A Spark of Life by Jodi Piccoult

Not only do I live in the same neighborhood as Dr Bernard Slepian, my son went to school with his children. As PJ entered third grade, there was a letter at his desk from the child who had been in that seat the previous June. This class assignment, in this particular case, was bitter sweet, since the welcoming words were from a boy whose parent had only recently been murdered by a sniper out to destroy another abortion doctor. His beautiful home with the large picture window in the normally crime free town of Amherst, outside Buffalo, NY, was the perfect site for a certain type of target practice. While the perpetrator was caught, the damage was done and those three boys and loving mother lost a dedicated father, husband, and doctor.

No matter how many clinics are closed or doctors are castigated, abortion will never be eliminated. If it can’t be done legally, there will be those who find illicit means to get the job done. We are currently at a crossroads, with the nomination of a Supreme Court Justice whose vote might finally overturn Roe vs Wade or severely limit its reach. I have watched as the rights of women to find affordable reproductive care (which goes way beyond the topic of abortion) have been eliminated along with the planned parenthood centers who provide Pap Smears, mammograms, prenatal and postnatal care, treatment for symptoms of menopause and other women’s health issues. There are other uses for hormone treatment besides birth control, yet, for some, the right to life of a fetus takes precedent over everything – even the life of the doctor who works in the field. With this mindset, it is no wonder that the maternal mortality rate (death of the mother in childbirth) has actually doubled over the past twenty years, especially in the minority community. Shocking!

That is why A Spark of Life by Jodi Piccoult is such a timely piece of literature. Here is an issue which has dogged the country for years without coming to a full resolution with both sides continuing to fight for what they feel is justice. This is also a concept where there is no legitimate compromise, since each side is firmly committed to their opinion which literally represents life or death. Where, to some, even birth control or the morning after pill to prevent pregnancy and the hated abortion, is unacceptable.

Piccoult attempts to present both sides of the issue via the story of a hostage situation at a Woman’s Health Clinic, where the authorities are trying to garner the release of the captives before anyone else gets hurt. To complicate matters, the chief negotiator discovers his daughter is amongst the prisoners, and he must do everything in his power to keep the situation from escalating including keeping the SWAT Team at bay. This is one of those backwards stories (with the ultimate conclusion as an epilogue) where the ending is the beginning and we count down the hours to slowly discover what motivated the events to unfold in this manner. There are a lot of “whys” to be discerned as the countdown begins.

While the topic is fascinating, the characters interesting, the issues compelling, I find this writing mechanism confusing. Perhaps it’s because I’m directionally challenged, but I like my books to be mostly chronological. The backwards recitation also requires alot of repetition which I find annoying at best. While I understand the desire to apply a new approach, this topic is too important for games.

However, I don’t want to dissuade you from reading this book. Piccoult has a way of bringing important issues to the forefront and this is a dialogue which remains vital for our society, especially with so many visible cases of misogyny and the resulting Me, Too Movement.

While for me this was a three and a half star book, I’m giving it a four star rating due to its relevance to upcoming legislative events. I’m looking forward to some interesting discussions. Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

First of all, to the critics who complained that this book did not prominently feature Louise Brooks, let me remind you that Laura Moriarty chose to write a NOVEL called The Chaperone (not one entitled Louise Brooks and That Time She Needed a Chaperone). This means the book includes: 1) the childhood events which motivated Cora to become Louise’s “chaperone” leading to 2) the actions that occurred when Cora was “the chaperone” which resulted in 3) a major change in Cora’s life due to her experiences while being “the chaperone”.

Ultimately, The Chaperone is a book of secrets. At the beginning, Cora Carlisle seems to have the perfect life with her soon-to-be college freshmen twin sons and a handsome, successful lawyer husband who dotes on her. Despite the fact she was socially active in the upper echelon of Wichita, Kansas, when Cora discovers that a neighborhood girl, Louise, needed a married woman to chaperone her on a trip to NYC for an internship with Ruth St Denis, she calmly agrees to be that escort. She knows her husband cannot refuse her request and off she goes. Via flashbacks, we discover that Cora has an unknown parentage and spent time at the Home For Friendless Girls prior to being selected to ride the Orphan Train where she was “adopted” by a loving couple in Kansas. This journey to New York City is an opportunity for Cora to discover the identity of her birth mother. After a month in Manhatten, Louise is accepted into the Denishawn Modern Dance Company, the only one in her class who receives that honor. Cora returns home, affected by the events which occurred on her quest, situations which were alternately successful, disappointing, and life changing.

Over time, Cora develops from a staid and straight laced patron into a more modern woman. Her conversion coincides with the openness of the roaring twenties. Eventually she sheds the confines of society, just as she removes the restrictions of her corset. With this loosening comes an independence – a freedom to become her own person and take on a leadership role in the community. Issues such as prohibition, adoption, gay rights, reproductive rights, and suffrage are explored. This book has a lot of substance to it, reflecting the “good old days” up until the 1980’s with numerous historical tidbits thrown in so the reader gets a good feel for life in the Midwest in the 20th century.

May I point out that even if the events of this book seem unrealistic, as far as the details about Louise Brooks is concerned, this is a matter of truth being stranger than fiction. The fact that the actresses’ “package” was opened at an early age might have contributed to her sexual openness as a teen and her difficulty forming relationships as an adult. All her biographical information is documented in Lulu in Hollywood by Louise Brooks as well as in other tomes exploring the life of this iconic, albeit tragic, film star. The other incredulous fictional occurrences can also be explained. The Orphan Train was a true phenomena which has gotten some attention through recent literature. Beyond that, every family has their closeted skeletons – from adopted children, to unknown spouses, to unidentified parentages, to sexual or abusive relationships – all secrets which are often kept from children and family members. So is it that hard to believe that Cora and Alan were able to maintain the image of a perfect family while behind closed doors they had an unusual arrangement? (One which they could not share with the outside world, not even their own children.)

While I thoroughly enjoyed The Chaperone, I wish Moriarty would have edited the lengthy second half of the book. There were some scenes which could easily have been eliminated, tightening up the plot without losing the essence of the novel. Yet, this book had a lot to say, forcing us to examine our own past and wonder what hidden secrets remain unknown from our ancestry. Four stars.