Mercy

I've been unable to get any work on my final dissertation done today. The reason? I had to finish a book.

The book was Mercy, written by Jodi Picoult. It centres around the theme of how far one would go for someone they really loved. Is it possible to love someone so much that if they were living in pain you could bring yourself to kill them? There is also the theory that one person in a couple always loves the other more, resulting in a kind of 70/30, 60/40 split.

Although I generally enjoy her books, I found this one quite depressing because the 'central' story is that of a relationship where man loves and adores wife but has 'settled' somewhat in small town life. This is due to a sense of ancestral Scot-clan leader obligation in modern day Massachusetts. She worships the ground he walks on. A whole series of events happen...and I won't spoil the story for those who have not yet read the book.

Like the film Revolutionary Road, I find such all too real subjects disturbing, not least because I like to live in this fantasy-land bubble. Such subjects promote fear in even the most optimistic of people. I think in this modern day world, the idea of having to 'settle' with someone because of age for example, or thinking no-one better is going to come along (this option supposedly better than being alone), is such a foreign concept to me...and it does still happen today. Disbelieveingly, in South Africa, or Joburg at least, it appears to be perceived as OLD for a girl to settle down after the age of 25!

I've read about 3/4 of all she's published and love how she writes about the moral dilemmas present in all her novels. Most of her books make you ask yourself a whole bunch of 'what would I do in this situation?'-type questions. Really thought-provoking stuff. I also love the court cases!

On a happier note regarding the theme of this book, I take comfort in the fact (and this is what I believe) that the so-called relationship balance split theory is often in a state of flux, switching from one person to another at different points in time.