Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Book Club Again?




You should read this so I can have someone to talk about it with. The blurb sounds very melodramatic, but the book was good.

12 comments:

Martin said...

Fine. If it's that important, I will buy it next time I'm in Target.

Mean Mommy said...

Sure. Fine. I'll add it to my list. Although I read something by the author that said 'My books shouldn't sell. I take topics that are deliberately incendiary and write about them...' Or something. Which is why I'm not buying it. I'll get it from the library. Nyah. :P

Martin said...

That doesn't make any sense. Controversial topics always sell. Maybe she said "My books should sell really well. I take topics that are deliberately incendiary and write about them."

But I did notice she had like 20 different books all at Target. I do have something against authors that can just manufacture tons of books. They tend to not put as much thought into them.

Holly K said...

I'm not saying it's amazing. I just kind of liked it.

So you can read it, and then we can talk about it. Or you can not read it and feel left out.

Your call.

Martin said...

Okay, I've started reading the book. It's nice, because it is broken down into days, which is then broken down into sections for each person, which is then broken down even further. So there is a break in the writing every page or so. It's very convenient to read during commercials.

Martin said...

*SHANNON! DO NOT READ THIS UNTIL YOU FINISH THE BOOK*

So, I liked the book. But I think the ending was a little too easy. No one had to make any decisions! After the whole book and all the controversy, it didn't even matter. What, the author was too afraid of what people would say if she actually had the character choose?

Holly K said...

But the whole build up was already a little betrayed when we learned Kate's role in the situation. Since they'd already eliminated the main reason I was hesitant about Anna's decision (that it would mean betraying Kate), I think this was a much better conclusion than Anna keeps her kidney and Kate slowly dies.

Martin said...

Exactly. It was the easy happy ending where no one has to betray anyone. It skips over the question of what would the right thing be, because no one had to figure it out.

Mean Mommy said...

I finally finished. My first thought at the end was "What the crap! So deus ex machina and no one has to decide? What a cop out." And then I saw that Melissa posted the same thing. Dang it.

Other thought: for all the talk about how invisible Anna is, why is it that none of the book is in Kate's perspective until the very last section...when she's been in remission for years. She was just as invisible as Anna; people could only see the illness. Which is why she wanted Anna to refuse. Because they were both trapped, and she was powerless to get herself out.

FYI: despite the panicky idea of losing a child, I have just about no sympathy for Sara. The 'heir and a spare' philosophy is so not right. No child deserves to be born already loaded with that kind of responsibility.

Martin said...

Yeah, I didn't really agree with Sara either. I mean, her kid went through the trouble of hiring a lawyer to get out of giving a kidney. Even if she didn't know the reason, obviously her daughter was pretty serious about it. But instead of agreeing that Anna not give the kidney, she fought the case. I mean, I know her other kid was dying, but it really seemed like she was going to force Anna to donate whether she wanted to or not.

Holly K said...

Interesting comment about Kate's invisibility, but there really couldn't have been anything from her perspective without giving away one of the bigger 'twists'--that she and Anna were making the decision together.

Also, to vaguely defend Sara about fighting the case, she didn't understand why Anna brought the law suit. Therefore, she dismissed it as teenage angst and that fighting the case would be bast for BOTH her daughters. Kate would not have to die, and Anna would not have to live with the guilt of killing her sister.

Martin said...

Teenage angst? She hired a lawyer. I think that is a little more than teenage angst. Teenage angst would be like, starting fires all over town.