Small Great Things in Around the Year in 52 Books

Mar 11, 2018 Jacqie rated it it was ok

Shelves: netgalley

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for review.

I read this book for a book club of mine and I'm worried, because I have a feeling everyone but me is really going to like this book. But nonetheless I'm going to stick with my star rating (about 2.5).

Back in the early 2000's I really loved Jodi Picoult. She wrote My Sister's Keeper and Plain Truth, both of which made me consider topics I'd never thought too much about before. She had the knack of showing both sides of an argumen Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for review.

I read this book for a book club of mine and I'm worried, because I have a feeling everyone but me is really going to like this book. But nonetheless I'm going to stick with my star rating (about 2.5).

Back in the early 2000's I really loved Jodi Picoult. She wrote My Sister's Keeper and Plain Truth, both of which made me consider topics I'd never thought too much about before. She had the knack of showing both sides of an argument and humanizing both sides as well. There was always a court case that showcased the arguments of both sides and there was always a twist. After reading about half a dozen of her books, though, I was used to the formula. Some of her books didn't give me the additional insight I was looking for and I would sometimes get impatient with how long they took to arrive where I knew they would. So I have gone probably 10 years without reading more of her.

This book takes on racism, and god knows that's a timely topic in 2018. We have 3 POV characters. One is Ruth, a black labor and delivery nurse who is told by her hospital that she is not allowed to care for a certain newborn after the baby's white supremacist parents make their objections. Next is Turk, said white supremacist parent. Finally we have Kennedy, the public defender who ends up representing Ruth when the baby dies and Ruth is sued instead of the hospital after the hospital legal advisor suggests to Turk that Ruth would be easier to go after.

There are a lot of problems that I have with just the premise of this book. The hospital telling Ruth that she (or any other African American caregivers) are not allowed to touch this baby is opening them wide up for a lawsuit. The hospital would not have a leg to stand on if they did such a blatantly racist thing, and the hospital also would be clearly at fault if a baby died because of such a restriction. Also, a legal representative of the hospital throwing one of its employees under the bus so quickly doesn't get rid of the possibility of the hospital still being sued. No, indeed. The actions of the police also don't feel realistic to me here. Not that doors aren't broken down at 3 in the morning; I just don't see why that would happen in this case. Police like to get the job done during regular business hours just like everyone else.

I think that Jodi Picoult wanted to write a sort of Allieship 101 book here. A lot of the examples she brings up (like what color of flesh that flesh colored bandaids are, how the hyenas and bad guys in Lion King are coded black both by color and style of speech) are things I read about in my multiculturalism class more than 20 years ago. This is not new stuff by any means, but I suppose that doesn't mean that some people don't need to read it.

Picoult also seems to want to show how different African Americans are-Ruth's sister, Adisa, is both darker and more angry than Ruth is. Ruth's son is a model student while Adisa's seem to be what some might call trifling. Ruth's mother was a maid (shades of The Help here bigtime) and a single parent, just like both Ruth and Adisa are. This all felt really awkward to me. Ruth seemed to be a personification of an African American who hoped that if they were "good" enough, trouble wouldn't happen to them. Adisa felt very much like a caricature of the angry black woman. Except for Ruth's son, I don't think that any black males other than a preacher whose main goal seemed to be to cause a televisible moment actually spoke in this book.

Turk, meanwhile, manages to tell you his whole life history- how he grew up with a father he despised (who turned out to be gay of course), how he was angry and directionless, got recruited into a white supremacist group and then became a recruiter himself, how he ended up going to jail. He's the textbook case of someone who gets involved with White Power. I know because I've done a research paper on white supremacy (and worked with many when I worked with felony offenders), and Turk hits all the marks. And yet, Picoult wants to save this character. I was also pretty sure early on that the twist in the book would involve his wife Brittany in the way that it did- it was signposted very clearly, and I sighed in disappointment when it happened.

Kennedy, on the other hand, is the stereotypical well-meaning white lady who "doesn't even see color", as she tells Ruth the first time they meet. She learns why this is such a privileged thing to say later in the book; don't worry, because she gets her eyes opened and even gets to school her jury on the fact that racism still exists. Ruth tries to do the same thing, but it takes Kennedy to say it in a way that people can hear (this was also cringe-worthy, although I suppose probably accurate). I speak this way as a well-meaning white lady myself, who would love to know how to let those of color know I want to be an ally to them without making an idiot of myself when I meet them. I don't think there really is a way to do this; I think it has to be learned by relationships forming and getting to know one another. I do wish there was an easier way, but nothing about institutional racism is easy, I guess.

Anyway, I don't think I'm the target audience for this book. I already am keenly and disgustedly aware of the racism that is currently enjoying being out in the open thanks to our president who loves to "tell it like it is" and the anti-semitic flyers that have already been plastered all over the college campus where I work twice this semester. I have had my eyes opened to the fact that racism has always really been this prevalent because before the last election I had the luxury of believing that it was on a downhill slide. No, it wasn't, I just didn't have to see it.

I don't need the 101 stuff. I'm sure a lot of people still do, and I'm sure there will be a percentage that are offended by this book because it makes them look at some not-so-nice things about themselves. This book is for them. I was made uncomfortable by the stereotypes that Picoult used to get her point across and felt like she fell uncomfortably into several tropes like White Savior and glossed over how difficult it is to truly understand this issue as a white person. I hope that this book works for those it was written for. It is sad that this very book is the trope of a white person explaining to other white people what it's like to be black, because those of color will be dismissed as angry or unworthy of attention if they try to say the same thing or write a similar book.

Try reading Ta-Nehisi Coates, Roxane Gay, or Tayari Jones if you'd like a book about this topic written from the perspective of those who must live with racism. ...more

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Oct 29, 2016 Vickir Ihrig rated it it was amazing

Ms. Picoult is one of my favorite authors, largely because she tackles current, relevant topics. This was a tough read, one that I literally could not put down, but it's not going to be for everyone. It is extremely timely and based somewhat on a true story, although that may be a bit of a spoiler because it is only in her "Author's Note" that, that is revealed. She also reveals that the title comes from a Martin Luther King quote, "If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great w ...more

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Dec 05, 2017 Marie (UK) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-reading-challenge

Jodi Picoult is a formulaic author who never stints on the number of words. She chooses a controversial or emotive issue and uses the storyline to almost discuss the important facets. This book is no different and centres on Race inequality through the central character, a midwife and committed professional. It is one of Picoult's books that i have enjoyed more than others, i think she has created a book that highlights inequality in a new and creative way. The characterisation is excellent and ...more

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