The Frozen River

The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon, became a favorite of the book club very easily and quickly. Many wanted to read it, though it was a little longer than what we usually go for. But we are all super glad we made the exception for this book. The last book I think we all loved this much was The Birth House by Ami Mckay.

This beautifully told story, is inspired by the life of a real woman, a real midwife. It is not intended to be a perfect biography. Artistic license is certainly taken in the telling of this tale. It is set in Maine, one of my favorite states. I am always excited to get in my book and head to Maine. Set along a big river, the story begins in a small town when a man is pulled from the frozen river… He is dead. Beaten, clearly murdered. Who did it and why? A Midwife is the first to study the body. But soon an obnoxious male Harvard doctor seeks to discredit her findings on behalf of one of the prominent men in town. How is this corpse from the river connected to a possible rape of a woman in town? How will it touch the family of Martha Ballard, who’s female descendants have been unsung heroes of our modern medical profession and system. I don’t want to discuss too much about it because I don’t want to ruin the mystery. This book truly deserves to be read and is perhaps one of the most important books of the moment women find themselves in, with survivors of a prominent man desperately demanding justice, while the wealthy try to push it all under the carpet. When women, in many states have lost access to women’s healthcare that saves lives… A time in which The Save Act, is being proposed, which would make it difficult for married women to vote. Once again, women would be silenced as they were in the old New England courts, when women could not testify without their husbands presence supporting their right to speak.

One thing, became very clear to us all about this book very quickly. While it is a murder mystery, it is also a rape mystery which gets quite over shadowed by the murder of a man. Why is it that crimes against women get overshadowed by crimes against men? Why aren’t we more pissed about that than we are as a society?

Our discussion began with gender politics. But it ranged from gender politics, to race politics, to the politics of justice and the death penalty. We discussed how different things were then and how some things clearly do not change. Even the politics of ableism, came into play in this book. 

There was a lot we agreed about and some things we saw differently. So the discussion raged, which I think is the best thing for book club. When we can all grow through debate of the subject matter contained in the book. This was definitely such a book. 

This book was full of great characters. Some of our favorites included Martha Ballard herself, her husband Ephraim, her children, Doc, and many other characters were fantastic. One of my favorite things about the book was the use of animals. Martha Ballard with her grey fox, Ephraim and his bird, the icky guy and his horrid dog. The author’s use of animals and of the nature was fantastic. It enhanced the story greatly I thought. 

Marcus Aurelius once said “time is like a river.” So a moment of time, is a frozen river. Ariel Lawhon, truly put us in a historical moment of frozen time. And from it, rather than a dead body belonging to a rapist, we pulled an amazing heroine, and a history of feminist politics.

I highly recommend this book. So does the rest of the book club. We loved this one. It is so on point for the moment even as it is a frozen moment of time that has long passed as a river current. There is so much more I could say and that I would like to say. But this is one that is too important for as many to read as possible and to explore for themselves. I really don’t want to say more. So I will leave it there.

Ariel Lawhon. did one of the best jobs of story telling that I have ever experienced. 

Totally worth reading.

Thank you for reading the book blog.
Amanda of Wildflower Farm