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54th out of 1,733 books
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Midwives
by
Chris Bohjalian (Goodreads Author)
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, 374 pages
Published
August 13th 2002
by Vintage
(first published January 1st 1998)
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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 t...more
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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
Stephanie
rated it
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 ...more
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 ...more
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 want...more
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 want...more
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 ca...more
All I ca...more
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 ...more
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
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 no...more
Midwives is a story about a pregnancy that goes wrong, but no...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 we...more
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, an...more
I loved the author's portrayal of midwives; his description of their mannerisms, their education, an...more
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 f...more
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...more
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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 ...more
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 ...more
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 ...more
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 ...more
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...more
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...more
"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 tha...more
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 tha...more
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 come...more
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...more
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...more
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 ...more
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 ...more
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 ...more
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 o...more
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 o...more
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 a...more
Expectations are a perilous thing to bring to a book. It can prevent you from enjoying a good book or force you to finish a book that wasn’t worthy of reading beyond the first chapter. Yet, with 15,000 new books being published every year (not counting electronic books), some sort of judgement must be brought to the books we read. Not even my husband, the fastest reader I know, can polish off 42 books in a day, every day.
Midwives carried for me numerous expectations, though perhaps tre...more
Midwives carried for me numerous expectations, though perhaps tre...more
I truly enjoyed this book, though it was a little slow. The cover says that the book will keep readers up until late at night just to finish it. I didn't reach that point until about 160 pages in - that's when I really started to care about the story. And only at the very end did I get anxious to figure out what would happen.
I found the writers style also very odd. He's a fan of run on sentences and not a fan of commas. Why his editor didn't catch this, I'll never know, but I had to r...more
I found the writers style also very odd. He's a fan of run on sentences and not a fan of commas. Why his editor didn't catch this, I'll never know, but I had to r...more
And with Midwives, by Chris Bohjalian, I finally get what all the hoopla is about this author. This is the story of Sibyl, a midwife in the late 70's and the C-Section she performs on Charlotte, who she believed to be dead at the time of the first incision. Whether or not she was is the subject of the trial spread throughout the story.
The story is told through the eyes of Sibyl's daughter. At 14 years of age, she was already an incredibly knowledgeable young woman with several home births...more
The story is told through the eyes of Sibyl's daughter. At 14 years of age, she was already an incredibly knowledgeable young woman with several home births...more
I felt like I really couldn't connect with the characters well. It didn't go into other characters head and how they felt. We only knew how Connie felt. I could not sympathize with Sybil ( the midwife) or her husband. I felt she was so selfish. She did what she wanted and didn't care how anyone else felt.
#1. She couldn't give up "catching" babies for the sake of her marriage when she and her husband fought over it.
#2. She knew her daughter was upset when she couldn't make ...more
#1. She couldn't give up "catching" babies for the sake of her marriage when she and her husband fought over it.
#2. She knew her daughter was upset when she couldn't make ...more
This is the fourth novel I have read of Chris Bohjalian. I think I could say he is one of my favorite contemporary authors.
“Midwives” is a story of a midwife and her family, in 1981, who go through some tragic times because of a birth gone wrong on a cold and icy Vermont night.
Connie Danforth, now in her 30s and an OBGYN doctor, tells the story from her viewpoint, the year she turned 14. Her mother Sybil, a midwife, was put on trial for the death of Charlotte Bedford while sh...more
“Midwives” is a story of a midwife and her family, in 1981, who go through some tragic times because of a birth gone wrong on a cold and icy Vermont night.
Connie Danforth, now in her 30s and an OBGYN doctor, tells the story from her viewpoint, the year she turned 14. Her mother Sybil, a midwife, was put on trial for the death of Charlotte Bedford while sh...more
Usually, I am a bit leery for Oprah's Book Club books. I cannot tell you why, but I typically try to stay away from them. Even though numerous people told me that this book is exceptional, I still refrained. However, when I heard the author speak at a function recently I was so taken away with his poise, insight, and humor that I picked up a copy. I was astounded by the story and ashamed that it took me this long! This book is beautiful in every way possible and I firmly believe that someday my ...more
This works for me as a court-room drama and as a very good dissection of the moral dilemma facing this woman and women birthing at home. One issue is the validity of home-birth in general, whether if it is safe and whether if a woman should have the right to choose it - and if so, why does the state not certify the midwives who perform it. The other - and more deep-seated - moral dilemma is the one facing the midwife herself - when two lives are at stake, how do you decide which one you can sa...more
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Chris Bohjalian is the author of fourteen books, including the New York Times bestsellers, Secrets of Eden, Skeletons at the Feast, The Double Bind, Before You Know Kindness, The Law of Similars, and Midwives.
His new novel, The Night Strangers, arrives on October 4, 2011. It's a ghost story inspired by a door in his basement and Sully Sullenberger's successful ditching of an Airbus in ...more
More about Chris Bohjalian...
His new novel, The Night Strangers, arrives on October 4, 2011. It's a ghost story inspired by a door in his basement and Sully Sullenberger's successful ditching of an Airbus in ...more
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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!”
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“No one said living isn't a pretty chancy business, Sibyl. No one gets out of here alive.”
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