My Sister's Keeper (Spoliers)

Being more of an escaping reader (whoops, I meant escapist) I don’t usually want to read stories that are too sad (I avoid real life abuse stories like the plague), however, I was intrigued by the moral and ethical implications of this novel.  I have to say I’m heartless enough to have felt sad at the end but not cried. 

I did find it a bit difficult to get into, despite it being an easy read, but by about halfway through I realised that it wasn’t about to conform to the expectations that I had about it and I found myself wanting to know about what the ending would be. It was clear that although the book was ostensibly about the ethics, it was more a book about family dynamics. I liked the way that Picoult used different viewpoints and jumped to different points in time to illustrate the effect Kate’s illness had. Reviewers have complained about the character portraits, that perhaps they were too sketchy due to the structure of the novel; in particular some reviewers were of the opinion that Kate had little personality and no voice, however, this was done deliberately. By denying Kate a voice it allows the revelation towards the end to be a surprise to the reader, besides, giving other characters a voice instead makes it a richer novel than if it were mainly about Kate and Sara.

Another criticism some reviews made was about how some of the characters were too much of a contrast to the extent that they became polar opposites – it is very easy to sympathise with steadfast, supportive Brian, not so easy to sympathise with Sara or Jesse, yet there needed to be tension between the characters, particularly in the case of Sara – it wouldn’t have worked if she hadn’t been in opposition to the rest of the family, and I guess that if you had been dealing with trying to save your daughter’s life under such an amount of pressure for that length of time, you might start thinking the same way as she does. 

I did like the way that the lawyer was something of an enigma and how against the backdrop of the trial, there was an exploration of his relationship with Julie, this highlighted that the book was not just about a sick child, it was about life and relationships. Reading about the film, I was disappointed that the character was given a smaller role and his relationship was cut.

Speaking of the film, I was also shocked at the way the ending was changed so that Kate died and Anna lived. Although I haven’t seen the film, I thought the twist ending of the book worked really well. Yes it was strange and something of a surprise (as all twist endings should), but it gives the book symmetry, the only criticism being that I think it would have improved it even more if there had been more about the reaction to Anna’s death, particularly from Sara. It is a sad book, but I think that it does have a life-affirming message and I think the ending with Kate’s death would make it about something else, about being able to let go instead of being about people fighting for life and the right to choose for themselves about what their life should be. 

So, overall, not a bad book despite the depressing subject matter, and I will read more books by the author, but it’ll have to be when I’m in the mood.