According to my usual rules of literature (among them, bad things can't happen to children), I should have left "Rescue" in the stacks for some other, tougher reader. But, it's written by Anita Shreve, who is such a great teller of true-to-life stories, that I couldn't pass it up. Plus, I've taken her on before with no ill effects. I could handle this.
A little back story: I was in car accident last week. No injuries, except to cars, but it's been on my mind a lot ever since. This is a prime time for escaping into a book for a few minutes...and I go and choose one that starts with a car accident. Excellent.
Peter Webster has been raising his daughter on his own for over 15 years, following the departure of his wife, Sheila. Webster, an EMT, first met Sheila at the scene of her first DUI accident and her ensuing alcoholism and second DUI (with daughter, Rowan, in the car) makes Webster give up and send her away. Shreve tells a compelling story of Webster's attempt to rehabilitate Sheila, his tireless determination to be there for his daughter, making the best of his life in a small, isolated town. Readers can foreshadow life unraveling for Webster as Rowan's world becomes complicated with typical teenage angst with a side of why-did-my-mother-abandon-me emotions. Webster's such a nice, hard working guy that you want to reach in and shake him into action, into a different direction with his daughter.
But, for me, I had to focus on the EMT talk to get through the bad-things-can-happen-to-kids parts.
I love when an author really researches the setting well, whether it's the landscape, a profession, or a location. Based on my own strong knowledge of the medical world (you know, from ER and Grey's Anatomy and such), I fell right into the reassuring motions of a medical professional: assessing the scene, barking out orders, calmly taking action. Shreve pulls you into the life of an EMT, how Webster absolutely needs to be right there in the moment with his patient instead of wondering where his daughter might be drinking that night. The medical calls are a careful side story to the mini-breakdown going on in Webster's family, but weighty enough on their own that one gets invested in the outcome of each call. By the time that Webster, inevitably, is called to the rescue of his own daughter, readers are ready for it. I, for one, was grateful that Shreve glossed over the little bit of sadness at the end. Leave that story line for Jodi Picoult.
Another one down...but now I really need to find a Calgon-take-me-away book for a little literary R&R.
No comments:
Post a Comment