The whole sub-genre of post-apocalyptic fiction may be well and truly played out. Certainly, there's very little in The Book of the Unnamed Midwife that we haven't seen before. That doesn't mean that this isn't a worthwhile read, but it's hard to say that it covers much new ground. 
 On the plus side, the storyline has at its center an interesting, strong female lead character. She refuses to become a victim, and makes it her priority to help the few surviving women maintain what little control they can over their lives. The depiction of the horror inflicted upon the small number of females left after the plague is chilling and very disturbing. 
 On the negative end, the writing style is a little uneven. The text is made up of both diary entries and third person narration of the midwife's journeys. The diary entries for the main character are jerky and full of symbols, and the transition between these and the actual action of the story isn't always smooth. 
 I was interested enough in the overall story to stick with it despite some clunky moments and the pieces that simply try too hard to deliver the book's agenda. The supporting characters add a nice variety to the story, showing the different types of lives left after the disaster, and I thought it was a chilling touch to include an omniscient narrator's recounting of what ended up happening to all of these secondary characters after their paths diverge from that of the main character. 
 I do recommend this book for readers who find dystopian/post-apocalyptic worlds meaningful. For me, while this bleak and often disturbing book held my attention, I can't help but compare it to other (okay, I'll say it -- better) books with similar themes.