The Perfect Novel? (The Abortionist's Daughter - Elisabeth Hyde)

Member Name: karenuk

Product:	The Abortionist's Daughter - Elisabeth Hyde
Date:	31/08/06 (208 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautifully written, cleverly constructed

Disadvantages: Americanisms

I had heard a lot about the novel The Abortionist’s Daughter by Elisabeth Hyde and the title intrigued me too, so I bought it from Amazon. It’s a slim paperback, less than 300 pages, so it only took me two days to read.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, as I only knew what the back cover told me. But I was pleasantly surprised. The characters and story quickly drew me in and it only took a few chapters before I wanted to read on and on, only stopping in the early hours when I could no longer stay awake.

The plot initially seems quite straight-forward. A woman called Diana Duprey is found dead in her swimming pool. It seems a simple case of whodunit or did anyone do it – was it simply a suicide or tragic accident?

But as the plot unfolds, it becomes a complex case with several suspects being investigated, only for most of them to rule themselves out. Diana had many enemies being the abortionist in the title. She also had a troubled marriage and a rebellious daughter.

The structure of the novel is outstanding. Hyde has a wonderful control over the way she uses time and changes from the past to the present. This device means the book reveals more layers as it goes along. Each character becomes more rounded and Hyde skillfully gives their side of the story. Besides Diana herself, we meet her husband Frank, her daughter Megan, Megan’s ex-boyfriend Bill and various friends, neighbours and members of the police.

Frank and Megan are big players in the novel and it is interesting that Frank’s personality only seems to become fleshed-out, once Diana has died. This is a clever device as it becomes obvious that Diana was the driving force in their marriage and Frank’s views were regularly ignored. The development between Frank and his daughter is followed in the novel.

Megan is a nineteen-year-old student and in some ways is very typical of her age and profession. But she is not a stereotype. Hyde explores how she is viewed and how she views things in a way which is insightful and never patronising. I am sure many teenagers could empathise with Megan.

My favourite characters were the policemen Huck and Ernie. Although Huck’s life and feelings are explored more than his colleague’s, Ernie came across as a lovely family man and was described with great warmth and humour. Huck is quieter and more thoughtful than Ernie, but just as lovable and I really enjoyed reading about both of them.

Each character in the novel is described beautifully, the author often picking out unusual details which illustrate some facet of their personality. For example, one character (only a minor one) is described as “a diminutive woman with a sharp jawline and hair so thin on the scalp, it worried you a little.” Hyde’s observations are very clever. As a writer myself, I am envious of her talent.

The book is part-thriller and explores passion, jealousy, obsession and unrequited love. The character of Bill is a fascinating one and rather frightening, but is still believable and he never becomes a caricature but is explored sympathetically.

The novel also has elements of romance, although never in a slushy fairytale kind of way. Everything is very realistic and believable. People eat, sleep, go to the toilet, lose their temper and say things they wish they hadn’t. This makes a refreshing change from some novels where at least the central character seem to live perfect lives in a world of pink sparkles.

The abortion debate is mentioned throughout and there are a few rather gruesome details, but the novel does not seem to come down on one side or the other, you are left to make up your own mind. It is interesting reading the novel though, as you are forced to see the issue from many angles – that of an abortionist and other staff at her clinic, from a religious perspective and from those of the patients and their parents.

In many ways, The Abortionist’s Daughter is an easy read, but a deep one. This definitely qualifies as ‘literary fiction’ but whereas I find a lot of books in this category to be too pretentious to enjoy, The Abortionist’s Daughter is an enjoyable and worthy read – a combination that is often an elusive one.

Really, I have very little criticism for this novel. The only one is a minor one too. It is rather American and I didn’t understand some of the words used. It also interrupts the flow if I have to ‘translate’ US English words such as ‘normalcy’ while I am mid-novel. But otherwise this is almost a perfect novel – one for all of us aspiring writers to aim for.


9/10



The Abortionist’s Daughter by Elisabeth Hyde
Published by Pan
ISBN 0-330-44300-3
Cover price £6.99

Summary: A literary fiction novel about obsession, family and murder