Reviewed by Chun Yin Wah
When first picking up My Sister's Keeper (2004, Hodder, 407 pages), I disliked the title. But I'd never read a Jodi Picoult novel and decided to give it a try.
I'd often seen Picoult's books, including the more recent Change of Heart, but my theory is that even widely displayed authors can be disappointing. Not this time! Once starting My Sister's Keeper, I became deeply hooked.
This is the story of a five-member family – parents Sara and Brian and children Jesse, Kate and Anna. At age two, Kate was diagnosed with leukemia. The entire family struggled long and hard to keep her alive.
Anna, the youngest child, wants to hire a lawyer to sue her parents. Why? Anna was “specially designed” as an ideal match for Kate, lifting the latter's survival prospects. She's an allogeneic donor, a perfect sibling match. When Kate needs leukocytes, stem cells or bone marrow, Anna provides. Each time Kate enters a hospital, Anna lands in a nearby bed.
The author gives nearly everyone except Kate a turn as narrator. Sara, Brian, Jesse, Anna, the lawyer Campbell and a court-assigned guardian named Julia all have chances to speak.
This emotional story brims with moral and ethical minefields. Never seeking consent, Sara and Brian insist on taking Anna to the hospital to save Kate whenever the older girl needs help. Above all, they want to save Kate which, as parents, they see as the ultimate priority.
When does Anna become mature enough to decide on helping her sister? Although she wants to help, how much is too much?
As attention focuses on Kate, no one's concerned for Jesse. Can he remedy the situation? Would his parents treat him differently if he was Kate's medical match?
With all Sara's attention and resources aimed at sustaining Kate, will she ever have time for the other children? Has Brian paid enough attention to his children? Have they matured as a ‘family’ unit, not just as supporting players for Kate?
Each narrator speaks for a few chapters. Can 13-year-old Anna refuse when her parents want certain parts of her to benefit Kate? Should parents have the right to take from one child to save another? The whole purpose for having Anna was to strengthen Kate, but presumably no one's really “perfect” for anything.
Can Brian, a firefighter who saves strangers by day, salvage his own family? Will Sara, acting as a lawyer to defend the family from Anna's allegations, make the judge understand the situation and its dilemma? Can Anna's lawyer, Campbell, help her parents to heed his client, not just order her to obey?
My Sister's Keeper earns high marks as a well written and insightful story. Ultimately, there's no right or wrong. Each reader grapples with the same tough question: What would you do?
Approval rating: 80 per cent.
For more information: www.jodipicoult.com
(April 24, 2009)
ARCHIVES
|
