Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

Jean has been stuck in her dreary routine for longer than she cares to remember: caring for her mother, who complains at any deviation from their rigid schedule, and working as a reporter where she is treated like “one of the guys” because of her plain, middle-aged, single status. When a letter comes across her desk from a woman, Gretchen Tilbury, who is convinced that her daughter was born a virgin birth, it incites a curiosity in her that she must investigate. When Jean meets this family, she opens herself up to a whole new experience that changes her life forever.

Despite the attempts to integrate science into the discussion of the “virgin birth,” it was obvious to this cynical reader where the narrative would lead. In fact, while there were many attempts at realism, too much of the story was so unrealistic that it made the whole picture a bit hard to swallow. For example, Jean is tied to her mother and can’t get away during weekends, but why is her mother ok during weekdays? Why is her sister abroad and NEVER visits, ever – for years? Do folks really believe that this woman conceived by parthenogenesis (the development of an egg without fertilization)? 

Sadly, too, the dreariness of Jean’s life seeps into the narrative of the story and contaminates the story itself. There is a pall over the whole experience, and even the happier times feel a bit dulled because of her innate, reclusive, even negative countenance. While we certainly wish her well, we also can’t help being a bit resentful of her as well. Why has she not stood up for herself earlier? Why should it have taken this long for her to have come up with a plan to engineer time for herself? To carve out a life for herself, independent from her mother? 

With all this, I feel that with all the books in the world and with so little time that we all have to read, this should not be one to prioritize…  Spend time on my MUST READ’s instead! 🙂