The Children Act by Ian McEwan

Well he’s done it again. I could not put this book down. It sustained me through an hour’s wait in the doctor’s waiting room where I was so enthralled that I didn’t even hear the fifteen screaming children climbing all over the chairs, and back home to an afternoon on the couch with a handful of Easter chocolates. So what’s so good about Ian McEwan? Well, for starters the moral issues he raises. And in this book they are doozies. The protagonist, Fiona, is a senior judge in the family court and during the course of the novel touches on a couple of cases including religious education choices for the children of separated parents, one of whom is a member of a fundamentalist Jewish sect. Fiona’s judgment on this case is detailed and fascinating. The main story though revolves around a boy, Adam Henry, a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, who is underage and refusing a life saving blood transfusion. Fiona becomes involved with him, and her handling of the case changes both his life and hers. Every word counts in these McEwan novels. In this one, it was the introspection, Fiona’s detailed thoughts, captured in a voice so intimate that I felt as if I had a window into her mind. And of course rational and intelligent as she is, there are no easy answers to all the questions that beset Fiona in this novel. The other thing I noticed was the timeframe, small and gem-like, which reminded me of another favourite novel Saturday. There were hints of Enduring Love as well. Altogether this is one of the most satisfying reads I’ve had in a while.