6/21/12 Please don’t ask me to explain why I haven’t reviewed a book in three months. It’s not as if I haven’t been reading. And it’s not as if I haven’t be talking about books to people on the Internet and face-to-face (F2F, since everyone has decided that online is IRL, that is, In Real Life). But I did get a tweet from Carolyn Burns Bass, who runs a Twitter chat about books every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 4-5 ET (I’ll be explaining Twitter chats in an article soon) saying that on Friday Roberta Rich will be her guest, talking about her novel The Midwife of Venice, and I’m, like, “oh, wow, I meant to write about that months ago. It’s in my pile.” True story. I even have the press release on my desk. And I meant to write about it last week, too, because a friend asked me for a good summer read, and I suggested this book. Why a summer read? Because it’s summer. Right now it’s 93 degrees outside my air conditioned study. But this would be a good read any time because it’s a really good story. Rich’s central character, Hannah Levi, a renowned midwife in the Jewish ghetto in Venice (the original ghetto), is called  by a wealthy family to the bedside of a wealthy woman whose labor is problematic — and whose husband’s inheritance depends on his producing a male heir. This is the 16th century, people. Jews aren’t supposed to mix with Christians — which is basically the way it has been everywhere for all time, but more on that when my novel manages to get finished and falls into your hands. So there’s a dilemma. Second problem: well, it’s actually a blessing. Hannah, like many real-life midwives of that time, has worked out that if she uses a device that is essentially two large spoons to scoop out a baby (not too different from forceps), she can aid many a laboring mother. However, if she’s caught with her marvelous invention, she could be accused of witchcraft. Interspersed with Hannah’s story is that of her husband, Isaac, who has been captured at sea and is now barely surviving on the island of Malta. Hannah reasons that the fee she asks from the noble Christian family will pay for her beloved’s ransom. Sound like a lot of plot? There’s much more, involving treacherous servants, an estranged sibling now a courtesan, the plague, a kidnapping, a murder, nuns, silkworms — yes, lots of stuff. The book is engaging; the heroine is strong and believable, though I must admit that I liked some of the Isaac episodes better than the Hannah ones. Those of you who read my book reviews and know how I feel about fiction, well, you won’t be surprised that I think there’s a little too much coincidence here. Rich also doesn’t get some of the historical detail quite right. Right now, however, I recall any examples, but I can relate the whole plot — which proves something. In the end, it’s the story that matters, and this one is involving and might keep you reading past your bedtime. (Click on the book cover photo, and you’ll get to the Barnes & Noble site, where you can download a copy for your Nook or purchase a paper-bound copy that includes what I miss most in ebooks, a colophon.)