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anneyryanmcintosh 's review for:
The Midwife's Apprentice
by Karen Cushman
This was published after "Catherine, Called Birdy," but I swear it was Cushman's first story. It kicks off from the typical, traditional medieval folk tale... a lost lonely orphan scrounges for food. She gets snapped up by a greedy nasty midwife who needs help.
This "Cinderella" start of it is what causes me to give it four stars. And really, if not for Cushman's other books, which I am latently comparing it against, I'd probably give it a five.
I loved this book for the overall lesson (which I won't give here because it gives away too much), and the history, which catalogs all of the old folk remedies in medieval medicine. Back in the day, midwives were part-doctor, part-witch, so there's a lot of play on the medieval understanding of devils and witches. It's really fun to see how the villagers of the time respond to both influences. When the magical herbs help them, they are all about them. But in any other occasion, magic is the work of the devil.
As with Cushman's other books, there are the same feminist lessons told in the historical context. It's funny, moving, and a page-turner.
This "Cinderella" start of it is what causes me to give it four stars. And really, if not for Cushman's other books, which I am latently comparing it against, I'd probably give it a five.
I loved this book for the overall lesson (which I won't give here because it gives away too much), and the history, which catalogs all of the old folk remedies in medieval medicine. Back in the day, midwives were part-doctor, part-witch, so there's a lot of play on the medieval understanding of devils and witches. It's really fun to see how the villagers of the time respond to both influences. When the magical herbs help them, they are all about them. But in any other occasion, magic is the work of the devil.
As with Cushman's other books, there are the same feminist lessons told in the historical context. It's funny, moving, and a page-turner.