This book is a novel about a doctor who delivers his wife’s twins himself, but decides to give away the girl because she has Down’s syndrome. The doctor’s nurse takes the girl away and raises her on her own.
The writing is excellent, I enjoyed that independently of the plot. My tastes have changed slightly in that regard – I can now enjoy writing for it’s own sake, which I just couldn’t in school or even a few years ago.
The plot revolves around the lives of the people affected by this one decision – the doctor, his wife and the healthy son in one thread; and the nurse and the retarded daughter in the other. While I wasn’t exactly holding my breath, there were a few things to think about. Personally, the book was a reminder that humans tend to spend much emotional energy without necessity. I’ll stop here before I give away the book :)
3 Comments
“humans tend to spend much emotional energy without necessity”, unnecessary, yes, but how else could you experience the highest high and the lowest low?
The highest high and the lowest low can actually be “good”, in the sense of being worth the experience. What I am talking about is the daily grind of emotions – guilt, fear, holding yourself back, being uncertain and so on.
>> I can now enjoy writing for it’s own sake
I completely agree. I thoroughly enjoyed “Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell” not just for its story, but the writing style.
Post a Comment