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Midwives (Oprah's Book Club)
 
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Midwives (Oprah's Book Club) (Paperback)
by Chris Bohjalian (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars 236 customer reviews (236 customer reviews)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Midwives, Chris Bohjalian's fifth novel, is the story of Sibyl Danforth, a lay midwife in rural Vermont, and her daughter, Connie. The nexus of this cautionary tale is an emergency Caesarean section Sibyl performs during a home birth that goes disastrously wrong. Believing the mother is already dead from a stroke, Sibyl operates and later finds herself on trial for killing the woman. The compelling story of her trial and its aftermath comes to us from Connie, who believes "this is my story, too." In fact, Connie's reaction to her mother's ordeal is to go to medical school and become an obstetrician. The book raises provocative issues about medical ethics and the limits of risk. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Synopsis
In the winter of 1981, trapped by unpassable roads, midwife Sibyl Danforth makes a life-altering decision when she performs an emergency cesarean section on a woman she fears has died of a stroke.

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Customer Reviews
236 Reviews
5 star: 42%  (100)
4 star: 30%  (71)
3 star: 13%  (33)
2 star: 8%  (20)
1 star: 5%  (12)
 
 
 
 
 
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars EXQUISITELY WRITTEN AND ABSORBING...A NOVEL TO REMEMBER..., 30 Dec 2002
By Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)   
This beautifully crafted novel is set in 1981 when a midwife, leading an otherwise uncomplicated and simple life with her husband and daughter in rural Vermont, is thrust into a legal, moral, political, and ethical nightmare. It evolves around a split second decision made in a life and death situation and the aftermath of that decision.

An experienced and respected midwife, Sibyl Danforth, attends a woman during a home birth. When she realizes that dangerous complications have set in, she tries to call for help in vain, as a severe ice storm has knocked out the phone lines. An attempt to drive the expectant mother to a hospital only results in the car being wedged into an icy snowbank, as travel conditions were impossible.

Trapped in this isolated home with a physically fragile, expectant mother in the throes of a labor that will not bear fruit, Sybil struggles to do the best that she can. Unfortunately, her best is just not good enough, given the complications that had set in, and the expectant mother appears to succumb to the ravages of a laborious childbirth.

Under the belief that the expectant mother had died, Sibyl performs an emergency caesarean section in an effort to save the unborn child. She successfully does so, presenting the stricken husband with an infant son. Yet, the next day, her assistant, Anne, who had been present throughout the ordeal, denounces Sibyl to the authorities, claiming that the expectant mother had, in fact, been alive, when Sibyl had commenced the caesarean. Consequently, Sibyl is charged with manslaughter, and the political winds blown by the traditional medical establishment, as well as that of the legal system, threaten to tear asunder all that she holds dear.

The story of this event, its aftermath, and the impact it had on many lives, is told through the eyes of Sibyl's daughter who had been a young teenager at the time of the incident, and through the pages of Sibyl's journal. The book takes the reader through a number of moral dilemmas for Sibyl, as well as for her daughter who is forced to come of age during this time of trial and tribulation for her family. Absorbing and often surprising, this sensitively wrought novel is a well nuanced literary gem from a gifted writer.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Tantilising, 8 Nov 2006
By Dr. J. S. E. Sullivan-lyons "Dr. Jo" (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
One of the best books I have read in years. Gripping throughout, accessible, and well written. reasonably short, so you do not need to invest a month of your life finding out what happens. Unexpected ending, but perfect. Read and enjoy!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Potential for a great story missed, 25 Jan 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Midwives (Paperback)
As soon as I saw the cover of Midwives I was hooked. Bohjalian hit on a great idea for a novel and was blessed with a cover (literally)to die for! It promised to be a real page-turner...

How wrong could I be? Here was the potential for a great story sadly missed. Yes, the book enabled Bohjalian to air some interesting arguements about the pros and cons of home birth but added nothing new; the conclusion does little more than reinforce prevailing attitudes and - contrary to the hype - all twists seemed well signposted along the way.

This story should have been full of suspense and drama - the situation demanded it but the writing couldn't deliver.

As for the coming of age angle, the feelings of a fourteen year-old girl through the cool, intelligent eyes of a middle age obstetrician just didn't work for me I'm afraid.

I liked the moody, muddy setting, and I did want to know what happened in the end - sort of. A reasonably good result I suppost but in the final analysis, just not good enough.

(And by the way, wearing whimsical hippy skirts is not a prerequisite of home birth ...)

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Boring!
Too long winded and poor narrative. It just kept going on and on. The first third was fabulous and I was so pleased I picked it up then once the trial started I simply lost... Read more
Published 8 months ago by SJSmith

4.0 out of 5 stars What would you have done in Sibyl's place?
A very entertaining book, speaking of a series of difficult decisions to be taken in a split se