Just two years ago, in my review of Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things, I related that “when a friend and former library co-worker basically sniffed her disapproval when I told her I liked Jodi Picoult’s books, our friendship was changed forever.” I worked for several years in public libraries and tried not to be judgmental of people’s reading preferences, or to let the fact that someone thought Danielle Steel wrote great literature to negatively impact my opinion of them. But really, I don’t get it. I know JP is writing for a mass market – and sometimes her resolutions might be just a bit too neat for snooty readers. But I’ll admit right up front, I am a sucker for a well-plotted story that makes me think about a social issue or two along the way.
So once again, I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to read an advance copy of JP’s latest work. This time, it is A Spark of Light, and the social issue is the one that never goes away and is REALLY in the news these days: abortion. As was the case when I reviewed Small Great Things, I deliberately didn’t read anything about this book before diving in, and once again the book had a huge impact on me. I don’t believe in including spoilers in my reviews, but I want to just write “TRUST ME! YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK!!” That’s not exactly how this works, so I will once again provide a synopsis that won’t spoil anything, then remind you again: YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK.
The story is set in The Center, a women’s reproductive health clinic in Mississippi. It happens to be the last clinic in the state that provides abortion services, and the women “…in need found it the lodestone for their navigation. Those who despised it could not look away.” Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator, rushes to the clinic to negotiate with a desperate and agitated gunman who first burst into the clinic shooting wildly, then took over the clinic and is holding everyone inside hostage. As Hugh drives to the clinic, he “…was praying. Well, maybe not praying, but pleading to the universe. Praying was for people who hadn’t seen what Hugh had in his line of work. Praying was for people who still believed in God.”
So the story involves two hot-button social issues: abortion and guns. As one character puts it, “…this was indeed some crazy world, where the waiting period to get an abortion was longer than the waiting period to get a gun.” Things get really intense for Hugh when he gets a text from his fifteen-year-old daughter, Wren, and finds out that she, along with her aunt (Hugh’s sister) is inside the clinic.
Among the hostages whose stories are told are a panicked nurse who calms herself down and saves the life of a wounded woman, the medical doctor who finds his deep faith tested, and a “spy”: a woman pretending to be a clinic patient who is really a “pro-life” activist. The story has an interesting narrative structure that people who are only comfortable with stories told in a linear way will hate. It begins at 5 p.m. and counts backward through the hours of the day, tracing back to what brought each of the major characters to this particular place at the same time.
It’s a complicated way to tell the story – but, let’s face it, the issue of a woman’s right to choose is a complicated issue. The various points of view of the diverse characters address some of the strong feelings on both sides, trying to address the question of how to balance the rights of pregnant women with the rights of the unborn they carry?
Jodi Picoult fans, get ready for another deep dive into an issue that is a great topic for a book club. I was predisposed to love this book, and I was not disappointed. Five stars. And YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK.