(less)

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Jul 18, 2012 Averil rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm surprised I hadn't heard about this book previously, given how well it would fit into the typical polarizing debate over homebirth vs hospital birth. Chris Bohjalian's novel certainly encapsulates many of the stagnant old stereotypes inherent in the debate: hippy, love & peace practicing, herb prescribing lay midwives with their wealth of arcane knowledge vs the 'evil', lobbying, powerful, witch-hunting, scalpel-happy drs. (Granted this book was published way back in 1997, so the tired o...more

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Jan 07, 2011 Chana rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: literature-fiction

It was very well-written, but I read it with mixed feelings. When I was done I had to say that I didn't like it. The author says many positive things about midwifery but in the final analysis it really is an indictment of lay midwifery and home birth. I gave birth to 5 children at home: 1 with an old-time doctor and 4 with a lay midwife. I had 3 at the hospital: 1 without drugs, 1 with an epidural, and 1 with a C/S. So I feel qualified by experience to at least comment. My home births were by fa...more It was very well-written, but I read it with mixed feelings. When I was done I had to say that I didn't like it. The author says many positive things about midwifery but in the final analysis it really is an indictment of lay midwifery and home birth. I gave birth to 5 children at home: 1 with an old-time doctor and 4 with a lay midwife. I had 3 at the hospital: 1 without drugs, 1 with an epidural, and 1 with a C/S. So I feel qualified by experience to at least comment. My home births were by far my better birthing experiences, especially those with the lay midwife, and all of those children were born whole and healthy, thank G-d. Home is private and sacred and if your midwife is competent and you are in good health with a normal fetus and pregnancy then I am all for home birth. I'll try not to bore you with birth details but I have had a couple of bad experiences in the hospital: 1. doctor yelling "what the hell are you doing?!!" at me when I rolled onto my side during labor rather than staying flat on my back. That child was not in danger btw and was born healthy shortly thereafter. 2. nearly losing the C/S child because the hospital delivery staff didn't believe the lay midwife who said the child had to be born by C/S and thereby making us go through trial of labor before rushing me into a emerg C/S delivery like a Monty Python skit. My C/S child lived and there is no doubt that both of us would have died if not for the C/S as he was a PWS baby with very low muscle tone and he was a face presentation as well. Basically he was like a limp noodle in utero with his face against the cervix and he wasn't going to be born without surgical intervention. BUT the midwife knew he was face presentation at 8 months and suspected an anomaly as stress tests showed his heart rate was too flat. The hospital paid her no heed and my child's heart was slowing down and then stopping in 2nd stage labor in the hospital setting managed by hospital staff, hence the EMERGENCY C/S, which could have been performed without the emergency part if the doctors had listened to the midwife or me. Now how is this mis-judgment on the part of the hospital staff so different from the mis-judgements made on the part of the lay midwife in this book? She actually did pretty well, saving the life of the child. I guess what the author wants you to recognize is that if the hospital makes mistakes they have everything right there, surgical suites and all, to correct their error. But you know what? Hospital staff make mistakes all the time but they are better protected against the consequences of their mistakes. If lay midwifery were supported in this country with certification for midwives to deliver at home with a support system of doctors, hospitals and emergency transportation then we could have women deliver at home with less risk. ALL birth entails risk. There is an attempt in this book to link home birth with hippies and all that that lifestyle might entail. I really resent the idea that home birth is less hygienic than hospital birth when the fact is hospitals are home to a plethora of the very worst germs around. It is, as I said, a well-written indictment and no amount of story-telling and fictionalizing and choice of narrator changes that. (less)

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Jul 22, 2008 Joann rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Mothers- Home Birthers- OBGYNs?

Shelves: fiction

As a home-birther I was very intrigued by the topic of this book. I know the risks that accompany both home and hospital births and, after much study and prayer my husband and I know that home births are the way to go. I have gotten many different reactions from the "fish eye" look to anger from people who find out our girls were delivered naturally, at home, by a midwife.

I loved the author's portrayal of midwives; his description of their mannerisms, their education, and their outlook was righ...more

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Jan 07, 2009 Chandra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-dectective-crime, contemporary-fiction, 2009-reads

I teetered between a 3 and a 4 on this one. It's not great literature and it certainly won't be every one's cup of tea. But for me it was both an entertaining and profound read. Those who fear this will be some 500 page defense of midwives and home births will be surprised. I certainly was. I am a supporter of midwives and home births, but I found much to ponder in this story. But neither are they persecuted. It's a much more complex issue than all of that. Odds are that your essential feelings...more

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May 25, 2008 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the second time I read this book, the first time being 10+ years ago. The first time I read it I'm not sure I had even had a baby of my own yet, and if I had, it was a highly interventive, mainstream hospital birth. Now that I've had a midwife attended homebirth, and am planning another, I think my perspective on the story has changed somewhat. I was disappointed, mostly, in the author's use of the word "patient" in reference to the mothers the midwife cared for and attended - a little t...more

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May 19, 2008 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Much of this book was about the trial of a midwife who was accused of involuntary manslaughter and practicing medicine without a license. I enjoyed reading about the trial and the midwife's thoughts throughout the process. The story was told by the midwife's daughter. I didn't really care for much of the "side" stuff she (well, he if you are talking about the author) had in there. I didn't find her pot smoking and very close relationship with her boyfriend (she was only 13 & 14 through most...more

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Mar 05, 2008 Heidi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Okay I really did like this book. I actually think it deserves 4 stars, but the circumstances that surrounded the reading of this book insist upon a 3 star rating. Here are a few of those reasons:

1. I am pregnant! What was I thinking reading a book about a tragic home delivery 4 months before I'm due? It was all a little too close to home for me. And although I am not planning on having a home delivery (not that there's anything wrong with that) Just the description was a little to vivid for me...more

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Oct 06, 2007 Kathleen Garber rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: those interested in midwifery and trials

Wow! Midwives is the story of a midwife whose patient dies during childbirth and so she performs and emergency C-section to save the baby. After the fact, suspicions are raised as to if the mother really was dead when the C-section was performed or if the procedure actually killed her. The trial follows.

I had a hard time believing that this book wasn't a memoir. At least 10 times while I was reading I kept thinking it was real and I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't. If it weren't for...more

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May 23, 2009 treehugger rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: oprah

Really a supergreat book. I got sucked in as if by a vaccuum, and spent many nights up later than I should have trying to finish. The suspense was superb, and some of the passages were so well written it was impossible to tell that it was a man trying to write from the point of view of a woman.

Perhaps some of the birthing language was a give-away as far as the author being male - I just don't hear females discussing it the way it was handled in this book, but I can see how men might think women...more

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Aug 01, 2007 Dayna rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone into midwives and/or childbirth.

"You're reading an Oprah's Book Club book?" my friends were asking me with a groan.

Yes. I did read an Oprah's Book Club book. And it was pretty good.

This book is set in the early '80s and it's about the murder trial of a midwife named Sybil ... as told from the point of view of her teenage daughter Connie. One of Sybil's clients dies during a particularly gruesome homebirth ... and so the state comes after her. I thought it was fascinating because I am sure that there is a midwife somewhere out...more

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Jun 10, 2008 Kristen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Kristen by: Jenny P

I read this book when I was on business travel in Zimbabwe and it definitely kept me turning the pages. As someone who values very strongly the role of midwives in healthcare, this was a tough book to read. The midwife at the center of the story is faced with a very dangerous (and statistically incredibly unlikely) situation and the outcome makes her a pariah in the community. She becomes a scapegoat and a target of all sorts of anger, most of which is misdirected and misguided and often comes f...more

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Jun 25, 2008 Jennie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have two opinions on this book.

First of all, it really does a great job of explaining why some women choose to have their babies at home, why it is safe, why we should have that choice. I feel passionately about my own homebirth experience. It is not, for the most part, dangerous or an unwise decision. For most people. I don't think most pregnant women are sick and therefore do not need hospitals. So many women have been trained by OBs to think things like: "My body doesn't go into labor on it...more

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Oct 28, 2007 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book but it wasn't quite the page turner I had anticipated. It was very well written and the perspective taken was really interesting.

I have a bad habit of reading the end of a book and then determining if I'm going to see it all the way through. I held off on doing that until I was 3/4 of the way through this one. The ending didn't disappoint, but by the time I gave into my bad habit, I was already into the details of the trial and found myself skimming the later chapters leadin...more

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Jul 08, 2007 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adultfiction

I read this, mostly while waiting in line for tickets to Romeo and Juliet in the park. I really liked it. (THe book, I never got to see the play.) It's told through a series of flashbacks and journal entries written by Sybill, a practicing midwife devlivering babies in the rural mountains of Vermont. THe narrator, Sybill's daughter, takes us back about 20 years when a delivery goes horribly wrong. A woman dies while giving birth, and in a snap decision Sybill performs a casaerian to try and save...more

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Feb 17, 2009 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have always been enthralled with midwives and home births, but have never been brave enough to venture into that world myself. Because of my interest in such things, I thought I would really like this book. Although there are some rather thrilling parts, overall, I'm still not sure about it.

There was just something about the jumpy timeline that started annoying me after a while. I was anxious to see what the results of the trial would be, and maybe that made me impatient to get on with the plo...more

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Dec 22, 2008 Judith rated it 1 of 5 stars

This book tells the story of a modern day midwife who is on trial for involuntary manslaughter when a patient dies during labor. This is a home birth set in a rural area in a snowstorm, making contact with a hospital or emergency assistance impossible. The midwife performs an emergency Caesarean with a kitchen knife to save the baby after the mother dies. The story is told through the eyes of the midwife's 14 year old daughter, as the case goes through the trial, with flashbacks of the event and...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: chick-lit, contemp-fiction

First of all, props to Chris Bohjalian for getting northern Vermont in the 80's pretty much right. I know it as an area with a few more junked cars in the dooryard than he seems to portray, but he's pretty accurate when it comes to aging hippies in the area, and the mud and the sugaring.

Hard to believe this book about midwifery and malpractice, told from the perspective of a 14-year-old girl, is written by a guy, but it is. And he does a great job of building suspense throughout the story. The c...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Alice rated it 4 of 5 stars

I didn't think I was going to like this book at the beginning. Foreshadowing can be a very useful literary technique, and some of my favorite books use it quite a bit (The Book Thief for one,) but I thought the author used way too much foreshadowing way too early in this novel. I was annoyed at some of the things he revealed early on, wishing that I could have discovered them naturally through the progression of the book instead of being told before hand.

However, in the end, I still really enjo...more

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Mar 01, 2013 Mahdis rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

This is our May selection for bookclub, but I read ahead since I was looking for something to read this month.

Fascinating book that caused me to question intent on so many levels. It is about a young midwife, Sibyl, who finds herself accused of involuntary manslaughter. It is written from the perspective of her daughter, and only child. It takes place in Reddington, Vermont. Maybe that was part of the appeal to me since I lived in Vermont for a few years and found the descriptions beautiful, re...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Dana Heyde rated it 4 of 5 stars

"Midwives" perfectly combined home births and medicine with the legal drama of a trial. I was again impressed with Bohjalian's strong writing that turned an odd subject into a mesmerizing read. When Charlotte's home birth results in her death, midwife Sibyl decides to perform a Cesarian to save the life of the baby. But in the days following the tragedy, Sibyl's assistant and the baby's father claim that Charlotte was not dead when the Cesarian was performed and Sibyl is suddenly accused of murd...more "Midwives" perfectly combined home births and medicine with the legal drama of a trial. I was again impressed with Bohjalian's strong writing that turned an odd subject into a mesmerizing read. When Charlotte's home birth results in her death, midwife Sibyl decides to perform a Cesarian to save the life of the baby. But in the days following the tragedy, Sibyl's assistant and the baby's father claim that Charlotte was not dead when the Cesarian was performed and Sibyl is suddenly accused of murdering Charlotte. By telling the story from the perspective of Sibyl's thirteen year old daughter, Connie, the reader gains a global understanding of the impact of the claims against Sibyl and resulting trial. At times, I was, for lack of a better description, a little grossed out by the intricate details of home births. But, ultimately, it was those details that provided the foundation for such a provocative story. The courtroom scenes were not entirely accurate, but were strong enough for my legal brain to accept. I liked that Connie told the story as a flashback and provided information about the future of her and her parents at times that perfectly moved the story along. Through her eyes, the reader realizes how difficult it is for Connie and her father to place trust in Sibyl's version of events to stand by her through the trial. The book does an amazing job of examining the repercussions of Sibyl's conviction that Charlotte was dead when she performed the Cesarean. There was a realistic quality to the characters that made the story gripping. Despite the focus on births, there were enough male characters and other aspects of the book to make this an attractive read for men also. I can see why this was such a successful book. It was worth reading to the very last sentence, which provided a stirring ending. I can't praise Bohjalian enough. His writing captures characters in an amazingly unique and creative way. He is quickly becoming one of my new favorite authors. If you are looking for something different, but strong, this might be for you.(less)

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Sep 26, 2012 Regina Lindsey rated it 4 of 5 stars

In rural Vermont, Sybil has assisted countless women with home births. Her approach has always been a pragmatic one in which every attempt is made to allow the mother’s desires to be fulfilled and yet understanding that there are circumstances in which a transfer to the local hospital is best for all involved. Unfortunately, on the night of March 14, 1981, a perfect storm of circumstances conspire against Charlotte Bedford and her unborn baby. Convinced that Charlotte is dead, Sybil makes the sp...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Daryl Leyesa rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book was written from the perspective of an intelligent daughter, Connie, and from the perceptive notes of her mother, Sybil, the midwife accused of involuntary manslaughter after performing a C section on one of her mothers. Sybil believed the mother was already dead, and she had no choice but to cut her up in order to save the baby. But others thought otherwise, others thought that the mother was alive, others thought it was an unnecessary risk – the homebirth.

Homebirths are no different f...more The book was written from the perspective of an intelligent daughter, Connie, and from the perceptive notes of her mother, Sybil, the midwife accused of involuntary manslaughter after performing a C section on one of her mothers. Sybil believed the mother was already dead, and she had no choice but to cut her up in order to save the baby. But others thought otherwise, others thought that the mother was alive, others thought it was an unnecessary risk – the homebirth.

Homebirths are no different from hospital births. The woman labors, puts her life at risk, and as we Pinoys would say – inilalagay sa hukay ang kabilang paa. Majority of women in the rural areas deliver their babies at home, majority have not experienced pre- and post-natal checkups. Is this due to lack of hospitals and doctors in the barrios? This is a fact for sure.

But do we take it to mean that rural mothers really don't have a choice? Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows, given the choice between a hospital or a home birth, both being accessible and the women fully informed of each option's details, home birth might still prevail.

It was one of the arguments that favored Sybil during the court hearing, i.e. the mothers and fathers who choose home birth are doing an informed choice. Later in the book, the court hearings cited statistics after statistics that showed the little difference in risks between giving birth at homes or in hospitals.

But one of the arguments that did not quite favor Sybil was the notion that her chosen work as a midwife represents defiance to authority. As lay midwife, she has no license or medical training comparable to those who work as nurse midwives or ob-gyns. In real life, this illustrates the battle between the dominant and the weak, the center and the peripheral. The license comes from those who are in the center and with power, also known as the authorities, i.e. politically and economically influential. Whether formally titled or not, the "authorities" have the power to persecute those who do not go with the flow (mainstream); often, through the state's aid to prosecute. In the book, Sybil's lawyer gave a historical account on how centuries ago midwives were treated with contempt by authorities, mostly men. This gives a different light on the case. Men, who did not understand the "power" of the surging in birth and the catching of life, drove the women out of their communities and labeled them as shamans and witches. Though in reality, they were healers and midwives.

I put quotation marks on "power" because the experiences of women midwives (as conveyed in the book) were not even borne out of the desire for power – very much unlike a doctor having control over the patient's life, but rather as a sister walking step-by-step with another sister who is about to breathe out life. I also chose to use "mothers" instead of patients, "surging birth" instead of giving birth, "catching of life" instead of pulling out babies. These were just some of the images and words I borrowed and internalized from the book; words that may not even be part of the mainstream.

On the other hand, the book was balanced enough to show that while it tackles the women's core right to reproductive health, it is not a lost gender battle. The book incorporated how the men in Sybil's and Connie's lives can be as sensitive and equally supportive to the joys and pains surrounding mothers and midwives.

This book is interesting, and I'm sure many of our midwives here in the country and especially in the rural areas, can share similar stories of society's persecution and of course appreciation of their work.(less)

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About Chris Bohjalian

Chris Bohjalian is the author of sixteen books, including The Light in the Ruins, arriving July 9, 2013 from Doubleday. Set in Florence and rural Tuscany between 1943 and 1955, it began as a re-imaginging of "Romeo and Juliet."

His other books include the New York Times bestsellers, The Sandcastle Girls, The Night Strangers, Secrets of Eden, Skeletons at the Feast, The Double Bind, Before Your Know...more Chris Bohjalian is the author of sixteen books, including The Light in the Ruins, arriving July 9, 2013 from Doubleday. Set in Florence and rural Tuscany between 1943 and 1955, it began as a re-imaginging of "Romeo and Juliet."

His other books include the New York Times bestsellers, The Sandcastle Girls, The Night Strangers, Secrets of Eden, Skeletons at the Feast, The Double Bind, Before Your Know Kindness, and Midwives.

He has called The Sandcastle Girls the most important book he will ever write. Published in July 2012 to great acclaim, this story of the Armenian Genocide debuted at #7 on the New York Times bestseller list, and appeared as well on the Publishers’ Weekly, USA Today, and national Independent Bookstore bestseller lists.

USA Today called it “stirring. . .a deeply moving story of survival and enduring love.” Entertainment Weekly observed, “Bohjalian – the grandson of Armenian survivors – pours passion, pride, and sadness into his tale of ethnic destruction and endurance.” And the Washington Post concluded that the novel was “intense. . .staggering. . .and utterly riveting.” The Sandcastle Girls was also an Oprah.com Book of the Week.

It was also a Washington Post, Library Journal, a Kirkus Reviews, and a BookPage "Best Book" of 2012.

Chris's awards include the ANCA Arts and Letters Award for The Sandcastle Girls, as well as the Saint Mesrob Mashdots Medal; the New England Society Book Award for The Night Strangers; the New England Book Award; a Boston Public Library Literary Light; and the Anahid Literary Award. His novel, Midwives, was a number one New York Times bestseller, a selection of Oprah's Book Club, and a New England Booksellers Association Discovery pick. His earlier novels have been selected as "Best Books of the Year" by the Washington Post, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Hartford Courant, Publishers' Weekly, and Salon. His work had been translated into over 25 languages and three times become movies (Secrets of Eden, Midwives, and Past the Bleachers).

He has written for a wide variety of magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Reader's Digest, and the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, and has been a columnist for Gannett's Burlington Free Press since 1992. Chris graduated from Amherst College, and lives in Vermont with his wife and daughter.

You can learn more about him on the Q and A on www.chrisbohjalian.com, as well as on Facebook . And, if you like, follow him on twitter as well.(less)

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“Everything about [chance] scares the bejesus out of so many people; it's the this thing they try to avoid at all costs. Don't travel to the Middle East these days - there's a chance something could happen. Don't get involved with that new fellow on Creamery Street - I hear a lot of mud was scraped off his floor after the divorce. Don't have your baby at home - there's a a chance something could go wrong. Don't don't don't... Well, you can't live your life like that! You can't spend your entire life avoiding chance. It's out there, it's inescapable, it's a part of the soul of the world. There are no sure things in this universe, and it's absolutely ridiculous to try and live like there are!” — 4 people liked it

“No one said living isn't a pretty chancy business, Sibyl. No one gets out of here alive.” — 3 people liked it

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