Hannah Levi is renowned throughout Venice for her gift at coaxing reluctant babies from their mothers using her secret birthing spoons. When a count implores her to attend his dying wife and save their unborn son, she is torn. A Papal edict forbids Jews from rendering medical treatment to Christians, but his payment is enough to ransom her husband Isaac, who has been captured at sea. Can she refuse her duty to a woman who is suffering? Hannahโs choice entangles her in a treacherous family rivalry that endangers the child and threatens her voyage to Malta, where Isaac, believing her dead in the plague, is preparing to buy his passage to a new life. Told with exceptional skill, The Midwife of Venice brings to life a time and a place cloaked in fascination and mystery and introduces a captivating new talent in historical fiction.
This book offered everything I like in a fast paced historical fiction romp through time. Ultimately this book is about the choices we make and following our head vs. heart and perhaps breaking our religious beliefs vs. our intuition. Although Iโm a full on a believer of a hospital birth, I love reading about midwifery, especially in older times and the โspoonsโ that Hannah created were so ahead of her time, ie: forceps. So often these women were considered to partake in witchcraft, that I personally see them as heroes of their time! Great imagery of both the riches of Venice as well as the Jewish Ghetto were portrayed.
Quotes I liked:
May your words lodge like wax in G-dโs ear.”
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– โMaimonides rang in his head: The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.โ
Review:The Measure by Nikki Erlick was a book I waited far too long to read. I just couldnโt stomach the idea that everyone in the world would find out their relative life span. The whole idea of this scared me but when my book club chose to read it, I dug in with enthusiasm.Iโm so glad I did. This book is more about life and how we live it, rather than about dying. Itโs told by a cast of eight characters who are deeply affected by the strings they received. The length of the string parallels the length of your life. All the characters are struggling with their results because even if he or she gets a long string, there will still be people they know will be gone soon.How the world at large handles the strings was so well done. People are switching boxes hoping it could change their destiny. Support groups are offered. Protests occur. The world is in a very different place. Much of this book made me think about the differences between fate and destiny. This story offers many intertwined connections between the characters that makes for a powerful and meaningful ending. Iโm so looking forward to whatโs next from this author. @nikkierlick @williammorrowbooks William Morrow ๐ Would you open a box that told you how long your lifespan is?#themeasure #scifilight#bookreader#bookclubpick#goodbookfairy... See MoreSee Less