Kinship Theory: A Novel [Hardcover]

Hester Kaplan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2001

Dale has asked her mother to bear the child she cannot have herself. As Maggies relationship with her daughter is thrown into new and often painful focus with this understanding, she begins to question her decision, her choices in life, and herself as a good mother.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

HOriginally titled The Altruist, this debut novel from an accomplished short story writer asks questions that are as much ethical as emotional. What bonds tie mother to daughter? What justifies profound sacrifice, or that sacrifice's retraction? Kaplan explores these complex issues intimately and with extraordinary skill. Maggie Crown, 48, agrees to bear the child that her infertile daughter, Dale, desperately wants. Behind Maggie's decision lie decades of doubt about her own maternal performance: Dale interrupted Maggie's career as a scientific researcher and trapped her in a miserable marriage. Now divorced and independent at last, Maggie feels buried by the weight of her pregnancy as her daughter grows inexplicably distant. Midway through her pregnancy, Maggie falls into a relationship with her boss (and best friend's husband), Ben Wakem. Dale, who is having her own marital troubles, is unsympathetic and angry. The tangled situation grows knottier when Maggie gives birth to Lily, and Dale proves to be a careless, even dangerous mother. Maggie faces the wrenching possibility of withdrawing the greatest gift she has ever givenDand confronting the malice that hides behind her closeness to Dale. Although not far from "Movie-of-the-Week" fare in concept, Kaplan's novel is subtle in execution, yielding a nuanced insight into the treacherous but redemptive nature of maternal and romantic bonds. Agent, Jennifer Carlson. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

"Maggie Crown was pregnant with her daughter's baby and she was alone." As the opening sentence of a novel about family relationships, that is a winner! Maggie, divorced, a scientist, lives alone in a somewhat peculiar existence. Her big suburban house, the divorce settlement, is falling apart around her ears. She never seems to eat a proper meal and shows little maturity in her behavior. The uncommonly close relationship she has with her daughter does little to lighten the guilt Maggie feels for her daughter's congenital infertility, and so she reluctantly agrees to be the "gestational surrogate" for her daughter's baby. The pregnancy brings hormonal swings and uncertainty and an increase in self-absorption and recklessness that cause enormous difficulties for those around her. It also brings her feelings of unhappiness to a head. What is it that she wants? Figuring that out and acting on it does not come without a price. Old relationships fail, and new ones are forged; but in the end she finds a contentment that had eluded her. A very engaging book. Danise Hoover
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company; 1st edition (February 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316482110
• ISBN-13: 978-0316482110
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,275,286 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for all moms., August 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Kinship Theory: A Novel (Hardcover)

While I agree with the other two reviews that the characters in this book are ego-centric, that's sort of the point. They represent the selfishness, sadness, and confusion in all women. Several aspects of motherhood are examined in this book: first doing your best with an unplanned child, then not doing so well with a child that was really wanted, and finally trying to make up for past mistakes with both daughter and granddaughter. This book, while very dramatic, was quite real. Being a fulltime mother is burdening job with lots of ups and downs, moments of feeling entirely overwhelmed by life and moments of blessed happiness. And in the mean time, you have a marriage or other relationships to worry about as well. Kaplan captures all this activity beautifully. If you like Anne Tyler or other authors that write about family dymanics, you'll really enjoy this.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good novel that could have been great, February 10, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kinship Theory: A Novel (Hardcover)

Nearing fifty, divorcee Maggie Crown reluctantly agrees to serve as a surrogate mother so her sterile daughter and son-in-law can have the child they want. Maggie really does not want to carry a child for nine months as she relishes her independence and return to scientific research. However, Dale manages to make Maggie feel guilty especially using the weapon of maternal failure.

However, the birth of the child fails to prove to be the panacea that Dale expected. In spite of everyone's willingness to help Dale, she wants nothing to do with the care of the child and her neglect is very dangerous to the well being of the helpless baby. The delinquent father is not any better, choosing a "quality" affair with one of his highs school students. Maggie feels guilty, but believes she must step in to begin nurturing the second child she brought into the world even at the cost of losing her selfish first child.

KINSHIP THEORY is an intriguing novel that raises complex questions and intelligently does not provide pat answers. The story line is deep and well written, but the key characters aside from the newborn are so ego-centered, readers feel nothing but disdain for them. The lack of a redeeming value for the new parents and to a lesser degree the martyr Maggie hurts a powerfully intelligent relationship drama that leaves fans pondering the social issues raised by Hester Kaplan.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy it., April 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Kinship Theory: A Novel (Hardcover)

As a woman who has the disorder that is depicted as the cause of Dale's infertility, I take issue both with the author's understanding of the medical issues and with her portrayal of the character. This book is unfair and one-sided, and Maggie's lack of empathy for her daughter's ordeal is disturbing to me. I get the impression that the author saw a blurb on the news about a woman carrying her daughter's baby for her and that she decided it would make a great plot. Too bad she has no real understanding for what such women go through and that she didn't do nearly enough research. Hester Kaplan, you should stick to topics that you know.