A Spark of Light, by Jodi Picoult (2018)
I have read several novels by Jodi Picoult. She selects often controversial topics and explores various sides of the issue without lecturing or telling the reader the “right” answer. This book, that explores an abortion clinic is no exception. What is unique about this novel is that it takes place in one day, but it told backwards, one hour at a time. (We do learn the backstories of the characters as the layers of each person is slowly peeled back.)
As is true in many states, laws have been enacted that severely restrict a woman’s ability to procure a safe and legal abortion. This novel takes place in the only such center available in Mississippi. As soon becomes clear, the Center, as it is called, also provides a plethora of health and reproductive services for women. This book was carefully researched and is grounded in fact from both sides of the issue.
The novel begins when a gunman enters the Center and begins shooting, immediately killing the receptionist. The women in the Center at the time of the shooting are there for various reasons. Wren is a 15-year old girl who talked her Aunt Bex into taking her there for birth control pills; Joy needed an abortion; and 68-year-old Olive was there for women’s health care. Janine is a “spy”, pretending to need an abortion in the hopes that she can capture incriminating evidence “proving” that women are coerced into getting an abortion.
George, the gunman, had just learned that his daughter had an abortion and wants to take revenge on the Center. As has happened throughout the country, there have been a number of shootings at women’s health clinics. In the afterward to the book, the author provides a summary of much of her research.
This is one of Picoult’s best novels.
Read: February 21, 2021
4 Stars
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