WARNING: May include a spoiler – so I would not read until you have finished chapter 15.
I started this novel this past Saturday, after my husband purchased it for me. I wanted to read it because of my own interest in hiring a midwife for my next birth. (Probably not the book to read if you are researching on the idea of midwives). But anyway …
The book is slow to start. Once you get to the death of Charlotte Bedford, things begin to pick up (about 70 pages in). In my opinion, that’s too long for a book to “start”.
I also find that there is a lot of fluff in the book, that could probably be deleted without a second thought (or it affecting the story). So far – I find the main character’s (Connie – a young girl of 14) relationship with Tony rather irrelevant (though maybe it’ll all make sense in the end).
The book is short, only 372 pages yet it has taken me at least 4 days to read it (which is not the norm for when I get really into a book). I guess at this point – I could take it or leave it. Though being almost 70% finished with it, I will just continue reading it. I am curious as to what the final sentence will be for midwife, Sybil Danforth.
Question though – if you have read this book, did it affect your hiring a midwife? For me, it has torn me in two. On the one hand, I feel that Charlotte Bedford died (even though forensic proof indicates she died from the c-section) and on the other hand, it paints such a negative view of doctors in hospitals. Do hospitals allow you to have a midwife assisted birth with doctor/emergency backing?
(See – even if the novel isn’t the quickest read, it sure gets me thinking…)
