Midwives

This book was sitting on my mother's bedside table when we were at my parents' house for Thanksgiving. I was drawn in by words like "vulva" and "vagina," but when I was finished reading it the only "v" word that came to mind was "vapid."

I thought Oprah only lauded books that were worth reading? Maybe she just puts her seal of approval on anything now. I should send her my book.

I disliked how huge pieces of important information were tossed around as if unimportant, casually thrown at the reader without fanfare. I disliked how near the beginning the author (Chris Bohjalian) says, "I could begin my mother's story with Charlotte Fugett Bedford's death, but that would mean I'd chosen to open her life with what was for her the beginning of the end." That's like saying, "I could tell you that you're ugly and you stink, but I won't." Well, you just told me.

I also disliked how the audience was deemed stupid. If you make a huge deal about something that you assumed would go wrong, that tells us that it won't go wrong. I felt like I knew the end before I had finished the first chapter.

Vapid. A one-word book review.