| Midwives Contributor(s): Bohjalian, Chris (Author) |
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ISBN: 0375706771 ISBN-13: 9780375706776 Publisher: Vintage OUR PRICE: $15.26 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: November 1998 Annotation: "Superbly crafted and astonishingly powerful. . . . It will thrill readers who cherish their worn copies of "To Kill A Mockingbird." --People With a suspense, lyricism, and moral complexity that recall To Kill a Mockingbird and Presumed Innocent, this compulsively readable novel explores what happens when a woman who has devoted herself to ushering life into the world finds herself charged with responsibility in a patient's tragic death. 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. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction | Literary - Fiction | Legal - Fiction | Women |
| Dewey: FIC |
| LCCN: 96022953 |
| Lexile Measure: 1150 |
| Series: Oprah's Book Club |
| Physical Information: 0.87" H x 5.22" W x 8.01" (0.70 lbs) 384 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 1950-1999 - Chronological Period - 1980's - Cultural Region - New England - Cultural Region - Northeast U.S. - Demographic Orientation - Rural - Geographic Orientation - Vermont |
| Accelerated Reader Info |
| Quiz #: 24979 Reading Level: 7.2 Interest Level: Upper Grades Point Value: 19.0 |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: A contemporary classic that has sold more than two million copies and was a selection of Oprah's original Book Club, Midwives is a compulsively readable novel that explores questions of human responsibility that are as fundamental to our society now as they were when the book was first published twenty years ago. On an icy winter night in an isolated house in rural Vermont, a seasoned midwife named Sibyl Danforth takes desperate measures to save a baby's life. She performs an emergency cesarean section on a mother she believes has died of stroke. But what if--as Sibyl's assistant later charges--the patient wasn't already dead? The ensuing trial bears the earmarks of a witch hunt, forcing Sibyl to face the antagonism of the law, the hostility of traditional doctors, and the accusations of her own conscience. Exploring the complex and emotional decisions surrounding childbirth, Midwives engages, moves, and transfixes us as only the very best novels ever do. |