BOOK REVIEW: 'Complex Moral Dilemmas'
Sue Blechl
Saturday, September 15, 2007
“The Rest of Her Life,” by Laura Moriarty, Hyperion, 2007, $24.95.
Having just read and talked about Moriarty’s first book, “The Center of Everything,” for the library’s book discussion series, I was excited to see her second novel arrive. All discussion participants liked her first novel very much, including me, and we hoped the new book was as well done.
The author has set both her stories in Kansas, which always adds enjoyment to local readers. She currently lives in Lawrence.
The title refers to the effects of a traumatic accident. Kara is just graduating from high school and has a promising life and career ahead of her. As she drives the family car, she is distracted and runs a stop sign, killing a fellow student in the crosswalk. How Kara and her family deal with this tragedy becomes the story, with the moral, legal and social implications that are involved. Kara’s mother, Leigh, carries the narrative. Her every thought reflects the sadness, anger, vulnerability, uncertainty and other emotions that accompany an ordeal such as this. The writing steers the reader to the question “What would I do?” Key elements of the mother-daughter relationship are shared through flashbacks from Leigh’s difficult childhood and her parenting experiences.
Leigh has conflicted feelings: she wants to protect her daughter from the negative effects of the accident, but she also feels that there should be consequences, perhaps even punishments, for so completely disrupting the lives of two families. The novel invites comparisons to other fiction, including “Before and After” by Rosellen Brown and works by Ann Tyler and Jodi Picoult.
The complex moral dilemmas each of us can face within a moment’s time are daunting. Some of us will be lucky; our families will never experience distress and tragedy to this extent. But we will always wonder if we will have a decisive moment that will reverberate for the rest of our lives.
For more about the author and her novels go to www.lauramoriarty.net
F On the Shelf is written by staff and volunteers of the Emporia Public Library.