The Children Act – Ian McEwan
An author, I believe, takes a risk when he centers his novel around one character. So often a reader will rate
their enjoyment of the book on whether or not they can relate to the character. In this story the main
character is Fiona, approaching sixty she is a high court judge in the family court. She had given up the idea
of having a child, concentrating on her career. She is long married to Jack, but their marriage has now hit a
big road block.
In the beginning I felt a huge distance from the character, what kept me reading was her very interesting
court cases and her inner thoughts about her judgments. But then, she does a few, very human out of
character things and I slowly began to warm to her. Soon a big case, involving a seventeen yr. old boy, a
Jehovah's witness whose parents and himself are refusing a life-saving blood transfusion on religious
grounds, will alter her life in unexpected ways.
This is a quiet, introspective novel, the writing almost seamless. I enjoyed all the music references
throughout as Fiona and a fellow lawyer play at various events. A whole person began to emerge, flawed
like most of us, I began to take this character to heart. My enjoyment of this book slowly crept up on me and
I realized just how much this author had included in this rather short novel. So I ended up liking this much
more at the end than I did at the beginning.
A fiercely intelligent, well-respected High Court judge in London faces a morally ambiguous case while her
own marriage crumbles in a novel that will keep readers thoroughly enthralled until the last stunning page.
Fiona Maye is a High Court judge in London presiding over cases in family court. She is fiercely intelligent,
well respected, and deeply immersed in the nuances of her particular field of law. Often the outcome of a
case seems simple from the outside, the course of action to ensure a child's welfare obvious. But the law
requires more rigor than mere pragmatism, and Fiona is expert in considering the sensitivities of culture and
religion when handing down her verdicts.
But Fiona's professional success belies domestic strife. Her husband, Jack, asks her to consider an open
marriage and, after an argument, moves out of their house. His departure leaves her adrift, wondering
whether it was not love she had lost so much as a modern form of respectability; whether it was not
contempt and ostracism she really fears. She decides to throw herself into her work, especially a complex
case involving a seventeen-year-old boy whose parents will not permit a lifesaving blood transfusion
because it conflicts with their beliefs as Jehovah's Witnesses. But Jack doesn't leave her thoughts, and the
pressure to resolve the case - as well as her crumbling marriage - tests Fiona in ways that will keep readers
thoroughly enthralled until the last stunning page.
The novel is told in the third person in the past tense, with an omniscient narrator. Despite being written in
the third person, the novel in nevertheless presented entirely from the perspective of Fiona Maye. No events
occur in the novel without Fiona being there to witness them and the perspectives of all the other characters
are filtered through Fiona’s own perspective and her interpretation of their actions and words. This use of
Point of View reflects Fiona’s occupation as a high court judge. When Fiona is at work different people
present different, and often diametrically opposed, arguments to her but it is ultimately Fiona’s own
interpretation of what everyone else says and does which constitutes the final say in the matter from a legal
perspective.
,The handmaid’s tale – Margaret Attwood
Offred: The narrator of The Handmaid's Tale, Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, but she can
remember the time "before", when she was married to Luke and had a daughter
Ofglen: Offred's partner for shopping and other "acceptable activities". She is a member of an underground
resistance organization, Mayday. When she is caught, she kills herself before she can be taken prisoner.
Another woman is sent to replace her, assuming her name and erasing her existence.
Luke: Offred's husband before the inception of the Republic of Gilead. He left and divorced his first wife for
Offred, which ultimately allowed the Republic to declare their union illegal, and gave the government the
right to take their child.
First Person (Central)
What information we get about Gilead, we get from the woman currently known as Offred—even though
she's only allowed a really limited view of the world. And we mean that literally: she's not allowed to make
eye contact with most people.
We see Gilead as "Offred" sees it; we interpret it as she interprets it; and our only knowledge of it comes
from the tidbits she gives to us. From a dramatic or plot standpoint, we only discover the narrator's history
and the events that led up to the foundation of the Republic of Gilead as she reveals them, almost as an aside
to her narrative about what's happening to her at her third posting (the Commander's home).
Even though narrator speaks plainly and bluntly throughout the book, much of the time her words seem to
cloak or obscure what really happened. The contrast between what's being revealed and what's being hidden
is formally emphasized by the slippage between what characters say and what they think.
Dispassionate and Factual tone
Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Dystopian Literature genre
, Of mice and men – John Steinbeck
George: George Milton. A migrant worker who travels from farm to farm with his mentally impaired friend
Lennie during the Depression. The two dream of earning enough money to buy a small farm where Lennie
can tend rabbits. By virtue of his mental superiority, George assumes a dominant role with Lennie, acting as
a parent. Because Lennie tends to involve George in difficult predicaments, George must be responsible,
level-headed and ready to deal with any tragedy that may arise. Despite the many problems that Lennie
causes George, he stays with his simple-minded friend as a buffet against loneliness and he retains a
palpable hope that the two will eventually leave the aimless life of a migrant worker to live a more fulfilling
existence.
Lennie: Lennie Small. A gigantic, mentally disabled man, Lennie is simplistic and docile. He obsesses over
simple sensory pleasures, particularly finding great joy in touching soft things, whether a cotton dress or a
soft puppy. Although Lennie is inherently innocent, he is still capable of great violence, for he lacks the
capacity to control himself physically and has a great protective instinct, especially when it comes to his
friend, George. Lennie dreams with George of having a small piece of land; he is obsessed with one aspect
of this dream: having a small rabbit hutch where he can tend rabbits. Lennie is incapable of making
decisions by himself and relies on George entirely.
We've got a third person narrator here, and he's pretty omniscient. Without personal commentary or much
narrative insight, actions and speech do the work of exposing characters.
Sympathetic, Realistic, Honest tone
Straightforward, Colloquial, Unpretentious, Earnest writing style. Steinbeck's writing style mirrors his
characters. Of course the author writes as the men would literally speak, but on a deeper level, the language
of the book is simple but compelling—just like the characters.
