• Home
  • Review Policy
  • Book Reviews
    • Action
    • Fantasy
    • Mystery
    • Non-Fiction
    • Paranormal
    • Romance
    • Science Fiction
    • Young Adult

Silk & Serif

A Book Blog

Review: The Book of The Unnamed Midwife

December 31, 2016 · Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.
Review: The Book of The Unnamed MidwifeThe Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison
Published by 47North on October 11th 2016
Pages: 190
Format: eBook
Source: NetGalley
Buy on Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Book Depository
Goodreads

Philip K. Dick Award Winner for Distinguished Science Fiction
When she fell asleep, the world was doomed. When she awoke, it was dead.
In the wake of a fever that decimated the earth’s population—killing women and children and making childbirth deadly for the mother and infant—the midwife must pick her way through the bones of the world she once knew to find her place in this dangerous new one. Gone are the pillars of civilization. All that remains is power—and the strong who possess it.
A few women like her survived, though they are scarce. Even fewer are safe from the clans of men, who, driven by fear, seek to control those remaining. To preserve her freedom, she dons men’s clothing, goes by false names, and avoids as many people as possible. But as the world continues to grapple with its terrible circumstances, she’ll discover a role greater than chasing a pale imitation of independence.
After all, if humanity is to be reborn, someone must be its guide.

I am a huge fan of the post-apocalyptic genre, so when I saw The Book of The Unnamed Midwife on NetGalley I was intrigued. A novel that follows a nurse the initial days after an apocalyptic event that kills a large portion of the female gender. In the days following the apocalypse women become property to men and it is revealed that no pregnancies render living children. As humanity struggles to overcome the loss of civilization, they also now must face a future without the ability to have children.

I appreciated what this novel tried to do by bringing feminism to the apocalypse. The supreme maltreatment of women and the moral ambiguity of a society without civilization was an interesting addition to a traditional tale of survival that has saturated the literary market.

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife is a tale about an average woman in an extraordinary world. Although a short novel of only 190 pages, the midwife goes through many different experiences: discovering her own weaknesses, saving women from horrific situations and realizing that helping others is more important than making herself happy.

This is a novel about self discovery as much as it is about feminism and the fall of civilization.

I did not love how sexual the book became approximately half way through, with some behaviours by the main character that she doesn’t seem to really feel all that bad about. She hurts others, including women, but then continues on her crusade to save people. Some of the events in the novel were unbelievable, but served the purpose of creating a world that is very much unlike our own.

Personally, I found this book to be a satisfactory read. I loved that the author tried to make this book more than just a typical apocalyptic novel and inject some deeper meaning into the main character’s experiences. The Book of the Unnamed Midwife is about individuality as much as it is about the human condition.

This book will appeal to readers who enjoy post-apocalyptic novels, feminist literature, tales about self-discovery and flawed female leads. I would not recommend this to readers who are sensitive to rape literature or literature with an uncomfortable level of description of abuse scenes.

 

 

  • Related Posts
  • Same Genre
  • 3 Star Books
Review: The Ship Beyond Time
Review: Nirvana
Review: In The Air Tonight
Review: Smoke on The Water
Review: Manwhore
Review: The Ship Beyond Time
Review: Finches of Mars
Re-Review: Nirvana
Review: The Cottage on Pumpkin and Vine
Review: Tell The Wind and Fire
Review: Moonkind
Review: Long May She Reign
Review: Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis
Review: Night Watch
Review: The Worst of Times

Filed Under: Dystopian, Reviews, Science Fiction

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Welcome!

Welcome to Silk & Serif! A blog dedicated to Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance and a dash of non-fiction. Great books celebrated by an avid literary community resident. Read More…

  • 323
  • 169
July 2022
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Nov    

Currently Reading

The Legends of the Pyramids: Myths and Misconceptions about Ancient Egypt The Legends of the Pyramids: Myths and Misconceptions about Ancient Egypt by Jason Colavito
Meal Prep for Weight Loss: Weekly Plans and Recipes to Lose Weight the Healthy Way Meal Prep for Weight Loss: Weekly Plans and Recipes to Lose Weight the Healthy Way by Kelli Shallal
Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk by Elizabeth H. Bonesteel
All the Seas of the World All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay
Last Exit Last Exit by Max Gladstone
Visit my shelf on Goodreads

Reviews by Rating

★★★★★
Review: Bones Inside and Out
Review: The Ship Beyond Time
Review: The Twilight Wife
Review: Future Shock
Review: Beyond the Red
Review: Seize The Night
Review: Scarlet

★★★★½
Review: The Doors of Eden
Review: Adrift
Review: Little Heaven
Review: Every Hidden Thing
Review: A Time of Torment
Review: The Summit
Review: Hell Divers
Review: The Hatching
Review: Dan vs. Nature
Review: With Malice
Review: The Great Hunt
Giveaway/Review: The Incredible Star Portal
Review: Crooked Little Lies
Review: Cowgrrl Up: Live
Review: Cinder
Review: Readers of The Broken Wheel Recommend
Review: In The Air Tonight
Review: Emergence: Dave vs. the Monsters
Review: Undertow – Michael Buckley

★★★★
Review: Magic for Liars
Review: Ninth House
Review: Future Threat
Review: The Drifter
Review: Last Day on Mars
Review: The Cottage on Pumpkin and Vine
Review: Tridents Forge
Review: The Immortals
Tour: His Country Bride
Review: Sutherland’s Secret
Tour/Review: The Aftermath
Review: Jackaby
Review: Resurrection Science: Conservation, De-extinction and the Precarious Future of Wild Things
Review: While You Were Gone
Review: Manwhore
Review/Tour: Unforgiven
Review: How to Clone a Mammoth

★★★½
Review: The Rush’s Edge
Review: Cataclysm
Review: Addicted to the Duke
Review: Tell The Wind and Fire
Review: The Girl from Everywhere
Review: MemoRandom
Review: Depraved Heart
Dave vs The Monsters: Ascendance
Review: MARTians
Review: Santa 356
Review: BIGLAW
Review: Immunity
Review: Shattered Blue
Review: The Thirteenth World
Review: Death on Ibiza
Review: The Bourbon Kings
Review: Smoke on The Water
Review: Never Cry Wolf
Review: Heat of the Moment
Review: The Corridor
Review: Chaos and Moonlight
Review: Great Zoo of China – Matthew Reilly

★★★
Review: The Birthday Boys
Review: Chasing Shadows
Review: Long May She Reign
Review: Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis
Review: Night Watch
Review: The Book of The Unnamed Midwife
Review: Wolves
Review: Freenet
Review: A Whisper of Desire
Review: Nirvana
Review: The Morning After Memoirs
Tour/Review: The Sweet Spot
Review: The Black Tongue
Blog Tour/Review: When The Stars Align
Review: Resistance – Dave vs The Monsters #2
Review: Lumière
Review: The Worst of Times
Review: Ever Near
Review: Wishing Cross Station
Review: TAG
Review: Moonkind
Book Blast/Review: Deal With The Devil
Review: Finches of Mars

★★½
Review: Bats
Review: Machinations
Review: The Anthrax Protocol
Review: Wishes for Christmas
Review: Girl’s Guide to The Apocalypse
Review: Peak

★★
Review: Always Happy Hour
Review: The Long, Long Life of Trees
Review: Stranger King
Review: To Catch a Lady
Re-Review: Nirvana

★½

★

½

Blogroll

Bedtime BookwormKelsey's Cluttered BookshelfThe Book Addict's Guide

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2022

Copyright © 2022 · Hailey Wells Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in