Originally published in 1958, this book must have been scandalous at the time. It centers on Ruth, now in her late 30s and married to a man she doesn't love, a man who terrorizes her, in fact, whom she was pressured into marrying after becoming pregnant by him at 18. As the book begins, the daughter she had a few months after that wedding is now 18 or so herself and studying at Oxford. She becomes pregnant and Ruth is driven to save her daughter from the misery she herself lives with. Mother and daughter agree that an abortion is the solution, and though they share this confidence, they seem unable to communicate or connect. In 1950s England, abortion isn't legal, so getting one involves several hurdles: finding a willing doctor, getting down to London without arousing suspicion, and figuring out how to fund an abortion, among others.
These are the events of the book, but what really made it a compelling read was Mortimer's writing and perception. There is a brilliantly told change in Ruth's psychology over the course of the novel. Mortimer does an incredible job of showing us how Ruth is perceived by others, and how she's aware of it herself. Her husband thinks she's mad and hires a caretaker to stay with her because he only comes home at weekends. Sometimes, Ruth does sink into her own depressed state, but sometimes she can use the way others see her to her own advantage. We readers witness Ruth take control of her own narrative, even as the change in her goes totally unnoticed by everyone around her. It's quite something.
* I read this incredible story in the NY Times midway through my reading of Daddy's Gone A-Hunting and they were echoing against each other in my mind all week.
