This book has left me shaken. I don't think I have ever read anything so raw and powerful and painful. If it weren't for the tiny note of hope at the end, I would have hated it. It's devastating.

It hurt my heart to read, because it's so much closer to what the reality would be if such a situation ever came to pass. There is no hero. Just a lone midwife surviving, and somehow finding ways to help others too. It's a long trudge through hostile territory.

The author also takes the time to tell what happens to some of the characters once they part company with the Unnamed Midwife, and she does it well. I haven't seen a book give such powerful glimpses into other corners of the world like this, and it draws the story into a complete circle in a way I rarely see done. Brilliant writing.

I couldn't put it down, and finished it in less than 8 hours. That said, this book is NOT for sensitive souls. It really should have trigger warnings for sexual violence (including against children), pregnancy and infant loss, abuse, and other difficult topics.

Normally, I avoid this kind of content, but it felt like learning the truth about the horror of the Holocaust. We need these stories to teach us how to avoid such horrors. It's not violent for the sake of violence. It's a story that really couldn't be told in gentler tones.

To be clear, the book gives enough information to help the reader understand what's happening, but it's not erotic in any way -- it's almost clinical. And it's extremely difficult reading.

Worth it, to me. But consider it carefully before you pick it up if you know it may trigger your pain.