The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman follows Patience as an inexperienced midwife to being accepted as a part of the community she was living in. Several reviewers thought the main character was either naïve or a little too hard to believe. I didn't feel that way at all. When the author does reveal the past of Patience, the reader does see that while there were many different experiences, she never fully developed as a character until she became a midwife and part of the community she was living in. Patience goes from being an orphan, to marrying a man who worked for the miner's union and eventually dies, to being inexperienced and many times at the beck and call of the severe weather conditions of the town she was living in which all she had was herself. The character does develop very well considering it takes place over only 1 year and she starts to trust people again after so much loss. I enjoyed the book and was glad I picked it up. I have to say, this book has a terrible title and one of the worst covers I've ever seen, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.It's the (fictional) story of Patience Murphy, a woman who comes to rural West Virginia at the start of the Great Depression to work as a midwife. As we will learn over the course of the book, she is running from problems in her own life. The book is about her work as a midwife and the way that she integrates herself into the local community. Racial tensions and the impact of the depression are explored and you get a feel for life in that part of America at that time. The author - herself a retired midwife - gives a compelling portrayal of Patience's work and the babies that she delivers.I would never have picked up this book if it hadn't been for reviews on Good Reads, but it grabbed me from the first page and I really enjoyed reading it. I do think it was fractionally too long and that there were parts when Patience felt more like a modern day character than a woman living at that time, but overall I found it immensely readable from beginning to end. There is a tag on the front cover of the edition that I read which says "if you like The Help, you'll love this". They are quite different books and set in different times and places, but yes it has a similar relentless readability that at the same time teaches you about a way of life that has changed significantly. There is a sequel of sorts in the works (centering on one of the lesser characters, Becky) due for release in 2015, and I look forward to reading that and hopefully also finding out more about what becomes of Patience.
Do You like book Jordemoderen Fra Hope River (2013)?
really good story and well done audio performance. Highly enjoyed.
—sharu
I enjoyed this one quite a bit but I liked her memoirs better.
—RxFyiire
Good story, well researched. Good character development
—Antivirus
