I have been Goodreads friends with Chris Bohjalian for several years. He is one of those very good author follows because he has excellent taste in books, writes great reviews, and does not promote his books to his friends ;)
Nor does he need to; he is a prolific bestselling author.
Lately he has gotten some attention from some podcasts I listen to as he has lately been writing thrillers, but the podcasters mostly rave about his earlier works. His earlier works are more literary fiction and what they say sets him apart is his adeptness at writing female characters. This is something that always interests me so I always had it in the back of my mind to give him a shot. So last week I did, with Midwives.

I enjoyed Midwives quite a bit, and yes, told from the perspective of a woman (recounting events when she was 14), I can see why he is praised for his writing skill.
The novel also delves into the world of midwifery, something I didn't know I needed, and the story centers around Connie's mother who is involved in a birth that goes tragically wrong. I thought he drew out the suspense of the court case well enough, and the story had a good resolution. I'm glad I read him and likely will again.

I’ve had Midwives, Chris Bohjalian’s fifth novel, on my to-read list for quite a while, but I resisted reading it until now because of some personal baggage: my only son was born, perfectly healthy, in a hospital; but the labour was prolonged, resulting in life-threatening complications that brought me back to the hospital in isolation for almost three weeks during which I was not even allowed to hold my own newborn child.

Midwives is a story about a pregnancy that goes wrong, but not in a hospital: in a home. The novel is mainly told through the eyes of Connie, the daughter of midwife Sibyl Danforth. Each chapter begins with an entry from Sibyl’s diary. Connie’s narration does require a degree of concentration from the reader. Bohjalian takes us back and forward in time, from Connie telling the story as an adult, going back to when she was fourteen. And because she was the point-of-view character, Connie had to overhear many, many conversations. Once I had the narrator, and the author’s narrative technique, firmly fixed in my mind, I was able to settle in to reading this compelling novel.

For years Sibyl enjoyed a thriving career as a “catcher” of babies. And then, one cold winter night, after a difficult and lengthy labour, Sibyl realizes she needs to get the mother, Charlotte to the hospital. But the phone lines are down, and Sibyl drives her car into a snow bank. She returns to continue to assist in the birth, and then Charlotte collapses. Believing Charlotte has had a stroke, Sibyl attempts CPR, and after some time, concludes that the mother has died – but that there may still be time to save the baby. She performs a caesarian section, and saves the baby, but did she kill Charlotte in the process? Sibyl’s inexperienced apprentice, Anne, and Charlotte’s husband, Asa, later contend that she did: that Charlotte was still alive before Sibyl performed the operation. The coroner comes to the same conclusion, and Sibyl is charged with involuntary manslaughter. The book is the story of the trial and the events leading up to it.

As I read this novel I was never bored; and as I approached the end it became, for me, more and more of a nail-biting page-turner. I found the trial and the complementary battle outside the courtroom – medical community against midwifery – very interesting reading. Throughout the story Bohjalian casts doubt even as he leads the reader – sometimes “astray” – to certain assumptions. For example, Charlotte hid her medical history from Sibyl. Did this contribute to her prolonged labour and resulting collapse? Then there’s our discovery, before the end of the book, that Connie is now, as an adult, a certified OBGYN. We must assume that this is because of her mother’s experience. Finally, we never really know what happened that night until the very end of the book. Clearly that was Bohjalian’s intention, and he pulled it off very well.

Read Midwives with an open mind, and you’ll form your own ideas about why and how Bohjalian decided to write this story. He certainly did his research, and he makes us think: the major issues surrounding midwifery and the dangers associated with any birth are presented without the author taking sides.

For myself, in the end, I feel I didn’t so much read Midwives, as ingest it. Looking back, I think that if I had had a certified midwife, along with a doctor, working with me during my pregnancy, things might well have turned out better. Interestingly, Chris Bohjalian himself has been quoted as saying that “in a heartbeat” he and his wife would be comfortable having a baby at home, or using a nurse-midwife at the hospital.

This is probably a 3.5. I enjoyed the voice of the narrator, and the flow of the story was easy to follow. I'm intrigued as to why the male author would choose this theme and voice. He did a good job representing the profession. However, I felt betrayed by the ending.

Another book loan from a bookclub member and an author that I cannot resist reading. Written in 1997, Chris Bohjalian takes readers to a wintry night in Vermont where a seasoned midwife, named Sibyl Danforth makes a decision to save a baby's life. But by the next evening, rumors will begin to fly that Sibyl is actually a killer. Told through the eyes of Sibyl 's daughter, Connie, the unfolding investigation and courtroom drama definitely kept me wondering as to who is telling the truth?

I was absolutely hooked by this one even when the book slowed down. Although I had a feeling what was ultimately going to be the conclusion of the story, I still felt the story was thrilling enough to keep me engaged. I thought it was interesting to have the story told through the eyes of Sibyl's daughter. Here Connie was this normal teenager and then her whole life is turned upside down and neighbors are taking sides and yet she doesn't want to be helpless. She wants to ensure readers that her mother was excellent at midwifery. She's any kind of teen that adores her parent. In between chapters, we are also given glimpses into Sibyl's midwife journals and this also allows a glimpse into Sibyl the midwife and not just Sibyl, Connie's mother.

A book that I wouldn't hesitate to re-read or recommend to others.

Goodreads 20/03/20

Midwives is a story that alternates between the present moment and the night that an experienced midwife named Sybil lost her patient. Told primarily through the eyes of her teenage daughter, it also includes bits and pieces from her personal journals, showing her POV throughout the chaos that follows.

As someone with no real opinion on midwifery/home birth, I am surprised how much I love this book! It is a family drama meets legal drama meets medical drama, but it's certainly all DRAMA. Be aware that there is talk of child loss, as well as pregnancy & childbirth complications, so if these subjects are triggering for you, you should probably avoid this one.

An inside account of one midwife's moments and ordeals in dealing with courts and controversy surrounding a decision she made with a patient. Each chapter begins with the midwife's diary entry, but then is told from her daughters point of view.
When one of the midwife's patients dies due to an emergency C-section(in order to save the babies life) all heck breaks loose. Was the mother of the baby dead before she did the C-section or was she instead alive?
I felt really sorry for this midwife but could see mistakes that she made. Innocent mistakes but ones which would tear her and her family apart. This was a tough book at times, emotionally, but was very well written and very interesting.

A very powerful story that raises important moral and ethical issues. It's amazing to me that it was written by a man that was able to articulate the story through the eyes of a 14 year old girl. Great book club read!

I have read more current books by Chris Bohjalian so when I saw this earlier novel at our library sale, I grabbed it up. Maybe the author has improved over the years, but this 1998 book was excellent. I felt like I was sitting listening to a 14 year old girl, Connie, tell the story of her mom, Sibyl, in a court case for murder. Sibyl is a midwife in the early 80’s & is a very good midwife who knows when to stop & take a laboring mother to the hospital. She has an impeccable record, & mothers love her nurturing touch. When she goes to a woman’s home to deliver a baby, the labor becomes long & intense. The weather has turned icy during that Vermont night & phone lines are down. The mother can no longer push & seems to either have had a massive stroke or heart attack. She cannot be revived. The baby is still alive, and Sibyl makes a quick decision to do her first C-section to save the child, which she does. But is the mother truly deceased? That’s what the trial is for, trying to decide if Sibyl really did the right thing. I couldn’t put this book down, and while some of the medical language becomes technical, the author does a fantastic job of explaining everything for common readers like me to understand. Mixed into each chapter beginning is a journal kept by Sibyl. I loved that as it gave insight into how Sibyl was feeling and what really happened through her eyes. A great read!!

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!

I have no idea how Chris Bohjalian wrote the voice of a 14-year-old girl so well that it actually made me remember what it felt like to be 14. AND against my will, mind you. I would do anything to never feel 14 again. There are many other wonderful things about this book. But it's enough to say read it because here is a man writing in the perfect 14-year-old-girl voice and that's some amazing motherfucking writing.

Not sure I enjoyed this book. it was quite slow and I was bored. just wanted to finish it.
Having said that the ending was great and unexpected.

This book is told by the prespective of a 30 year old woman who is recalling her life and turmoil at age 14. The cause for the turmoil...her mom, a self-appointed 70's-throwback-midwive who preforms a C-section on a patient in an extreme situation, to save a dying baby from his alreay dead mother. Why the drama? Well, maybe the birthing mother wasn't dead..so the court drama begins. Will her mothr be convicted of involuntary manslaughter or will the jury find her innocent?

All I can add was that it would ordinarilly have been a page turner for me, but I felt there was such a need to describe everything to the upteenth degree with this author's writing technique. I found myself skipping sentences just to move on.

I wouldn't have got to the end if it wasn't for Liz's recommendation to finish. She said that she had read it, didn't remember what it was all about, but that she remembered what she felt when she was done. She was right, when I finally got the the end, I understood what she meant.

Safe to say, don't read the last page!

4.5⭐️

I love books like this. Literary fiction, that tells the story of human life. Experiences, family, hope and heartbreak. Family struggles and personal demons. There’s not necessarily action, or fast paced chapters… just a well told story about humans experiencing life… the good, and the bad.

This book is told by adult Connie, who’s writing the story of her life as she lived it when she was 13 and 14 years old. During this time, her mother, Sybil is arrested and charged in the murder of her patient, Charlotte. Sybil has been a successful midwife in northern Vermont for over a decade, but when Charlotte appears to suffer a fatal stroke while giving birth, Sybil makes the extraordinary decision to perform a C-section to save her baby. The question is, was Charlotte really dead?

This was my first Chris Bohjalian book and I’m excited to read more. It’s not fast paced but I loved the character development and the final third of this book during the courtroom testimonies, it was impossible to put down.