Author : Jodi Picoult
Narrators : Bahni Turpin
Genre : Contemporary
Publisher : Random House Audio
Listening Length : 13 hours 3 minutes
Rating : 4/5
Narrator Rating : 3.5/5
A Spark Of Light is about the The Center in Mississippi, the only clinic that can provide abortions services to women in the state, and the people in it when a gunman storms in and starts shooting. The police is called to the scene, but there has already been bloodshed and the gunman is holding hostages. Police negotiator Hugh McElroy is surprised to learn that his 15-year old daughter Wren is inside the clinic with his sister Bex, and that Bex has already been hurt. He vows to get everyone out but for that he will have to get through to gunman George Goddard. And George isn’t listening.
A Spark of Light is about a controversial topic, and very timely, as reproductive heath centers are being forced shut across the United States. Picoult doesn’t take sides, she only lays out both sides of the argument via the people in the Center. There is Dr. Louie Ward, who travels to different states to deliver his services, because he, a religious man, believes that:
When you say you can’t do something because your religion forbids it, that’s a good thing. When you say I can’t do something because your religion forbids it, that’s a problem.
There is nurse Izzy, from impoverished roots and in love with her rich boyfriend, whom she hasn’t told about her pregnancy. Joy is still grieving after her recent procedure, but remains firm in her decision. Also, there’s young Beth who’s getting treated after attempting an abortion at home. Elderly Olive is at the clinic to confirm a cancer diagnosis. And Janine, an anti-abortion activist in the Center under false pretenses finds herself at the receiving end of the ire she helped stoke.
The book does a deep dive on each of the characters, narrating their life stories and presenting the motivations for their choices. Much of Picoult’s description is visceral and moving, and must have necessitated extensive research – she describes the difficult circumstances of a woman’s life and the hard choices she must make. She also describes the real-life steps lawmakers have taken to shut down abortion-providing clinics making it difficult for women to act on their right to chose.
Piccolo is a magnificent writer and describes her characters warmly and with sympathetic concern – whether it be Dr. Ward or George Goddard. I was in awe of Dr. Ward’s character who so selflessly gives of himself. I did find the backwards narration – the book starts at the ending of the shooting and works its way backwards – confusing, especially because I was listening to it and not reading it. I did not find Turpin’s narration as effective – she sounds nasally here when attempting to narrate male dialogs. In spite of all this, this book merits nothing less than 4 stars because it is an important story and deserves to be told this well.
