Stephen Lovely (1)

Isabel was an organ donor, and her death sets in motion events in two families, in two states: for her mother Bernice and husband Alex, the pain of losing her; for Janet Corcoran and family, a brand new lease on life with a new heart.

I had a really tough time with this book, not least because I had to finish it for book discussion and was feeling ornery as a result. I didn't particularly like anyone, though I sympathized most with Alex, and I was extremely frustrated with everyone sort of putting pressure on him to meet Janet. Leaving aside the fact that organ donors and recipients' families are anonymous... well, no I can't really leave that aside, because without them intersecting there's basically no point to this book. Alex has his moments of being obnoxious, too, and I was a little disconcerted by the weird relationship he has with his mother-in-law. And Jasper - the man who was driving the car that hit Isabel - was just awful. I hated him. I'm not a huge fan of stories told in present tense, and never got into the story enough to forget that this one was. Finally, the way the narration would just suddenly tell me what a character was thinking or feeling was very jarring. The medical descriptions were really where the writing was at its best; everything else felt like window dressing for the Great Point the author was trying to make.… (mais)

Na een ernstig ongeluk overlijdt de jonge Isabel. Zij had aangegeven donor te willen zijn na haar overlijden. Haar hart wordt getransplanteerd bij Janet. De weduwnaar van Isabel, Alex en haar moeder, Bernice, maken emotionele tijden door. De transplantatie zelf wordt vrij gedetailleerd beschreven. Ook de dader van het ongeluk, Jasper, komt in het boek voor. Al met al niet heel erg herkenbaar, hoewel wel voorstelbaar. Een boek dat wel tot nadenken stemt. Geen makkelijke mening hierover. Ook een patiënt die een orgaan krijgt via donatie, blijft zijn hele leven patiënt en krijgt het niet echt makkelijker erdoor, maar het beter dan te moeten overlijden.… (mais)