Midwives
By Bohjalian, Chris A.

Midwives by Bohjalian, Chris A.
Price: $14.95
Rating:
 
(14420 Ratings)
Categories: General Fiction
ISBN: 9781400032976
Publisher: Knopf
Language: English

Summary

In the pastoral community of Reddington, Vermont, during the harsh winter of 1981, Sibyl Danforth makes a life-or-death decision based on fifteen years of experience as a respected midwife -- a decision intended to save a child, a decision that will change her life forever.

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Helpful Customer Reviews

Midwives

Lori
Lori (Palmer, AK) Thu Oct 29 2009 02:20
Lately I have been finding random books at this second hand store near my house. There is always a vast selection and they are dirt cheap. I also have a thing about hanging on to every book I liked, so libraries don't really work for me. So the next cheapest option is the thrift store. I end up ...more...
Jenny
Jenny (The United States) Fri May 15 2009 14:55
I definitely don't recommend reading this book if you are pregnant! Having said that, this is a compelling, fast-moving book that I consumed in about three nights. The story is about a midwife named Sibyl. She is involved in a terrible tragedy where a woman dies from prolonged labor a...more...
Shanda
Shanda (Indian Trail, NC) Wed Sep 23 2009 17:18
Sybil Danforth has been a lay midwife for years with much success and happiness in her profession. On a hideously stormy night she performs a C-section on a woman she believes to have died of a stroke. She is prosecuted for this when doubts arise and people question whether the woman was still ali...more...
Stephanie
Stephanie (Portland, OR) Sat Apr 18 2009 12:46
I thought this book was a compelling read, but also felt it supported and fed into a lot of the paranoia surrounding midwifery and homebirth in the U.S. Most midwives - whether direct entry (lay) midwives or certified nurse midwives - are highly trained professionals. In the case of a lo...more...
Lindsay
Lindsay (The United States) Sun May 31 2009 13:59
"To the jurors, of course, she might simply have looked guilty. She might simply have looked like a tired woman who couldn't sleep because of the blood on her hands." (pg. 341) After finishing Midwives it has definitely made my “top ten” list for sure. It was a very easy read a...more...
Lydia
Lydia (Norcross, GA) Fri Dec 11 2009 06:31
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...more...
Bookventures
Bookventures (Port-Of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) Sun Apr 04 2010 07:58
WOW!I had heard a podcast of Chris Bohjalian talking about his latest book called Secrets of Eden and he was explaining that the story was written from three perspectives. And i thought to myself, that story is going to get confusing after a while. But apparently telling a story from someo...more...
Kmmhayes
Kmmhayes (Pocatello, ID) Tue Jun 22 2010 20:32
I read and reviewed this book for our book group. I liked it, but I didn't love it. It is the story of a midwife, Sybil, in the 1980's-90's. While Sybil has had hundreds of successful home deliveries, she is forced by circumstance to perform a c-section with a kitchen knife on what she thinks is ...more...
Judith
Judith (The United States) Mon Dec 22 2008 11:30
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 wi...more...
Andrea
Andrea (Reno, NV) Tue Feb 17 2009 15:00
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. ...more...