What readers think of Midwives, plus links to write your own review.

I don't know what most impresses me about author Chris Bohjalian's writing in this book:
--He wrote from a woman's perspective.
--He wrote with the knowledge of a physician.
--He wrote with the knowledge of an attorney.

And he pulled it off expertly!

When a woman giving birth dies in the care of experienced midwife Sybil Danforth in a perfect storm (literally) of everything that could possibly go wrong, she is arrested and tried in a court of law. The story is told from the perspective of her daughter, Connie, who narrates the book as a 30-something adult recalling this tragic piece of their family history when she was a young teenager.

The plot moves quickly and holds the reader completely, and the characters are fully developed and three-dimensional. Best of all, the last three chapters are so riveting, you will not be able to stop reading. (If you're the family cook, I hope no one wants dinner when you get to that point of the story.)

This is not-to-be missed story of hopes and dreams, of tragedy and consequences, of the power of the law and the force of conscience. Most of all, it is a story of love. What we do and how we act under the most extreme circumstances is the true testament of who we are as human beings.

Very well written, easy to read.

When I first saw the title of the book it really interested me as a medical student it got my attention. I really love the book as I was going to write an evaluation of a book for my assessment and the book was so absorbing that I kept reading until i turned the last page.

I really liked the novel midwives. It is really exciting and very breathtaking story.

At first I thought this was a Young Adult book, being narrated by a teen, but the language didn't ring true for YA. Nor does it fit into Mystery or Adult Fiction because of the teenage narrator. While I agree it's suspenseful, there's a withheld piece of information that made me swear I'll never read another book by this author. I felt cheated and disappointed at the end of the book.

I enjoyed this book for so many reasons: It was a courtroom drama not centered in a courtroom; It was narrated by the eavesdropping daughter of the protagonist, which provided a great viewpoint; It was suspenseful and touching and the writing itself was beautiful!

I loved the book. I read it in 2 days on a lovely 18 hour road trip. It was very compelling, so deep. I didn't think the end really changed that lingering doubt. I think just taking that risk of acting on those instincts for what you love really makes the point. Those entries still left a reasonable doubt in my mind. This was a lovely book to begin my law classes!

Oooh, this book annoyed me. I felt manipulated, and I don't like that. I don't want to give any plot points away (though this book has been out for ages, but still), but I found myself bothered by the facts surrounding Sybil. Do we root for her or not? I don't mind when a book makes you think for yourself--in fact, I definitely PREFER that. But I didn't think this was a case of purposeful ambiguity. It was simply inconsistent. For 99% of the book, we are given one set of facts, and then, suddendly, we are given another. I wish that the author would have mixed it up more. It's just felt cheap to me. Like cheating. Thumbs down.