I thought this book was, in a word, stunning. I absolutely loved everything about this story. First of all, the setting was simply fascinating to me, having lived in or near many of the places mentioned. I loved hearing about Pittsburgh in the 1920s and 1930s, truly fascinating stuff. And having grown up in the Appalachian foothills, the culture described in this book is so familiar to me, despite the setting being decades before I was ever born. And the story itself, the life and trials of a midwife in those times, it was simply fascinating.
I loved Patience. I thought her character was so warmly and richly developed. We learn her back-story as we go, but it is done so seamlessly that you feel as if you have always known her. While she is far from perfect (and well aware of that fact), she is a very endearing character, and you really touched my heart. I love the wonder and awe she has about life and death, despite having seen so many births. She made me, as a reader, really consider the miracle of childbirth, particularly as it was decades ago.
There is something so personal, and comforting, in the way this book was written, that I often forgot it was fiction, and not the diary of an actual historical person. The book really captivated me. There were no tricks or gimmicks, no overly flowery prose, just honest to goodness great story telling. This was a tremendous debut novel, written with so much heart; as a reader, I could not help but feel so connected to this story, simply because of the storyteller's voice.
I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours. See the rest of the tour here. The author is also doing a physical book tour, and you can view that schedule here.
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Wow! You gave me goosebumps, which I'm actually surprised about because I've read the book as well so am already familiar with it. I'm so glad you loved it! I hope the author continues writing fiction!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being on the tour!
This looks like a great book! I'm going to pin it to my virtual TBR pile!
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