The Book of the Unnamed Midwife cover art

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife

The Road to Nowhere, Book 1

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The Book of the Unnamed Midwife

By: Meg Elison
Narrated by: Angela Dawe
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About this listen

Philip K. Dick Award Winner for Distinguished Science Fiction

When she fell asleep, the world was doomed. When she awoke, it was dead.

In the wake of a fever that decimated the earth's population - killing women and children and making childbirth deadly for the mother and infant - the midwife must pick her way through the bones of the world she once knew to find her place in this dangerous new one. Gone are the pillars of civilization. All that remains is power - and the strong who possess it.

A few women like her survived, though they are scarce. Even fewer are safe from the clans of men, who, driven by fear, seek to control those remaining. To preserve her freedom, she dons men's clothing, goes by false names, and avoids as many people as possible. But as the world continues to grapple with its terrible circumstances, she'll discover a role greater than chasing a pale imitation of independence.

After all, if humanity is to be reborn, someone must be its guide.

©2016 Meg Elison. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Action & Adventure Adventure Dystopian Genre Fiction Medical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Thriller & Suspense Fiction Exciting Scary Emotionally Gripping

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All stars
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Listened to audio reading in a single day. Beautifully read and performed. A great thought provoking story.

Loved it.

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chilling but brilliant listened to it in less than 24 hours. brilliant book haven't been this engaged in a long time

chilling but brilliant

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I was really irritated by this book at first. The writing style was weird. Everything was written with equals in the sentence far too often and it was jarring. I’m glad I persisted. This story is brilliant, I found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t listening to it. A definite favourite for me in the post apocalyptic genre.

Epic

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good narrator great story with a steady pace not very exciting but really held my attention and and got quite emotional.

Very different, enjoyable

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The story feels like it could happen. The emotional turmoil the protagonist goes through is very well articulated and relatable. The audiobook performance really brought the characters to life! It added to the emotions conveyed by the author.

Very bleak but in a realistic way

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this story is so well written and compelling - I couldn't stop listening. just dissappointment it had to end

absolutely brilliant

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Hi really enjoyed this book very good storyline. Found it very compelling reading loved the main
Character.

Excellent Book

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Not a gripping read or a thrilling one at that. no zombies, just reality as it may be...
It reads true to how I think things may roll, if this happened in real life. Hence it Kept me hooked for 2 days worth of listening.

A good read or listen.

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This is a pretty excellent dystopian novel, almost like an amalgamation of The Road and The Handmaid's Tale, exploring women's role in an apocalyptic setting.

After a fever kills most of the Earth's population, specifically women and children, making childbirth deadly, a midwife attempts to survive an extremely precarious situation for her gender. In the new world, women are routinely raped and sold, used as baby making machines and commodified as a bartering tool.

Her only option is to disguise herself as a man and attempt to make her way across the country in search for a beacon of hope. She faces age-old prejudices, such as religion and patriarchy, while trying to be a guide to humanity.

No doubt, it is extremely dark, and some of it is very disturbing, so brace yourself for feeling a little queasy.

A dark dystopian tale about prejudice

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loved a woman's perspective on an apocalypse. Telling stories from a female mindset with the focus and priorities females might have.

interesting and entertaining

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