Match Book
The Book of the Unnamed Midwife
Meg Elison
2014 · Science fiction
How it reads
The Book of the Unnamed Midwife is science fiction (post-apocalyptic survival fiction, specifically), and its dominant mood is dark. It goes to difficult places and doesn't look away. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.
It's set in several locations, in the recent past, told in the first person by a single narrator. Its central concerns are survival, identity and nature. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.
It opens a series. The ending resolves happily. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something dark
- you want a book that pulls you through
- you want to be sure it ends well
Maybe not if…
- you need something cosy, heartwarming or funny
- you want dense, lingering prose
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- science fiction
- Author gender
- female
- Author experience
- early career
- Setting: place
- multiple locations
- Setting: time
- recent past
- Mood / feeling
- dark
- Pace
- fast paced
- Tone / weight
- balanced
- Length
- medium
- Narrative style
- first person, one narrator
- Publication era
- recent
- Popularity
- moderately known
- Series vs standalone
- first in a series
- Ending style
- resolved and happy
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
The Last: A NovelHanna JamesonShares: science fiction, dark mood, balanced tone, post-apocalyptic survival fiction
All Systems RedMartha WellsShares: science fiction, balanced tone, fast paced, resolved and happy ending- Lock InJohn ScalziShares: science fiction, balanced tone, fast paced, resolved and happy ending
- Medusa UploadedEmily DevenportShares: science fiction, balanced tone, fast paced, survival as a theme
Ready Player OneErnest ClineShares: science fiction, balanced tone, fast paced, resolved and happy ending- Six WakesMur LaffertyShares: science fiction, balanced tone, fast paced, resolved and happy ending
Appears in
Find a copy
Reviews on Goodreads ↗Match Book earns a commission on purchases made through these links, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, Match Book earns from qualifying purchases.