LemonSky reviewed The Secrets of Midwives by Sally Hepworth
Review of 'The Secrets of Midwives' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A very well written, engrossing tale of three generations of women - Floss, Grace, and Neva - who are nurse-midwives. Each has her own secret - in Floss's case, a very large one. The catalyst is Neva's pregnancy, which is accidentally revealed to her mother and grandmother during dinner. Neva is 30 weeks into her first pregnancy. She is unmarried and refuses to reveal to anyone the identity of the father. Understandably, Grace, her mother, is upset that Neva kept the pregnancy a secret for so long, and that she refuses to name the baby's father. For Floss, this brings back memories of events from 60 years ago, and she begins to wonder how long she can keep them a secret - or if they should be kept a secret at all.
Ms Hepworth is an excellent writer. I liked all three women - and Floss's partner Lil, Grace's husband …
A very well written, engrossing tale of three generations of women - Floss, Grace, and Neva - who are nurse-midwives. Each has her own secret - in Floss's case, a very large one. The catalyst is Neva's pregnancy, which is accidentally revealed to her mother and grandmother during dinner. Neva is 30 weeks into her first pregnancy. She is unmarried and refuses to reveal to anyone the identity of the father. Understandably, Grace, her mother, is upset that Neva kept the pregnancy a secret for so long, and that she refuses to name the baby's father. For Floss, this brings back memories of events from 60 years ago, and she begins to wonder how long she can keep them a secret - or if they should be kept a secret at all.
Ms Hepworth is an excellent writer. I liked all three women - and Floss's partner Lil, Grace's husband Robert, and, of course, Patrick (my favorite). They had their differences. I could really see Grace as a "helicopter parent," which made me sympathize to an extent with Neva. However, Neva was often unnecessarily hard on her mother. Floss, Grace, and Neva take turns narrating the story. In many books, this can get confusing, even annoying. However, Ms Hepworth handles it quite well. Each woman has her own distinctive voice and I never got them confused at all. This was a surprisingly quick read. The only reason it took me so long (by my standards) was because I was busy and did not have much time to devote to it. I would be interested in reading more of Ms Hepworth's books in the future.
Recommended.
