Historical Fiction

The German Midwife

Author: Mandy Robotham

Average Rating:   2.25 / 5

Trigger Warnings:

Germany, 1944.  Imprisoned in the camps, Anke Hoff is a midwife first and a German second. Regardless of their backgrounds, she will do what she can for her pregnant campmates and their babies in a place with little dignity or love. 

But when Anke’s skills draw the notice of those higher up in the German regime, she will be called upon to deliver the unimaginable. She is tasked to care for Eva Braun, who is pregnant with the Führer’s baby. 

An impossible choice. Does Anke pursue her duty as a midwife and do everything in her power to deliver a healthy heir who will advance the Reich’s horrifying legacy? Or is the sacrifice of an innocent warranted to help save a war-ravaged world?

Corinna: 2/5

I was really excited at the prospect of this book. Robotham is a practicing midwife, so I was excited to read a book that would have real experience and expertise in the realm of midwifery, as well as combining it with the harshness and brutality of Nazi Germany. As a nurse, I often roll my eyes at medical mistakes or exaggerations in books, tv shows, movies etc. Robotham is very descriptive in explaining birth and the birthing process, and the toll it takes on a woman’s body. If you are squeamish about the body at all, this book might be too much for you. While the medical side of it was accurate, I felt she often used too many literary words in her descriptions, and it came across grossly over-descriptive and sometimes grotesque in the combinations. For example on page 317, “a coin-size piece of the head sat tantalisingly at her opening, while I willed it forward.” Blegh…not the word I would use! While I can appreciate her love for the birthing process, I would venture to say that most other people wouldn’t find it as appealingly described. The part I really enjoyed was the sense of comradery and togetherness that the women had throughout the storylines. Through joy, pain and sorrow, they always came together to lean on one another through their shared experiences of childbirth and loss. This story had great potential, but it did not live up to expectations.

Lydia: 2.5/5

 I am a huge fan of the Historical Fiction genre but after reading this book I was left rather disappointed. I was bored with most chapters and found that there was too much focus on the birthing process. It almost made it feel like a manual for how to deliver a baby which is not something you care about in a fiction novel. The character development of Anke was not as grand as it should have been and I felt she was rather a stale character. While the concept was extremely interesting, I found the execution to be short of my expectations.

Megan: 2/5

This book sounded interesting when it was chosen as one of our 2020 book club books. The intrigue came from the midwife’s impossible choice; which one would she choose? It’s a moral dilemma that many would struggle with.

I enjoyed that the story wasn’t in chronological order; it made the book more interesting, and this book needed all the help it could get. The flashbacks to Anke’s time in the concentration camp and her life working as a midwife during the war were the best parts and I wish the book had more of these flashbacks. The main story, with Anke and Eva, was boring, as nothing really took place until the end when Eva went into labour. It had the potential for good character development, but it felt like Robotham was more interested in describing the birthing process than actually caring about her characters.

The ending is the only reason why I rated this book higher than a one, as finally something interesting happened and it wasn’t how I expected the story to end. This is Robothan’s first novel, so I will give her the benefit of doubt and likely take a chance with another one of her books in the future. 

Sharaya:  2.5/5 

I had high hopes for this book. Once upon a time I had researched becoming a midwife, so I was excited to read a story with a midwife protagonist. And I was very interested in reading a WWII book with a German narrator. While I did enjoy the book, I would say that it definitely fell short of expectations. I wish that Robotham had spent more time exploring the household while Anke was waiting for Eva to give birth. Rather than saying – once again – that she was bored, there could have been little moments of interaction and tension with some of the other servants.

I struggled with the writing style. It seemed like Robotham was trying to craft a beautifully turned phrase, but instead it ended up too jumbled to follow. More than once, I had to read a sentence several times to figure out what she was trying to say. There were multiple times that I wondered how a sentence had survived editing. 

The ending and epilogue were abrupt, and it felt like Robotham had run out of steam and was throwing the remaining details at us in a strange order that didn’t make much sense. It was very disappointing after such a long build up to the birth.

To access a printable list of 10 book club questions, please click here.