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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Continuing the popular “Call the midwife” trilogy, this second book contains many more stories of hardship, resilience, heartbreak, strength and courage featuring memorable characters from Poplar tenements (in London) in the ‘50s.
I loved the use of humor to lighten the tone of otherwise depressing stories, the chatter of the housewives and wordplay of street peddlers, the banter of the young nurses and the grace of the nuns was charming. I am glad that I had the audio version too, because some of the language would have been impossible for me to comprehend.
I did notice however that the audiobook version differs from the printed one, for example the story of an old Boer War veteran, this discrepancy makes me question the authenticity of the story, is this a fact or fiction?
Despite my doubts, I enjoyed this second book as much as the first one and I will certainly finish the series.
Fav. quotes:
For the working class, life was nasty, brutish and short. Hunger and hardship were expected. Men were old at forty, women worn out at thirty-five. The death of children was taken for granted.
“Were you a suffragette?” I asked. “Bah! Suffragettes. I’ve no time for suffragettes. They made the biggest mistake in history. They went for equality. They should have gone for power!”
Nothing binds people more strongly than the same sense of humour, and the ability to laugh together.
I loved the use of humor to lighten the tone of otherwise depressing stories, the chatter of the housewives and wordplay of street peddlers, the banter of the young nurses and the grace of the nuns was charming. I am glad that I had the audio version too, because some of the language would have been impossible for me to comprehend.
I did notice however that the audiobook version differs from the printed one, for example the story of an old Boer War veteran,
Spoiler
in the audio version one of the twin sons is court martialed and executed, while in the printed version one twin dies and the other is missing presumed dead. I wonder why there are two different versions; it is possible that the author included a deserter’s execution to make the story more poignant?Despite my doubts, I enjoyed this second book as much as the first one and I will certainly finish the series.
Fav. quotes:
For the working class, life was nasty, brutish and short. Hunger and hardship were expected. Men were old at forty, women worn out at thirty-five. The death of children was taken for granted.
“Were you a suffragette?” I asked. “Bah! Suffragettes. I’ve no time for suffragettes. They made the biggest mistake in history. They went for equality. They should have gone for power!”
Nothing binds people more strongly than the same sense of humour, and the ability to laugh together.
What a great book. It was a real eye opener on the way people were treated in the Workhouses. A really sad book but funny in parts.
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I really enjoyed Call the Midwife; both the TV series and the first book so I really wanted to read the rest of the series, hoping it would be more of the same.
I have to be honest, I was quite disappointed with this book. I was hoping we’d get more tales of Jenny herself and her experiences being a midwife and a nurse. Instead the majority of the book was actually about other people’s stories - which Jenny wasn’t present for in any sense. It just confused me as they almost didn’t feel real? It read more like a work of fiction because of how detailed it was, and it was clear Jenny wouldn’t have known every exact detail...
The stories were definitely interesting and horrifying, but there was a distinct lack of Jenny’s voice and no midwifery skills whatsoever in this book! I just wish we’d actually got more of her from this book.
I will read the next one as I bought them both and hopefully it’s the same time as Call the Midwife was!
I have to be honest, I was quite disappointed with this book. I was hoping we’d get more tales of Jenny herself and her experiences being a midwife and a nurse. Instead the majority of the book was actually about other people’s stories - which Jenny wasn’t present for in any sense. It just confused me as they almost didn’t feel real? It read more like a work of fiction because of how detailed it was, and it was clear Jenny wouldn’t have known every exact detail...
The stories were definitely interesting and horrifying, but there was a distinct lack of Jenny’s voice and no midwifery skills whatsoever in this book! I just wish we’d actually got more of her from this book.
I will read the next one as I bought them both and hopefully it’s the same time as Call the Midwife was!
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Interesting stories, but we don’t get to learn much about the author herself, and there’s hardly any midwife stories at all. It’s a good read, just not what I was expecting.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
This series is a must read. The descriptions of her life in the 50's as midwife and nurse are compelling
Popsugar reading challenge: A book about a social justice issue
Around the year in 52 books: A book with a building in the title
Around the year in 52 books: A book with a building in the title