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4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The secret midwife is a very traumatic and emotional read that is told from three different perspectives; Emilia, Aleksy and Lena, as you live through their life in Auschwitz, and just how each of them suffered and also contributed to the lives of authors in the concentration camp, each of the three characters are absolute idols, and I was completely distraught for them all throughout their harrowing experiences!
I have read some reviews that more diving was needed throughout the book, but I disagree as I think anymore descriptions would have made the book less of a historical fiction novel and more of a history non-fiction book surrounded in horror, shock and gore. I struggled tremendously in places within this book as it is so heartbreaking and should have a large number of trigger warnings, which I will put at the end.
Considering how heart wrenching this book is, it shows just how much research the author has conducted prior to writing this novel, I did feel like there wasn’t much hope throughout the book, so the small moments of happiness that either of the three narratives experiences were necessary to lighten the book a little in laces. This is a gut wrenching read that you need to personally be in a healthy place mentally before reading. I am a lover of Lane’s work, and this novel is just as phenomenal as some of the others of hers I have read.
This book made me completely ugly cry, Lena’s camp life was horrendous, and that epilogue and authors note were very much needed! I love the fact that the situation with Hannah wasn’t fully resolved as it would have made the story felt a bit fake, like somehow everything ended happily ever after which definitely was not the case for war time Poland. I also love the fact that the author included the real-life heroes that inspired her characters in her authors note at the end, I found myself researching and in awe of all those individuals. This is a must read, just please take care with the trigger warnings, mass death, holocaust, infant death, abortion, sexual abuse, rape, torture and domestic abuse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Abortion
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rates 2 because I managed to finish it but I thought it was incredibly twee and cringy. Interesting enough topic - especially given that it was based on true stories however it is not sophisticated story telling. The plot falls apart as the book progresses and the “twist” envokes an eye roll it’s so predictable. So much of the book is taken up with repetitive descriptions of the brutality of Auschwitz and not enough time spent on character or plot development.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was upsetting but also I couldn’t put it down. Beautifully written about sad but true events that took place in Auschwitz.
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Couldn't put the book down! Fell in love with Emilia, Aleksy, and Lena - well written, thoughtfully developed characters, and a somewhat new story for a horrific period in history that has been extensively written about. Heart wrenching and thoroughly worthwhile.
Truly one of the best books of the year. This story, entirely based on true experiences from a number of people, was incredible.
“Heroes do extraordinary things. What I did was not an extraordinary thing. It was normal . . . You see a man drowning, you must try to save him, even if you cannot swim”
“There was a sense of survivor’s guilt, I suppose. Why were we spared when so many perished? It was a question I wrestled with for decades. I still do, I suppose”
“I am merely a soldier following orders. Or at least that’s what she told herself”
“we need to be strong even when everything starts to go wrong”
“Even in the darkest of moments, even when all seems lost, there’s always something that can be done”
“To her, even being a bystander to such barbarity was as bad as doing the act herself”
‘Work will set you free’, but he thought it would have been much more appropriate to simply state: Work or you won’t live to see another day
“People are killed here every day for simply existing, they don’t hesitate to kill”
“There was a saying back then, that most of those still living had one foot in the grave, barely clinging on to life”
“To the mothers and babies of Auschwitz”
“Heroes do extraordinary things. What I did was not an extraordinary thing. It was normal . . . You see a man drowning, you must try to save him, even if you cannot swim”
“There was a sense of survivor’s guilt, I suppose. Why were we spared when so many perished? It was a question I wrestled with for decades. I still do, I suppose”
“I am merely a soldier following orders. Or at least that’s what she told herself”
“we need to be strong even when everything starts to go wrong”
“Even in the darkest of moments, even when all seems lost, there’s always something that can be done”
“To her, even being a bystander to such barbarity was as bad as doing the act herself”
‘Work will set you free’, but he thought it would have been much more appropriate to simply state: Work or you won’t live to see another day
“People are killed here every day for simply existing, they don’t hesitate to kill”
“There was a saying back then, that most of those still living had one foot in the grave, barely clinging on to life”
“To the mothers and babies of Auschwitz”
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4.5⭐️
The Secret Midwife is an illuminating and devastating work of historical fiction about Emilia, a midwife who worked to covertly save countless lives from the Nazis, first in the resistance in Poland, and then from within Auschwitz. She was one of the precious few to survive her time there and live to tell the tale. This dual-timeline story goes back and forth between her experiences in the war, and the future time when she finally is ready to recount her experience.
The author did a great job of providing a window into this brutal history, and am empathetic look at what many suffered through. It was a tough but worthwhile read.
There’s an author’s note at the end where she details the inspiring people whose real-life heroism the characters of Emilia and Aleksy were based on- I definitely recommend reading it.
Thank you Soraya M. Lane, Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.
The Secret Midwife is an illuminating and devastating work of historical fiction about Emilia, a midwife who worked to covertly save countless lives from the Nazis, first in the resistance in Poland, and then from within Auschwitz. She was one of the precious few to survive her time there and live to tell the tale. This dual-timeline story goes back and forth between her experiences in the war, and the future time when she finally is ready to recount her experience.
The author did a great job of providing a window into this brutal history, and am empathetic look at what many suffered through. It was a tough but worthwhile read.
There’s an author’s note at the end where she details the inspiring people whose real-life heroism the characters of Emilia and Aleksy were based on- I definitely recommend reading it.
Thank you Soraya M. Lane, Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.