A Spark of Light
The last book I read with an abortion theme was “Cider House Rules”. It was definitely pro-choice. I thought Jon Irving was risking his career by doing that in a fictional novel. But they made a movie out of it so he got away with it. A SPARK OF LIGHT is much more middle of the road.
It's about a shooting in the only abortion clinic left in Mississippi. Picoult saves her opinion until her author notes at the end of the book. Some of the factoids she reveals are highly enlightening. For instance, in the 50's, 1.2 million unsafe abortions were performed annually. She doesn't give a figure for 2019, but the number of abortions is going down.
The shooter in this instance is a man named George who has a definite point of view. His daughter had an abortion, and he's blaming the clinic for the fact that she didn't tell him.
Watch for a character named Beth. She's not at the clinic when George starts shooting. As a reader you'll wonder what the heck she's doing in the book. The other characters were there. Beth is under arrest for murder. She ordered an abortion pill online when it was too late for her to get it done at the clinic. But Picoult has a reason for including her beyond that. It's a twist you won't expect.
The other main character is the negotiator Hugh McElroy who tries to get George to release his hostages. One of them just happens to be Hugh's daughter who just happens to be there to get a prescription for birth control. Coincidentally, Hugh's sister, Bex brings her to the Clinic and she's there when George starts shooting. Hugh is supposed to hand the job over to someone without a personal relationship, but he can't bring himself to do it.
The main problem with the book is that Picoult is jumping all over the place trying to give everybody who was at the clinic a voice. One of them is a spy from the demonstrators who also has a personal angle. She's had an abortion herself and she can't forgive herself for it. When you find out why, she had the abortion, you'll find it hard to believe she's a Pro-lifer, much less a spy, hoping to get the nurses or the doctor to admit they're selling baby parts.
Picoult end notes are much more liberal than the book itself. Her solution to the abortion problem is to make contraceptives available to everyone. Science is making steady progress toward male contraceptives. Maybe that'll do it. Right.
It's about a shooting in the only abortion clinic left in Mississippi. Picoult saves her opinion until her author notes at the end of the book. Some of the factoids she reveals are highly enlightening. For instance, in the 50's, 1.2 million unsafe abortions were performed annually. She doesn't give a figure for 2019, but the number of abortions is going down.
The shooter in this instance is a man named George who has a definite point of view. His daughter had an abortion, and he's blaming the clinic for the fact that she didn't tell him.
Watch for a character named Beth. She's not at the clinic when George starts shooting. As a reader you'll wonder what the heck she's doing in the book. The other characters were there. Beth is under arrest for murder. She ordered an abortion pill online when it was too late for her to get it done at the clinic. But Picoult has a reason for including her beyond that. It's a twist you won't expect.
The other main character is the negotiator Hugh McElroy who tries to get George to release his hostages. One of them just happens to be Hugh's daughter who just happens to be there to get a prescription for birth control. Coincidentally, Hugh's sister, Bex brings her to the Clinic and she's there when George starts shooting. Hugh is supposed to hand the job over to someone without a personal relationship, but he can't bring himself to do it.
The main problem with the book is that Picoult is jumping all over the place trying to give everybody who was at the clinic a voice. One of them is a spy from the demonstrators who also has a personal angle. She's had an abortion herself and she can't forgive herself for it. When you find out why, she had the abortion, you'll find it hard to believe she's a Pro-lifer, much less a spy, hoping to get the nurses or the doctor to admit they're selling baby parts.
Picoult end notes are much more liberal than the book itself. Her solution to the abortion problem is to make contraceptives available to everyone. Science is making steady progress toward male contraceptives. Maybe that'll do it. Right.
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