The Book of the Unnamed Midwife

Trigger warnings: Spoilerrape, attempted rape, rape of a minor, female genital mutilation

This book! Gah, so intense and interesting. If you're looking for literary SF, this would probably qualify. I'm surprised it's not being talked about more with how popular The Handmaid's Tale has been this year and given the relative popularity of The Passage. As denoted above, there are a ton of potential triggers for readers in this book, so just something to consider. It's not a light book but once you get started, you will probably just read it in one sitting like I did.

When I started reading this book I had that feeling of deja-vu and post apocalypse fatigue but within a very short time it was clear that there is something different about it that separates it from the rest. This is down to the point of view the book is written from. Not only is the main character a woman, which we've seen before, but the entire lens that the book is read through is from the female perspective. I have read many books where the fact that the main character is a woman only affects the pronouns used and other than that could be applied to any other ‘walking dead' scenario but this was a real study of what it would mean to be a woman in an uncivilised world. I really recommend it.

First half = good. Brutal and heartbreaking. Serious stuff at stake. I was very invested in the MC, the unnamed midwife, and her fighting for survival.

Second half disappointed a bit. It's hard to pinpoint except I never really was offered any resolution to all the tension of the first half.