Our June CC Book Club Selection is The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, a New York Times bestseller and one of NPR’s 2023 "Books We Love.” Lawhon’s historical novel is based on the actual diaries of Martha Ballard, an 18th century midwife and healer who becomes embroiled in a local scandal after being summoned to examine a dead body found in a river. The novel is both a compelling mystery and a fascinating account of village life in Maine in the late 1700’s.
“…Martha is so vividly rendered that it is hard not to become absorbed in her narrative and emotionally invested in her life. . . Martha’s journal entries flesh out further this tough, brave and resourceful woman. Her valiant fight against the evil that men do makes for a winning blend of fact and fiction.” –Minneapolis Star Tribune
“The stirring story of one woman’s quest for justice. . . Lawhon combines modern prose with the immediacy of her source material, making for an accessible and textured narrative. This accomplished historical novel powerfully speaks to centuries-old inequities that remain in the present day.” –Publishers Weekly
Yay—The Frozen River is on hold for me, even though there are tons of other people who are also trying to get it in my library system. The trick is that I reserved it in my local library, which has a copy, so the give priority to the people in the library where the book is located! I was thinking I might have to buy it if it didn’t become available in the near future because the waitlist is so long, for both the physical and ebook.
Just picked it up and finished the 1st 75 pages—its pretty engaging and so far pretty easy reading.
Be aware that this historian, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, won a Pulitzer Prize 35 years ago for her use of Martha’s diary as source material to write a history of the times. I’ve looked in The Frozen River for an acknowledgement of Ulrich’s book and haven’t been able to find it. That bothers me.
A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812
Nevertheless, I’m well into The Frozen River and am mostly enjoying it.
I apologize – to you all, and to Lawhan. After I posted above that she didn’t mention Ulrich, I went back to check last night and found that she did mention her and her book in the Acknowledgments. My bad.
@VeryHappy, your comments about attribution were legitimate because there was definitely discussion when the book first came out that Ariel Lawhon’s acknowledgment was too fleeting, considering that The Frozen River would not exist in its current form without Laurel Ulrich’s underlying foundation. Some people believe Lawhon should have referenced Ulrich more extensively at the end of the book, and more frequently in interviews.
I found an interesting article on this subject, in which the writer describes Lawhon’s limited attribution to Ulrich not as an ethical breach, but as a “lack of generosity.” The writer notes that her article “really isn’t about calling out this particular author or comparing one to the other; it is about the nature of our interdependent knowledge.”
Discussion doesn’t get underway until June 1st, so I debated about posting. However, I wanted to reassure @VeryHappy that her comments are quite relevant to the backstory of The Frozen River, and maybe this pre-discussion conversation might inspire those who have time to pick up A Midwife’s Tale (as @HImom just did).
Kanopy has Midwife’s Tale for only 2 tickets. I watched it after finishing Frozen River. I am hoping to be able to get and read Midwife’s Tale. The PBS video gave a lot better context for the longer arc of Ballard’s actual life and the times back in the day—it was even more arduous and difficult than the book portrayed.
Thanks, @Mary13. I couldn’t agree more about the fleeting mention not doing justice to the importance of Ulrich’s book, which I read about 12-ish years ago. It’s one of my favorite books ever, so I’ve been annoyed simply at the existence of The Frozen River. Nevertheless, I am enjoying that book, and I’ll elaborate more about my feelings when the time comes.
For anyone who doesn’t want to read the whole of Ulrich’s book, here’s a PBS video that distills a lot of her research and is super watchable. I haven’t found a free way to watch, but besides PBS, it’s on Amazon Prime Video, $4 to rent.
I recommend not watching it till you’ve finished The Frozen River.
My copy arrived at the library today. I’ll pick it up Saturday. I’ll be joining in late. (I should have had it earlier but our library system no longer fines overdue books; people take the books back whenever … Actually most people are good about turning in books on time or shortly after but I see a good handful of books due in April and early May.)
It’s a pretty quick read so you may join sooner than you expect. You may be able to see the Life of a Midwife video on Kanopy or similar. It’s pretty interesting and about the real life of the main character of the movie.