Some Further Reading Thoughts
Well, a couple more hundred pages along: one new character has been introduced - Julia, a court-appointed "guardian ad litem" whose responsibility it is is to see that a minor gets a fair trial and is not unduly influenced or coerced beforehand by his or her family. A new twist has developed: Julia was once in love with Campbell Alexander, the lawyer, and was jilted quite unexpectedly. It was a case of "poor girl from big Catholic family" (her) meets "rich boy from socially conscious yacht set"(him) and she believes that that is why she was dumped. It remains to be seen if that was the reason or if there is more to this. Also, Julia has a twin sister Isobel (Izzy) so we have some parallels (or potential parallels) developing with Anna and Kate.
At this point I still cannot find myself sympathetic to the mother: she is called "a martyr" by her own childless sister Zanne and that role does seem to fit her well - even though the author writes countless pages about what it means to be a mother (how one can walk over hot coals for one's child, etc. etc.). Brian calls himself "a coward" but he has made the move to take Anna to the fire station temporarily, so it seems he is able to stand up to his wife. Anna herself wavers back and forth with her decision to go to court to prevent the transplant of her kidney to save her sister's life. (It is interesting that a friend and I were just talking of a situation involving her adult son who is in the process of preparing to donate a kidney to his ailing wife. My friend does not want her son to do this. Kidney transplants are not to be taken lightly. Interesting. ) The brother Jesse is still trying to get noticed - as an arsonist! Since his father is a firefighter it's an ironic choice of criminal activity, but somewhat far-fetched I think.
So far, we have not heard directly from Kate herself. A better picture of her is developing and I am beginning to like her more as a person. In spite of the many interventions, she is still often in a great deal of pain. Does there come a point where she doesn't want to continue with these medical "cures"? At sixteen, she may be wondering if she has any control over the treatment of her body or if she must always do what her mother believes is right. How does she feel about the transplant? Does she feel that it is her right to have her sister donate a kidney? Does she take it for granted? How strong is the bond between the two sisters?
Stay tuned!
At this point I still cannot find myself sympathetic to the mother: she is called "a martyr" by her own childless sister Zanne and that role does seem to fit her well - even though the author writes countless pages about what it means to be a mother (how one can walk over hot coals for one's child, etc. etc.). Brian calls himself "a coward" but he has made the move to take Anna to the fire station temporarily, so it seems he is able to stand up to his wife. Anna herself wavers back and forth with her decision to go to court to prevent the transplant of her kidney to save her sister's life. (It is interesting that a friend and I were just talking of a situation involving her adult son who is in the process of preparing to donate a kidney to his ailing wife. My friend does not want her son to do this. Kidney transplants are not to be taken lightly. Interesting. ) The brother Jesse is still trying to get noticed - as an arsonist! Since his father is a firefighter it's an ironic choice of criminal activity, but somewhat far-fetched I think.
So far, we have not heard directly from Kate herself. A better picture of her is developing and I am beginning to like her more as a person. In spite of the many interventions, she is still often in a great deal of pain. Does there come a point where she doesn't want to continue with these medical "cures"? At sixteen, she may be wondering if she has any control over the treatment of her body or if she must always do what her mother believes is right. How does she feel about the transplant? Does she feel that it is her right to have her sister donate a kidney? Does she take it for granted? How strong is the bond between the two sisters?
Stay tuned!
posted by mamie @ 6:40 PM
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