I always read Alice Sebold's books with a bit of trepidation. She is, after all, the author who wrote a story of a 14 year-old rape/murder victim where the victim narrates the story. This story proves to be just as unsettling and shocking.
Helen, a body model at the local college, takes care of her mother. Something she has done for the majority of her life. Her mother has struggled with depression and agoraphobia most of Helen's life. The story unfolds with Helen having stopped by to check on her mother, as she does everyday. During the course of their conversation, her mother soils herself. And something within Helen snaps. Before she knows it, she has smothered and broken her mother's nose. Unsettling, jarring, thought provoking. The story, told over 24 hours, weaves back and forth between time, where come to understand how Helen might do what she did. But does it make it right?
In this century many adult children are taking care of their parents on a day to day basis. What toll does this take on the child? Taking care of the person who once took care of you, who has become dependent on you for every little thing; what type of pressure does that put one under? Add to the mix, past resentments, both real and imagined and what could happen when said child reaches their breaking point?
While Ms. Sebold may make us uncomfortable with the topics she writes about; she always makes us think and confront something within ourselves we'd rather not. I gave the book 3 out of 4 stars. I can't say I love it because it did make me that uncomfortable. But I do give it 3 because she writes a hell of a story.
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