MIDWIVES (Chris Bohjalian) - January 30/08

Very well written but ultimately too long, Midwives suffers from a midsection that sporadically feels endless. Nothing much happens until Sibyl goes on trial, and it's at that point that the book finally becomes as entertaining as one might've hoped. The pay-off that ensues in terms of the diary entries - ie she believes she did cut into a still-living woman - is spectacular. *** out of ****

THE ABSTINENCE TEACHER (Tom Perrotta) - January 18, 2008

Another masterful effort from Perrotta. He effectively sets up two vastly different characters - Ruth, the beleaguered sex-ed teacher; and Tim, the born again Christian - and manages to transform both of them into fully-realized, completely compelling figures. This is no small feat given that Tim initially comes off as something of a bore, yet by the time the book is finished, he's as richly developed as Ruth (the book ends with the two presumably hooking up, which - at the outset - would have seemed unthinkable but is ultimately a perfect conclusion). ***1/2 out of ****