Book Review - Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

 

Hello Readers!

January 2021 went by so fast! Here we are already 10 days into February and I am seriously lagging behind on my book reviews. I completed 3 books in January 2021 and consider it one of my best in recent times. However, I don't enjoy pinning a number for my monthly target and have kept it largely open ended. I do hope to read about 18-26 books this year making it an average of about 2 per month, so I am off to a great start!

My first book for 2021 was also my first book on African American Racism. As a brown person (hate that label!) reading this, I went in with an open mind and also an almost clean slate because I haven't really delved deep into this sensitive topic. Racism is a centuries old societal issue, donning different connotations across the world but all leading to one common implication.  Understanding everything pertaining to racism is probably beyond one's capability, but what we can possibly do is read, listen and internalize the injustice meted to anyone who has had to face this. And so my review would barely touch the surface of this topic as did this book. 

Ruth is labor and delivery Nurse, working at a maternity hospital in Connecticut. She has been a nurse tending to newborns for twenty years now and loves what she does. One day, as she comes into her shift, one of her assigned patient and her husband who happen to be white supremacists take offence at her African American origin and request the hospital manager to take her off their case. What should have been an ordinary day in her life turns her life upside down with the chain of events that follow in the next few days. The next day, the child goes into cardiac arrest while Ruth is alone in the nursery and she has to decide if she has to disobey her manager and the hospital's orders and perform CPR or break her nurse oath and not help the baby. Over the next few days Ruth gets caught in the crossfire between the parents and the hospital management and is charged with a serious crime. Now, Ruth has to defend her decisions and face trial in the courthouse over an unjust charge that has more to do with her race than her professional conduct. 

The story is written from multiple perspectives - Ruth, her attorney and the white parents and is definitely an attention holder. For me personally, it opened my eyes to a few new things about racism in America that I had not explicitly known before. It touched upon various softer aspects of racism that gets brushed under the carpet of the more apparent things like brutality and inequality. I especially enjoyed the detailing of how racism affects Ruth and her family's daily life. Every action had to be weighed in based on the color of their skin, even simple tasks like buying groceries drawing multiple dilemmas. There were some teary moments that were written exceptionally well and I did enjoy reading this book. 

However, I did have a few issues with the characters and the plot. Some of the decisions and situations seemed outright illogical and didn't truly reflect what any human would do in that situation, irrespective of their race or ethnicity. The story took a rather predictable turn and while I have no issues with that, I am not convinced it was a true reflection of what happens in the real world. The thing is, when you choose to write about a topic like racism, the story needs to do justice to the current context and the realities of life. It is not creative freedom but a certain sense of responsibility that comes with these topics. And not doing justice to it probably does more harm than good.

Don't get me wrong. I am sure the author had good intentions and for most part the book is a great starting point for someone who has only recently started reading this genre. Jodi Picoult has put in a lot of research into this topic and that is evident in her writing. But for someone (African American community) who has to face racism day in day out this book may just feel like yet another one of those cookie cutter books that barely scratch the surface of their experiences. 

I think it is a pretty decent read and I rated this book 3 stars on Goodreads. 

Until next time, happy reading!

Love, SSB