The Midwife's Tale

"A Midwife's Tale" is a solid, intelligent book, the compelling story of Elizabeth Whitely, last in a long line of midwives who have served the women and children of a remote West Virginia valley for generations. It begins prior to World War I when Elizabeth, training under her mother, discovers the brutal dark side of midwifery. It is the first of the harsh realities of life she will face. Laskas has drawn a unique character in Elizabeth Whitely, a strong woman who meets disappointments with courage and a great generosity of spirit and happiness with spirited enthusiasm. All the characters in this novel are invested with such original, yet believable, human traits that even the fanciful strains of the story are plausible. It's a complex story, with surprising twists and turns and a truly memorable heroine making her way through it all.The time and setting of "A Midwife's Tale" are unique, yet never threaten to overpower or even intrude on the story. So seamlessly does the author blend the aspects of a distinctive region that it was only once that I even noticed the dialect. Yet I was always "knew" the geography and history of the place, as well as "heard" the sound of the characters' voices. I've read well-received books by more experienced authors who don't do this nearly as well as Miss Laskas. "A Midwife's Tale" is a wonderful love story and a polished, literary first novel. I still think about it, even though it's been weeks and many books in between since I read it. I highly recommend it.

This book is such an enormous pleasure to read--"pleasure" is an odd adjective to ascribe to a novel so filled with tragedies and hardship, yet Laskas's writing and storytelling are so strong that every page seems to crackle. The characters, the landscape, the story--the life of this once and future midwife--are portrayed with tremendous passion and depth. The rhythms, of language and structure, give the book an epic flair, yet epic in a particularly feminine sort of way. It is filled with blood, sweat, tears--there is suffering, but at the same time, like the Appalachian mountain on which the characters live, something always endures.This is a book for people who are looking for books to cherish, books to lose themselves in, cry over, read passages again and again.

This is a wonderful story of bonds of love shared by mothers and their daughters as well as the love between men and women. Elizabeth, the midwife whose tale we are caught up in, isn't perfect but she is strong, smart and interesting. This is indeed a strong telling of a moving story but I wasn't aware that this kind of well-written novel was out of style. One thing I loved about this book was that somehow, though it's not written in the sort of folksy dialect usually used to depict mountain people, the author lets the true voice of these people shine through. It's a very skillful job and gives the reader a real sense of place.I look forward to the next book by this author.

I was enthralled with THE MIDWIFE'S TALE from the opening paragraph and could not put it down. This book, set in early part of the 20th century, tells the tale of Elizabeth Whitely as she struggles with both the triumphs and the burdens of her profession, midwifery, and her own loneliness when the man she has loved most of her life falls for another. This is a love story, surely, but one not strictly confined to a relationship between a man and a woman. It illuminates the complicated bond between mothers and daughters, the friendships forged by women everywhere, and intricate ties of a close-knit community.A lovely, moving novel.

It is rare to find a novel that is has such a strong voice, is evocative, literary and still good old fashioned story telling, but Laskas has written one. And a fine novel this is down to the happy ending, one of the hardest things to carry off. I stayed up till 2AM to finish this book, and cried at the end. And for me that merits five stars.This is a wonderful book written by a wonderful new writer.