I was planning on reading ‘Random in Death’ next, but I picked up another book that caught my attention. This is also a more modern title from 2016, so it still fits the current book haul’s theme. I picked it up because a local book club with a focus on contemporary fiction is going to meet and talk about this one next month and I’d like to join. I think it’s high time that I started getting more involved with the community surrounding the profession I’m trying to breach into. I probably should have been working on that sooner, come to think of it …

Anyway ‘Small Great Things’ is a novel by Jodi Picoult. I’ve heard good things about her work before but never given any of her novels a try for myself. I’m happy to say I like her style so far and the book itself is engaging. She has that amazing ability to turn a story into a page turner by making every moment as interesting as the last. What I find a little off-putting though is just how invisible her writing is. With the last book, Verghese was the kind of author who put words together in ways that made you take notice of his phrasing. Picoult seems to be very much the opposite, making sure that the story itself is never distracted from. I’ve never read an author who uses such unobtrusive language before. It could just be the stark difference from my last read that’s making me feel strange about it though.

The main plot is pretty straightforward so far. Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse with twenty years of experience at the Mercy-West Haven hospital in Vermont. Her life is turned upside down when a couple deeply involved with a white supremacist movement delivers their baby at Mercy-West Haven. The father, Turk Bauer, demands that Ruth (the only black nurse in the ward) be taken off the job as their delivery nurse and barred from touching their baby. The hospital obliges, much to her disgust. She stays away from their baby as ordered, until one busy night leaves Ruth as the only nurse available to watch over the child. In the mere twenty minute span where she’s left alone with him, the baby stops breathing. She’s dragged into a moral conundrum over how much care is too much to give the baby, after which the baby is dead, and the couple sees her trying to resuscitate him. They accuse her of killing their child and the plot unfolds from there through the trial.

What keeps the story interesting is the deep characterization that Picoult takes her time in exploring. Each character’s past is thoroughly examined through flashback scenes where past events inform current decisions. Many chapters are formed of back to back scenes where the past meets present. Ruth can’t help but think about her past through a racial lens, reexamining her life story and the harrowing moments where her black skin was most apparent. The roots of Turk’s prejudice are steadily unveiled, as his is history with the white supremacy gangs that he leads, held in stark contrast to the love he has for his wife and short-lived child. This is all in locked step with current events and the proceedings of the trial.

Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure I can guess how the story will go after reading a little less than a third of it. On the other hand, it hasn’t made me want to read it any less. Hopefully Picoult will surprise me and have some real kinks in store for the plot because I don’t think I’ve seen her pull out all the stops yet. I’m looking forward to seeing this one through.

Thank you for reading,

Benjamin Hawley