The Birth House by Ami McKay
I bought the The Birth House by Ami McKay because I’m a sucker for pretty covers. Knowing nothing about the book, nor having heard of it, The Birth House made its way home on the merits of the cover alone. I just love the imagery in it. And then when prepping for this post, I found these two additional book covers.
How lucky can an author get? All three covers would have gotten my attention. Beautiful.
A good synopsis from the book jacket:
The Birth House is the story of Dora Rare, the first daughter to be born in five generations of the Rare family. As a child in an isolated village in Nova Scotia, she is drawn to Miss Babineau, an outspoken Acadian midwife with a gift for healing and a kitchen filled with herbs and folk remedies. During the turbulent first years of World War I, Dora becomes the midwife’s apprentice. Together they help the women of Scots Bay through infertility, difficult labors, breech births, unwanted pregnancies and even unfulfilling sex lives.
But when Gilbert Thomas, a brash medical doctor, comes to Scots Bay with promises of fast, painless childbirth, some of the women begin to question miss Babineau’s methods – and after Miss Babineau’s death, Dora is left to carry on alone. In the face of fierce opposition, she must summon all of her strength to protect the birthing traditions and wisdom that have been passed down to her.
The Birth House is told in journal form from the point of view of seventeen-year-old Dora and also includes letters, news clippings, and advertisements. I really liked the Novia Scotia setting. It felt so wild and also romantic, particularly for this mountain town which demanded that its inhabitants carve out their life’s goodwill from what the earth would give them.
Dora is labeled as an anomaly as soon as she’s born. In five generations, the Rare family line has simply never had the birth of a girl. Dora grows up with six brothers and as she gets older her father tries to squelch her tom boyish ways. She moves in with the local midwife who trains her in catching babies, a skill that is a little prayer, a little magic, a little medicinal herbs, and a whole lot of knowledge of a woman’s body.
Dora has a fantastic voice. I loved her. In fact, I loved all the characters. Miss Babineau was fabulous. So wise and caring but with a witch-like quality to her. I felt a little sorry for the well-meaning Dr. Gilbert Thomas although you wanted to hate him too. I really wanted to smack Dora’s new husband, Archer, over the head. I wanted to know more about Charlie, Dora’s brother, whom she followed down to Boston when things got complicated at home. And I can’t forget Aunt Fran whom disproved of everything Dora did. I loved all the women in the town. They often got together and talked about everything under the sun and conversations not meant to have in front of the men.
Although the characters are the heart of this story, childbirth is the focus of it. Midwifery and modern medicine clash head-to-head and the women are caught in the very middle of it. I found techniques from both midwifing and the new modern medicine to be fascinating. Particularly, the treatment for woman diagnosed has having hysterical tendencies. You’d just have to read the book to find out about that.
An examination of a community of women, their society, and the families they held together through their shared friendships, rivalries, stories and knitting circles. Ami McKay wrote a incredible narrative and was one heck of a storyteller. I loved it.
Links of interest: Ami McKay website, blog, Twitter. More book blogger reviews.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow. August 22, 2006.
Hardcover, 400 pages. ISBN 0061135852
Source copy: Own
The Birth House is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.
Hey you! Yes. You! I've noticed that you've stopped by to visit a few times! But I don't know who you are. Why don't you take a moment and introduce yourself. Don't be scared. I try not to bite. I know you're a lurker but I'd love to hear your thoughts about what's been bringing you here. And if you haven't done so already, don't forget to never miss a post by subscribing to my feed or receiving updates by email. Thanks for visiting!
Tags: A-D Title, Canada, female author, Fiction, historical fiction, M-P Author, published 2006, Publisher: William Morrow
 |
| or | 
|
Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.
This does look like a good one. I love different settings and interesting characters, I’ll keep this one in mind for sure. I do think I like the cover you got the best, though!
on April 8th, 2010 at 11:49 pmGreat covers all. I can understand your fascination. Thanks for sharing!
on April 9th, 2010 at 12:41 amThis blue cover is fantastic! I absolutely love it. I have had this book at the bottom of my TBR pile for way too long, your review reminds me I should definitely pull it out from the pile and read it.
on April 9th, 2010 at 1:49 amAll of those covers would get your attention! Nothing wrong with that! The book sounds great. There is definitely something to storylines that capitalize on the power of a group of women. I don’t read books like this often, but when I do, I almost feel empowered!
on April 9th, 2010 at 4:12 amYay! I’m so glad. I was nervous after I told you to read it next on Twitter.
on April 9th, 2010 at 6:02 amMy first response to this post, before even reading it, was ooooh pretty covers…
What a great find…one more for my wishlist.
on April 9th, 2010 at 6:28 amI read this book a couple of years ago and I remember loving it! The covers are beautiful! I can’t wait for her next book, The Virgin Cure!! Thanks for the awesome review! I had forgotten some of this book and your review brought it all back!
on April 9th, 2010 at 7:32 amI love stories like that involving strong women! This sounds simply wonderful.
on April 9th, 2010 at 9:14 amI know 2 people who were pretty unhappy with the way modern medicine was treated in this book. They were pretty unhappy with the tone of the book regarding woman who do not choose to give birth “naturally.” Their feelings turned me off the book but I do still have it in my TBR list so I might give it a read one of these days.
on April 9th, 2010 at 10:47 amReading is about seeing and trying to understand different points of view and ways of life. As they say, “we walk in another’s shoes”. This sounds like a book that does just this. You may not agree with the topic or the details but you always agree with the priveledge to walk in another’s shoes just for a moment.
GL
on April 9th, 2010 at 11:45 amThis sounds like such a fascinating book. I love the covers too.
on April 9th, 2010 at 12:20 pmOhhh, this sounds so wonderful! I have a friend who is a dula-this would make a perfect gift for her! Thanks for your lovely review.
on April 9th, 2010 at 1:55 pmI agree – all of those covers are beautiful and this book sounds great as well!
on April 9th, 2010 at 5:35 pm#1 Ami McKay is a fabulous author and it was a great first novel
on April 9th, 2010 at 6:39 pm#2 I can’t wait for her second novel
#3 Great review
Oh I LOVE the cover that made you pick this up. This sounds really good in general, I may have to try it.
on April 9th, 2010 at 6:49 pmI’ve had this on my TBR forever and have heard great things…. sounds so good! I meant to read it right away, but you know how that goes, LoL! This author actually has a new book coming out soon I think.
on April 9th, 2010 at 11:21 pmThis one has been on my list for a while… based on your post, I guess I should try to get to it sooner rather than later.
on April 11th, 2010 at 5:04 pmI’ve heard so many wonderful things about this book! Glad you enjoyed it, I have to read it too!
on April 12th, 2010 at 6:39 pmGlad to hear you loved this one. I won it ages ago, but still haven’t read it. I pulled it off my shelf a few weeks ago and hope to get to it soon.
on April 19th, 2010 at 10:55 amI am reading this book at the moment and have some trouble with it. I think it is because i am not a native english and the story takes place early 20th century. I might give it another try…
on May 22nd, 2010 at 8:10 am[...] The Birth House by Ami McKay. A midwife in a Nova Scotia fishing village. Reviewed at Maw Books Blog.. [...]
on September 2nd, 2011 at 1:56 am