From Publishers WeeklyElison's gripping and grim first novel, which won the Philip K. Dick Award in its previous, small press publication, tells the story of an unnamed woman who survives a plague that wipes out most of humankind in just weeks, leaving 10 male survivors for every woman. The story is beautifully written in a stripped down, understated way, though frequently gruesome in its depiction of rapes, murders, and stillbirths. The protagonist, who sometimes calls herself Karen, or Dusty, or Jane, is beautifully realized as a middle-aged, bisexual woman with considerable skills, an indomitable will, and great adaptability, though she suffers considerably and is far from a superwoman. A prologue and an epilogue set long after the events of the main narrative (and reminiscent of the concluding chapter of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale) hint at a positive future, leaving the reader with a glimmer of optimism in the midst of despair. This fine tale should particularly appeal to readers of earlier feminist dystopias such as The Handmaid's Tale, Suzy McKee Charnas's Walk to the Edge of the World series, and P.D. James's The Children of Men. From BooklistRecovering from a mysterious and nearly fatal disease, the unnamed female protagonist of Elisons debut novel must adapt quickly in order to survive a new and brutal world. This mysterious disease swiftly wiped out a majority of the female population and has made healthy birth impossible for survivors in its wake. Elisons unnamed protagonist has made it her mission to use her previous medical experience as a midwife, providing birth control to any women she meets during her travels. Men were left almost entirely untouched by the disease, though, and much of the remaining male population has degenerated into gangs of rapists and slavers, hunting and selling the remaining women they find. Cutting her hair and donning male clothing, will the protagonist be able to save the women she encounters? Does civilization still exist in this new postapocalyptic world? Elison takes readers on an exciting and often excruciating journey, navigating issues of gender and sex in a scorched, disease-ridden world. The science fiction analog to the Zika crisis. Slate As her debut novel, The Book of the Unnamed Midwife captures the spirit of Elisons artistry. The human capacity to survive is something authors have explored for as long as science fiction has existed as a genre, but Elison brings to it her own definitions of sexuality, resourcefulness, and determination. The Daily Californian Elison paints a world so empty of long-term hope and driven by short-term desperation that you'll be haunted by it even when not flipping the pages, yet the barest glimmer of light on the future's horizon will keep you moving forward. Adrian Liang, Book Meg Elisons exploration of femininity and womens inequality is unflinchingly honest. She doesnt hold back when considering the differences between men and women, those that naturally exist and those that are constructed. Particularly, I appreciated Elisons ability to examine the ways in which women are treated when the laws that protect them are gone. In other words, Elison shows that it wouldnt take much for society to regress. That the progress weve made is an illusion unless people enforce it themselves. Word After Word what is a book enthusiast The Book of the Unnamed Midwife (The Road to Nowhere)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Audio book made my commute enjoyableBy EMSuspenseful and enjoyable. Some of the cursing made me cringe but it was my first audio book so I think hearing it was more abrasive than reading it (I don't mind cuss words in books typically). Overall a great listen/read for me by myself on my commute to work and back.22 of 25 people found the following review helpful. A Reverse Y: The Last Man and The Walking Dead Without Zombies, Filtered Through the Lens of The Handmaid's TaleBy Sunil PatelMeg Elison is a friend of a friend, and when I saw that she'd published a book, I thought, good for her. When I saw that it had been nominated for a Philip K. Dick Award, I thought, REALLY good for her, now I've definitely got to read this thing.THE BOOK OF THE UNNAMED MIDWIFE chronicles the perilous adventures of the titular unnamed midwife, who, in fact, goes by many different names throughout the course of the book for, lo, the world has ended and no one is safe. A plague hits, and it disproportionally targets women, especially mothers. Babies don't survive, either: the human race is toast. The setup is like a reverse Y: THE LAST MAN: the midwife is not the last woman, but whereas she was only TREATED like a minority before, now she really is one.A strange man tries to rape her on page 5.Understandably, she disguises herself as a man in order to survive, and I loved the little bits where she has to remind herself to act "manly," whatever that means, right. She becomes a crusader for women, trying to secretly deliver them birth control so that they don't have rape babies that kill them. The only person she can really trust, however, is herself; she meets up with strangers and forms attachments that quickly sour. While the premise lends itself to a lot of victimization of women, there's room for empowerment as well, and the way this male-dominated world brings women together reminded me of THE HANDMAID'S TALE. The midwife wanders the landscape, looking for shelter, and maybe even companionship. The touch of a man or woman will do. The general thrust of the plot is like THE WALKING DEAD without zombies. Make no mistake, this book is bleak and depressing as hell: I can recall exactly two moments where the book gave me positive emotions. Okay, maybe three. I could definitely count them on one hand.Elison tells the story through a combination of people's journals, a third-person limited narrative for the midwife, and the occasional third-person omniscient POV to provide context for the rest of the world or to close off stories of characters the midwife encounters. It's a bit messy, not having a consistent voice, and I found it vexing that the midwife's first-person thoughts were not italicized, making it sometimes hard to distinguish them from the third-person POV. Especially because I LIKE her and her thoughts. Her own journals are a bit manic and difficult to decipher as well; she uses = signs in an almost haphazard manner. But I wanted her to be successful, whatever that meant to her. It's not clear what her ultimate goal is besides "Find somewhere safe to live out the rest of her days," which, after all, is the only goal you can have after the apocalypse, I guess. That can make the plot seem meandering, but it finds more focus in the latter half. I was always more engaged in the story when she interacted with other people for an extended period of time. When she was alone, I was antsy and uncomfortable, which, to be fair, so was she.THE BOOK OF THE UNNAMED MIDWIFE is a rare bird, a feminist post-apocalyptic tale with a queer heroine who, as we can tell from the title and prologue, passes into legend. Early on, the midwife tosses off a beautiful, sad metaphor that explains why she WOULD be the hero of this story. She is a midwife, and with no more babies to deliver, it is this new world, this new life after plague, that she must help bring into being.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The struggles of a woman in post apocalyptic N. ...By H. JonesThe struggles of a woman in post apocalyptic N. America. Making her way across the United States looking for safety the woman discovers that often even the appearance of safety is thin and she has to constantly be on her guard. I did anticipate the ending but it was still bittersweet. This was a compelling read for me. So much so that I immediately bought and consumed the sequel, The Book of Etta.