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[ Up ] [ Lea's Reading ] [ Lea's Writing ]
Lea's Literature
"If I get a little extra money, first I buy books, then I buy food"
After traveling, reading books and writing are my main hobbies. As most of you know, I cannot imagine a day without a book so scroll down to hear about my latest read or check out book reviews from previous months. Also, if you are like, you can check out my my published stories and articles. I write nonfiction and fiction for children.
Joanna Trollope's skill at writing about complicated relationships and developing full characters shines through in Brothers and Sisters. This is the story of a brother and sister, Natalie and David, both in their thirties, who decide to seek out their birth mothers. They were both adopted as babies/toddlers by their parents. Trollope depicts how their individual searches not only affect David and Natalie, but also their mother, their birth mothers, wife, wife, husband, and children. At times I found some of Natalie and David's feelings disturbing. They felt, even though they were loved by their mother, an emptiness about being abandoned by their birth mothers. I know this is natural, but it pains me to think of Grace feeling like this. The reactions to their search and its results were interesting. Their father was at ease with his relationship with Natalie and David and had no fears about their finding their birthparents. Their spouses were supportive, but secretly worried about how finding their birth parents would change Natalie and David. Their mother was terrified that she would be replaced by their birth mothers. In the end, each character grew in unexpected ways due to the search. Natalie and David found closure after meeting their birth mothers--a mixture of relief and sadness. What was most interesting was how their mother felt after her Natalie and David met their birth mothers. She also found closure and some relief. She became more confident in herself as their real mother, understanding that love is just, if not more, binding as blood. I am glad this book forced me to consider Grace's potential feelings about her birthparents and being adopted. It reinforced Keith's and my opinion that we need to openly talk to her about adoption and let her know that it's okay to think and talk about her birth parents.
For reviews of previous books, see Lea's Reading.