I posted about this book, "My Sister's Keeper" a couple of months ago. http://livyen.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-sisters-keeper.html
I have since finished reading a couple of other story books; namely "PS: I Love You" by Cecelia Ahern and "Perfect Match" also by Jodi Picoult. But, this particular book has been left by my bedside, untouched for a good 2 - 3 months. Reasons, I don't know.
"Perfect Match" - A brilliantly engaging novel!
Anyway, finally got my hands on that book again yesterday night after a long layoff. Was reading it for a good 30 minutes (was at about page 200+ or 400 pages) before curiosity got the better of me.
Well, (to cut a long story short) the plot centred around a girl who is conceived as a saviour sibling for her sister, Kate. Anna who is now 13 years old is deeply troubled by this revelation and the constant medical procedures and treatment she has to undergo for the sake of Kate. Kate has since suffered a relapse and is suffering from renal failure unless a BTM (bone marrow transplant) is done. Prognosis is not good.
Anna has instituted legal proceedings against her parents for subjecting her to such needless treatment, which is solely for the sake of Kate. And the story rolls on....
......
As I read the book, I can't stop but find answers to this question. How would the court balance the interests of the respective parties?
1. Anna - her right to self-determination, and the need to consider her best interests (a pending lawsuit against her own parents would certainly do her more harm than good)
2. Kate - her right to life
3. Brian and Sara - do they as parents, hold an ultimate veto towards the medical decisions of their children? If so, to what extent does Anna (whom I would consider to be Gillick competent i.e. possess a good and sufficient level of maturity to display a clear understanding towards the gravity of the issue in hand and the consequences it entails) have a say in objecting any decision(s) made on her behalf?
4. And lastly, but most importantly, does the right and santity of life outweigh other considerations?
Thus, I can't help to wonder how Picoult would seek to reconcile these issues throughout the 200 odd pages (out of 400) that I have read thus far.
And as the saying goes, curiosity kills the cat, and more so LV. After 200 odd pages of resisting the temptations of flicking through the last chapter of the book, I finally made the fateful decision to turn to the chapter that read: Epilogue.
I WAS REALLY REALLY REALLY DYING AND CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT WOULD THE CONCLUSION BE....
WARNING: Spoilers ahead.
To read, please left-click and highlight the following paragraph(s).
And boy, the conclusion was unexpected.
I would say that Picoult took the easy way out by not addressing/answering the questions I had above. Rather, her story ended with Anna being involved in an accident at an intersection and was seriously injured as a result. Being in PVS (permanent vegetative state), her parents then decided to turn off the life support machines and pledge her organs for donation. Kate, would of course be one of the lucky receipients.
And so, Kate survived the ordeal and is now in remission. Whilst Anna, despite her struggles with her identity as a saviour sibling have now passed on.
The ending, to me was a bit of 'potong-stim' situation and an easy way out for Picoult without having to address the Bioethical dilemmas posed in the earlier parts of the book.
Well, I may be wrong as i jumped straight from page 200+ to the final chapter, having left out a good 150 pages worth of material. Until then, I take that she has failed to deliver as I had hoped...
It left me in a state of disbelief, and pondering over the issue overnight, which of course, left me sleep-deprived. Yeah, I know, silly me!
I came to realise that that was the only way she could bring this story to an end/closure without having to go on rambling further on the bioethical dimension of this saviour sibling saga.
Well, it's akin to the many instances when we used to write our UPSR, PMR and SPM cerpen/cereka/stories where we didn't know how to put an end to our fancy fictional essays. Hence, more often that not, we would resort to penning down this line, "... Rupa-rupanya, aku hanya bermimpi." Yeah, I guess this is the line of approach taken by Picoult in her attempt to reach a conclusion that would satisfy a majority of her readers.
On further consideration, I think the book may perhaps not be the sole factor for my sleeplessness. The brain/sub-conscious mind is just too active lately. Must learn how to relax and calm down and for the brain to understand that bed = sleep.
Will finish up the book soon and update later.
-LV-
*btw, IMHO (in my humble opinion), PS: I Love You has quite a potong stim ending too! *Sulks*
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