Customer Reviews

Brother and Sister: A Novel

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In this tension-filled domestic drama, Joanna Trollope shows how the adoption of two children, now adults, have affected all the families involved--the birth mothers and their later families, the adoptive parents and grandparents, and the adoptees themselves, their spouses, and their children. Nathalie, the partner of Steve Ross and mother of their child, has always considered it an advantage to be adopted, to be "chosen," but when her young daughter Polly needs surgery for a condition that may be inherited, her own adoption becomes an issue for her. Asking "What else don't I know about where Polly's come from?" she suddenly comes to a life-changing realization: "I want to be like people who know where they come from." She and her brother David decide to search for their birth mothers.

The rippling effects of the decision to search for birth mothers dominate this carefully constructed novel. Nathalie's adoptive mother, not surprisingly, is devastated that both of "her" children need to find "other" mothers. The birth mothers, by turn, have created new lives of their own, each dealing with her "lost" child in her own way. Nathalie's husband, David's wife, and their children are also affected, not least by the fact that Nathalie and David choose to share their feelings with each other, rather than with their spouses. As the ripple effects continue, other characters, even including employees, are drawn into the emotional vortex, and unexpected complications send the action in surprising directions with new twists and turns.

Trollope reveals the inner lives of her characters through beautifully realized dialogue, and she pays particular attention to the details of personality and domestic relationships. The reader is quickly drawn into the action and empathizes with the characters, who seem realistic, though they are not fully developed. In fact, we learn about each one only what is necessary for the author to illustrate the myriad effects of adoption on the adoptees and the people who love them. The themes dominate, controlling both the action and the characters themselves. A vivid domestic drama with an unusual subject and characters, the novel shows us how relationships are tested and tempered. Ultimately, both the characters and the reader come to a new appreciation of the complexities of love and families. Mary Whipple

this novel shows how very talented,ms. trollope really is. her insights on adopted children are excellent. in addition,she really understands parenting and sibling relatonships.