Previews for this movie had me very excited about the premise. A baby is bred to be a donor for her sister, who is dying of cancer. When she becomes a teenager, she is tired of it and sues her parents to gain the rights to her own body. The book caught my eye when I was in a used bookstore looking at this author, who was on some friends’ “like” lists on Goodreads, so I grabbed it.
Cloning is actually one of my favorite topics. My experience with it is in a futuristic, science-fiction way. Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is one of my favorite books and handles a similar topic. In the case of Never Let me Go, a whole class of clones are being raised to be a source of organs for their sponsors. The book beautifully handles the character’s (who are clones) coming of age and the evolution of their understanding of themselves. Movies that handle the topic nicely are The Island (the first half is a remarkable depiction of an imagined cloning industry, the second an entertaining action flick) and Blade Runner (I can’t believe that I haven’t seen the recommended Final Cut that has been out for several years).
So, that is all just background to say that I hoped this novel and movie would be worthy companions of these other works that I have enjoyed. The setting wasn’t so futuristic, it was actually grounded in reality in a way that made it potentially more interesting, but also may have made it harder to pull off. In the end, I had very mixed feelings about the book. Since I have not seen the movie, I will not touch on it except to say that from what I have read the plot and devices are substantially different from the novel.
I did like the book more than not. Honestly, it was partly because it was easy entertaining reading. Although it never really challenged me or even excited me much, I never considered putting the book down because it was interesting enough to keep me going and occasionally, the language struck me as incisive.
Picoult was successful in grasping the complicated emotional sides of the conflict from a place of respect and sensitivity. She created tangible and multi-dimensional characters that were articulate. Although the Mother, Sara is not always a very likable character, she is defensible and realistic.
“I know I jump at every sliver of possibility that might cure Kate, but it’s all I know how to do. And even if you don’t agree with me, even if Kate doesn’t agree with me, I want to be the one who says I told you so… I have a sister, so I know – that relationship , it’s all about fairness… But being a mother is completely different. You want your child to have more than you ever did. You want to build a fire underneath her and watch her soar. It’s bigger than words.” I touch my chest. “And it still all manages to fit very neatly inside here.”
Although the scope of morality and ethics within the issue was not as broad as I would have liked, Picoult does handle the humanitarian questions around autonomy and exploitation within the context of the story. As the father, Brian articulates, the only potentially correct answer is that there is no easy or right answer.
“Can you tell me what the right answer is here?” Brian asks, his voice raw. “Because I don’t know where to look for it. I know what’s right. I know what’s fair. But neither of those apply here. I can sit, and I can think about it, and I can tell you what should be and what ought to be. I can even tell you there’s got to be a better solution. But it’s been thirteen years, Mr. Alexander, and I still haven’t found it.”
Unfortunately, the book fell short on many counts. There were plot twists and subplots that didn’t add to book and, moreso served to distract from the overarching conflicts of the book. Similarly, the format of the book was based on switching points of view between 7 characters (see a recent review by martinesque questioning this technique), which was overboard, especially considering that some of the characters should have been relatively minor. Much of what was attempted by this could have been adequately conveyed through either a 3rd person perspective or through the astute observations of the character that I perceived to be the main character, Anna. These shortcomings limited the scope in which these ethical questions could be considered and led to the novel ultimately feeling too fluffy and contrived.
In conclusion, I liked most of what I read, but I often wished that it were in a different book. I see that I am disappointed that Picoult did not take the opportunity to tackle more of the controversies surrounding the issue of genetic engineering by bringing it out of the relatively safe and controlled family situation presented. While I appreciated the richness that she brought to some of her characters, all of her characters were compromised by the narrative strategies that she chose.
