HANDLE WITH CARE by Jodi Picoult
Novelist Jodi Picoult makes her living writing about tragedy or at least tragic situations. There is no subject matter from which she will shy away. Probably her best known and successful novel is MY SISTER’S KEEPER, a story which concerned organ donors. Now she has topped that book with HANDLE WITH CARE. This book focuses attention on a child with osteogenesis imperfecta, OI or brittle bone syndrome.
Picoult can never just focus on one problem at a time. She has to add a new complication which in this book is a lawsuit. The parents of Willow, the girl with OI, sue their obstetrician for wrongful birth. In this instance the doctor being sued is the best friend of Charlotte, Willow’s mother.
The pivotal point of the book is trying to decide whether or not Charlotte is doing the right thing. There was an incident in Charlotte’s pregnancy that could have indicated a problem. Piper, the obstetrician and friend, did not alert Charlotte to the problem. She decided it was not one. Later in the pregnancy the OI was determined. Charlotte’s lawsuit alleges that had she known sooner she might have been able to abort the fetus.
Of course another issue in bringing the lawsuit is how it will affect Willow. Won’t she think her mother wishes she had never been born? And can Charlotte convince her that she is only doing what she is doing in order to provide financial security for her future? Complexity is Picoult’s middle name and this book, more than any of the others, proves it.
There are other characters in the story who have an impact on the reader. There is Sean O’Keefe, Charlotte’s husband and Willow’s father. Sean is horrified at the thought of filing a lawsuit which will make Willow think she was unwanted. He also is mortified that Charlotte thinks he can not provide for his family. With these two factors weighing heavily on him, his desire to remain Charlotte’s husband begins to crack.
Then there is Amelia, Willow’s half-sister. She is Charlotte’s daughter but not Sean’s. She was born of a previous relationship but looks on Sean as her father. From the time Willow is born she begins to feel like less of a person. Her parents are so concerned with Willow’s problems that in her mind Amelia becomes almost invisible. She then begins to take radical steps to make herself noticed.
Because of the seriousness of Willow’s physical problems this book is hard to read. Many may find the medical ailments and their descriptions too much to bear. Willow can break because of a slip on the ice, or just a too sudden stop in the car. Her breaks occur suddenly and without warning.
Picoult has made herself an expert on OI and relates facts about the illness with ease. The medical situations never impede the flow of the story but are incorporated in it to enhance rather than to detract. You will learn a lot by reading the book but the education factor is a secondary thing; you will primarily be engrossed in the story of Willow and her family.
Jodi Picoult is the master of her craft. She knows what her talents are and uses them accordingly. She is not a “touchy/feely” writer and never hesitates to show a character’s faults as well as his/her virtues. Life is complex and so are Picoult’s stories.
Take a deep breath and plunge into HANDLE WITH CARE. It is a book that will make you care and that makes it one you really should read.
HANDLE WITH CARE is published by Atria Books. It contains 477 pages and sells for $27.95.