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Midwives: A novel
 
 

Midwives: A novel (Paperback)

by Chris Bohjalian (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (500 customer reviews)

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On a violent, stormy winter night, a home birth goes disastrously wrong. The phone lines are down, the roads slick with ice. The midwife, unable to get her patient to a hospital, works frantically to save both mother and child while her inexperienced assistant and the woman's terrified husband look on. The mother dies but the baby is saved thanks to an emergency C-section. And then the nightmare begins: the assistant suggests that maybe the woman wasn't really dead when the midwife operated:
Did she perform at least eight or nine cycles as my mother said, or four or five as Asa recalled? That is the sort of detail that was disputable. But at some point within minutes of what my mother believed had been a stroke, after my mother concluded the cardiopulmonary resuscitation had failed to generate a pulse or a breath, she screamed for Asa and Anne to find her the sharpest knife in the house.
In Midwives, Chris Bohjalian chronicles the events leading up to the trial of Sibyl Danforth, a respected midwife in the small Vermont town of Reddington, on charges of manslaughter. It quickly becomes evident, however, that Sibyl is not the only one on trial--the prosecuting attorney and the state's medical community are all anxious to use this tragedy as ammunition against midwifery in general; this particular midwife, after all, an ex-hippie who still evokes the best of the flower-power generation, is something of an anachronism in 1981. Through it all, Sibyl, her husband, Rand, and their teenage daughter, Connie, attempt to keep their family intact, but the stress of the trial--and Sibyl's growing closeness to her lawyer--puts pressure on both marriage and family. Bohjalian takes readers through the intricacies of childbirth and the law, and by the end of Sibyl Danforth's trial, it's difficult to decide which was more harrowing--the tragic delivery or its legal aftermath.

Narrated by a now adult Connie, Midwives moves back and forth in time, fitting vital pieces of information about what happened that night like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle into its complicated plot. As Connie looks back on her mother's trial, she is still trying to understand what happened--not on the night of the disaster--but in the months and years that followed. --Margaret Prior



From Library Journal

In this new tale from the author of the acclaimed Water Witches (LJ 2/1/95), a New England midwife is accused of murder. Film rights were bought by Columbia-Tristar Pictures.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

500 Reviews
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4 star:
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3 star:
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4.0 out of 5 stars (500 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Readers beware! This book is definitely ANTI-midwifery!, Nov 11 1998
By Jane Pincus (Roxbury, VT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Midwives (Paperback)
Bojalian has done midwives a HUGE disservice in writing this book. He caricatures midwives, all the while professing to admire them. He has chosen the most extreme situation -- death -- as the central event, & includes a conventional, sensationalistic trial scene. Read carefully & note his alarmist, dark, dank language of risk & danger, the negative cast of all he presents. Oprah, in publicizing this book, falls right into the hands of those who see home birthing as enormously risky. In fact. It is important for readers to know that midwives practice throughout the world, and are the best attendants for childbearing women, especially independent midwives, who know the most about normal, natural birthing. Good midwives celebrate birth, believe in the women they attend, & in their capacities to labor & birth with all their body heart & soul. Oddly, people reading "Midwives" see it as positive. So, new readers, read carefully, thoughtfully, PLEASE. What is the author REALLY saying? Protest the book's aggrandizement!
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4.0 out of 5 stars What would you have done in Sybil's place?, Sep 4 2007
By I LOVE BOOKS (Italy) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Midwives (Paperback)
A very entertaining book, speaking of a series of difficult decisions to be taken in a split second and against a further series of negative circumstances surrounding the problematic birth of a baby, delivered by an experienced midwife during a snowy night in rural Vermont. When things deteriorate, Sybil, the midwife, has to make a crucial decision which will then lead to a lawsuit.

This book certainly makes you think about how everything can go wrong if adverse fate interferes, but not only. It also gives rise to a crucial question regarding the choice between childbirth taking place in the serenity of a home or at a hospital, where everything would be "colder" but most risks could be kept at bay.

With all due respect, I must admit I was really impressed that the author of this book is a male, as everything is recounted with such feminine accuracy. Well done, truly well done. A book to be remembered. I still do and I've read it at least five years ago!
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5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I have ever read!, Jun 5 2007
By Louise Beauregard "Book Lover" (Hudson, Quebec Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Midwives (Paperback)
What a great story. Told by the teenage daughter, this book has everything and keeps you interested until the end. I have recommended this book to many friends and I recommend it to the readers of this review - you will surely appreciate this read.
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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Midwives- New England Novel
Midwives is a gut-wrenching novel about Midwifery in rural New England. Midwife, Sibyl Danforth, through the eyes of her daughter. Read more
Published on Jun 24 2004 by Doug Welch

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificently Perfect
Chris Bohjalian did an Excellent job writting Midwives. I was enormously shocked to find out that the person writting this book was a man!! Read more
Published on Jun 22 2004 by Juana

4.0 out of 5 stars Midwives, how disturbing
If there is any book that exemplifies self-doubt and innocence, it is Chris Bohjalian's Midwives. The story is told by a grown woman about the most important moment in her life... Read more
Published on Jun 21 2004 by icerushz

5.0 out of 5 stars Drama Drama Drama
Chris Bohjalian did a great job with this book. The life of a midwife occupation and the risks they take everyday to make women feel comfortable in their homes was beautifully... Read more
Published on Jun 17 2004 by Sarah Stevens

5.0 out of 5 stars New England Novel
I really enjoyed reading this book. I was really impressed with the form of narration that this book was written in. Read more
Published on Jun 17 2004 by Jenny Comers

4.0 out of 5 stars Birth and Death
Birth and Death

Midwives, by Chris Bohjalian, shakes all preconceptions one might have about the practice of midwifery. Read more

Published on Jun 17 2004 by Sharon L. MacCartney

4.0 out of 5 stars Read this if you want
This was an entertaining book about Sybil Danforth, a midwife. There are tons of high and low points, and there never really is a dull moment. Read more
Published on Jun 17 2004 by Kevin Liu

4.0 out of 5 stars Male acceptance
froma guy point of view, i was truly engaged with this novel. From the begining with the word "Vulva" i was stuck ready. Read more
Published on Jun 17 2004 by Ronald Harvey

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rollercoaster Ride!
Chris Bohjalian's Midwives was a beautifully written narrative with the power to hold the reader's full attention from start to finish. Read more
Published on Jun 16 2004 by Patty

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Until the End
From the beginning, up until the end, this novel was an intriguing emotional drama that kept me enthralled. Read more
Published on Jun 16 2004 by Lynsey Reiss

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