Midwives

Summary (from the publisher): 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. But what if—as Sibyl's assistant later charges—the patient wasn't already dead, and it was Sibyl who inadvertently killed her?

As recounted by Sibyl's precocious fourteen-year-old daughter, Connie, the ensuing trial bears the earmarks of a witch hunt except for the fact that all its participants are acting from the highest motives—and the defendant increasingly appears to be guilty. As Sibyl Danforth faces the antagonism of the law, the hostility of traditional doctors, and the accusations of her own conscience, Midwives engages, moves, and transfixes us as only the very best novels ever do.

Review: This novel is about the fallout following a woman's death during a home birth. The midwife, Sibyl Danforth, is put on trial for a technicality - was Charlotte really dead when Sibyl performed an emergency cesarean to save the baby? Not to stereotype, but I was astounded that a man wrote this novel. Not only does it deal with a generally female subject - pregnancy and childbirth - but it deals largely with Sibyl, a midwife, and is told from the perspective of her teenage daughter, Connie. Bohjalian did a great job of portraying a family in turmoil and a teenager navigating the transition into adulthood. Additionally, I really liked the structure of this novel where each chapter began with an entry from Sibyl's diary followed by narrative from Connie's perspective looking back on the event from later in life. Bohjalian creates intriguing and strong characters in this novel. I particularly liked Sibyl's lawyer, Stephen Hastings and Connie's rebel boy boyfriend, Tom Corts. 

This novel featured one of the most ambiguous narrators I've encountered in some time. Connie painted a picture of a flawed woman - her mother, without passing judgment or allowing her own opinion influence that of the reader. As a reader, I felt like one of the jury members on Sibyl's trial, being presented both sides, and trying to decide whether she was guilty or not.  I went into this book being fairly anti-home birth, but Bohjalian persuaded me to take a look at another perspective.

Stars: 4