I fell into the Jodi Picoult trap again and wasted my time on another lame story. I just finished Handle With Care which is Picoult's latest book, I think. I've already read her book My Sister's Keeper, so I should've known I'd feel somehow robbed at the end of the story.
I understand the appeal of Picoult's books. I thought I'd like them because they have strained family relationships, court battles, and not-so-happy endings. I can't even put my finger on what it is I don't like. I just get to the end of the book feeling like I didn't like it.
Handle With Care is the story of a family struggling with their daughter's brittle bone disease. The mom decides to sue the OB/GYN (who also happens to be her best friend) for wrongful birth arguing that the doctor should've caught the disease in utero before 18 weeks gestation. Mom could've had an abortion if she chose at this point. Instead, the family is riddled with debt and the strains of raising a severely physically (though not mentally) disabled child. Chaos ensues.
The one part of this book that I found appealing was its confrontation of a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy. Questions arise: Should a woman be able to terminate a pregnancy just because the child isn't perfect or is she forced into motherhood no matter what? Is one quality of life more valuable than another? Should we love our children absolutely, no matter what? What about fathers - do they have a say even though primary care of the disabled child falls onto the mother?
Most of you know how I feel, and Picoult's book does a decent job of handling this very delicate subject with care.
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