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katiescho741's review against another edition
5.0
This was my very first fiction audio-book. I found the e-book on Kindle Unlimited and it came with audible narration so I gave it a go. The audio book narrator was absolutely great…she changed her voice well for different characters without it sounded ridiculous or samey, and she achieved the subtle tone shifts needed to switch between the first person diary and the third person story. This was an excellent audio book.
This book is incredibly dark, brutal, raw, and desolate, and yet the prologue means we still read it with hope. The book opens in a clearly cultured society where the unnamed midwife’s diaries are kept safe and are honoured, but the actual story in the book is one of necessity and survival, full of violence, loneliness, and cruelty. The midwife’s story is told through her own written diaries, third person, and a set found found or copied documents. This adds such depth and variety to the story and it means that time can be slowed down or sped up depending on what the story needs.
he cast of characters is very diverse and there is plenty in this book about sexuality and gender. In various ways, sex changes after the end of civilisation, and there is a lot in the story about how this is dealt with – from women disguising themselves as men, to straight men finding intimate companionship with each other. Adding Mormons to the mix was very interesting too.
We watch our midwife as she wanders aimlessly round San Francisco and then she slowly grows into someone powerful, in control, and who is ultimately a ruthless survivor. The sections about her practising being a man had some black comedy to them – her notes in her diary about how to speak, pose, and the words to use made me chuckle. Saying that there is so much tragedy in this book, especially on the topic of children. The details are heartbreaking and so real.
I loved the detail that the unnamed midwife gives herself several names throughout the book, and the idea of keeping her real name secret and as something valuable. As with most post-apocalyptic novels, this book reminds us how quickly things switch: basics like food and water become valuable, and money, jewellery and electronics become worthless. There are many references to books and reading too – the midwife always keeps an eye out for books on her travels, and there’s a them of recording events for posterity too. I loved the section near the end where we are given short accounts from many different people who survived.
I found this book to be beautiful, harsh, brutal, tragic, darkly comic, and overall and excellent story.
This book is incredibly dark, brutal, raw, and desolate, and yet the prologue means we still read it with hope. The book opens in a clearly cultured society where the unnamed midwife’s diaries are kept safe and are honoured, but the actual story in the book is one of necessity and survival, full of violence, loneliness, and cruelty. The midwife’s story is told through her own written diaries, third person, and a set found found or copied documents. This adds such depth and variety to the story and it means that time can be slowed down or sped up depending on what the story needs.
he cast of characters is very diverse and there is plenty in this book about sexuality and gender. In various ways, sex changes after the end of civilisation, and there is a lot in the story about how this is dealt with – from women disguising themselves as men, to straight men finding intimate companionship with each other. Adding Mormons to the mix was very interesting too.
We watch our midwife as she wanders aimlessly round San Francisco and then she slowly grows into someone powerful, in control, and who is ultimately a ruthless survivor. The sections about her practising being a man had some black comedy to them – her notes in her diary about how to speak, pose, and the words to use made me chuckle. Saying that there is so much tragedy in this book, especially on the topic of children. The details are heartbreaking and so real.
I loved the detail that the unnamed midwife gives herself several names throughout the book, and the idea of keeping her real name secret and as something valuable. As with most post-apocalyptic novels, this book reminds us how quickly things switch: basics like food and water become valuable, and money, jewellery and electronics become worthless. There are many references to books and reading too – the midwife always keeps an eye out for books on her travels, and there’s a them of recording events for posterity too. I loved the section near the end where we are given short accounts from many different people who survived.
I found this book to be beautiful, harsh, brutal, tragic, darkly comic, and overall and excellent story.
liakeller's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting take on the apocalypse theme. Frightening, very disturbing but well written.
becksbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
raygersh's review against another edition
3.0
Trying to orient my thoughts on this apocalypse novel from Meg Elison has proven to be a painful venture. I simply hated this book--but also liked it a lot. The Book of the Unnamed Midwife may remind you of a little-known book, The Handmaid’s Tale. We have a nameless survivor recording her journey in a time of dropping birth rates and increased subjugation of women. The story itself, however, is vastly different than life experienced by the red cloaked handmaids Atwood portrays. In fact, I really like what Elison depicts in her apocalypse. She has taken a fairly overdone concept and given us a fresh look at it. Unfortunately, the stylistic elements that draw the comparison to Margaret Atwood completely undercut much of what is good in The Book of the Unnamed Midwife.
The pacing of the novel is all over the place. There are sections that drag on for too long, while others deserve much more attention. The reader is jostled from journal entries to omniscient narration that seems pointless. I don’t doubt that Meg Elison is extremely intelligent, as she has some incredibly profound and astute commentary scattered throughout, but it is hidden beneath layers of terrible fiction writing. I hate to say it, but I wish she had acted as consultant on the project and let someone who knows how to write a novel take over from there.
Overall: Deeply insightful points were made regarding human nature, sexuality, religion, and life, but a highly frustratingly written novel with a few nuisances I can’t see past. 2.5 stars
The pacing of the novel is all over the place. There are sections that drag on for too long, while others deserve much more attention. The reader is jostled from journal entries to omniscient narration that seems pointless. I don’t doubt that Meg Elison is extremely intelligent, as she has some incredibly profound and astute commentary scattered throughout, but it is hidden beneath layers of terrible fiction writing. I hate to say it, but I wish she had acted as consultant on the project and let someone who knows how to write a novel take over from there.
Overall: Deeply insightful points were made regarding human nature, sexuality, religion, and life, but a highly frustratingly written novel with a few nuisances I can’t see past. 2.5 stars
lydia_hennessy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Shaped up to be a 5 star read, and I definitely read it quickly enough. This GRIPPED me. But the premise was... kind of TERFy, and I wasn't a fan of the way some marginalised characters were written. Have seen reviews of sequels in this series that trans rep is not the best, so decided do dock half a star and not give Elison the benefit of the doubt. Won't be continuing, but what a ride this was.
e_len's review
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
a feminist post-apocalyptic story, probably realistic reactions in there
This was very hard to read emotionally. It was so very bleak, but the psychology in there is sound. Still, I need a silly, easy read after this dark and heavy story.
Minus half a star for Americacentrism like the focus on religion in some parts and the constant belief that guns solve everything.
This was very hard to read emotionally. It was so very bleak, but the psychology in there is sound. Still, I need a silly, easy read after this dark and heavy story.
Minus half a star for Americacentrism like the focus on religion in some parts and the constant belief that guns solve everything.
haileychan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
salema's review
4.0
Spoilers-This was a pretty good book. I can’t claim that I enjoyed myself because it was basically a series of traumatic events. It felt incredibly slow and monotonous in the beginning but got more interesting once she met the Mormons. I appreciated that we got endings for most of the characters we met (even though they couldn’t be called happy). I thought the book was a pretty accurate representation of how an extinction event would bring out the worst in people. It did throw me off that the survivors had such a hard time finding guns in America. That point kept getting brought up and the polar opposite would haveactually been true. I was a bit surprised that the MC didn’t get a personal ending. She was professionally satisfied but we were given no clue about how other parts of her life played out after she found a home.
thelightsarenorthern's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder