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The Book of the Unnamed Midwife
- The Road to Nowhere, Book 1
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
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The Book of the Unnamed Midwife
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Summary
Philip K. Dick Award Winner for Distinguished Science Fiction
When she fell asleep, the world was doomed. When she awoke, it was dead.
In the wake of a fever that decimated the earth's population - killing women and children and making childbirth deadly for the mother and infant - the midwife must pick her way through the bones of the world she once knew to find her place in this dangerous new one. Gone are the pillars of civilization. All that remains is power - and the strong who possess it.
A few women like her survived, though they are scarce. Even fewer are safe from the clans of men, who, driven by fear, seek to control those remaining. To preserve her freedom, she dons men's clothing, goes by false names, and avoids as many people as possible. But as the world continues to grapple with its terrible circumstances, she'll discover a role greater than chasing a pale imitation of independence.
After all, if humanity is to be reborn, someone must be its guide.
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What listeners say about The Book of the Unnamed Midwife
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 08-11-17
Loved it.
Listened to audio reading in a single day. Beautifully read and performed. A great thought provoking story.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- April
- 06-01-18
chilling but brilliant
chilling but brilliant listened to it in less than 24 hours. brilliant book haven't been this engaged in a long time
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M Jones
- 17-10-23
Epic
I was really irritated by this book at first. The writing style was weird. Everything was written with equals in the sentence far too often and it was jarring. I’m glad I persisted. This story is brilliant, I found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t listening to it. A definite favourite for me in the post apocalyptic genre.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Conor
- 17-08-21
absolutely brilliant
this story is so well written and compelling - I couldn't stop listening. just dissappointment it had to end
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Zemap
- 10-03-22
Very different, enjoyable
good narrator great story with a steady pace not very exciting but really held my attention and and got quite emotional.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Suellen
- 16-05-23
Very bleak but in a realistic way
The story feels like it could happen. The emotional turmoil the protagonist goes through is very well articulated and relatable. The audiobook performance really brought the characters to life! It added to the emotions conveyed by the author.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Miss Ereira
- 19-06-19
Excellent Book
Hi really enjoyed this book very good storyline. Found it very compelling reading loved the main
Character.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- hiude
- 07-01-18
A good read or listen.
Not a gripping read or a thrilling one at that. no zombies, just reality as it may be...
It reads true to how I think things may roll, if this happened in real life. Hence it Kept me hooked for 2 days worth of listening.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Sue
- 24-10-17
A dark dystopian tale about prejudice
This is a pretty excellent dystopian novel, almost like an amalgamation of The Road and The Handmaid's Tale, exploring women's role in an apocalyptic setting.
After a fever kills most of the Earth's population, specifically women and children, making childbirth deadly, a midwife attempts to survive an extremely precarious situation for her gender. In the new world, women are routinely raped and sold, used as baby making machines and commodified as a bartering tool.
Her only option is to disguise herself as a man and attempt to make her way across the country in search for a beacon of hope. She faces age-old prejudices, such as religion and patriarchy, while trying to be a guide to humanity.
No doubt, it is extremely dark, and some of it is very disturbing, so brace yourself for feeling a little queasy.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Audiobooks Nest Reviews
- 14-07-21
Powerful and Inspiring
The unnamed midwife is a beautiful character. Her strength, her bravery,, her resourcefulness and her dedication are all inspirational. Her journey is captivating. I didn't always like her - she was judgemental at times - and I don't think she would necessarily like me. But I did admire her and enjoy listening to her thoughts.
I can't think of anything I would change. I've seen other reviewers say that the prose is repetitive in its language, but I saw that as a reflection of the fact that it was a diary entry and thus would be flawed.
I went on to read The Book of Etta and quite enjoyed it.
Soundbite
#Angela Dawe is a versatile narrator and has evocative interpretations of characters. Mother Scribe was a favourite of mine and I thought the midwife herself was well voiced.
Shall I Compare Thee To...
There are obvious comparisons to The Handmaid's Tale and Children of Men. I'd also recommend Gather The Daughters and Vox as having similar themes.
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