Janeology

I recently finished Janeology by fellow blogger, Karen Harrington. You may have seen it on my "Currently Reading" sidebar for a while. I don't write many reviews of current reads, but this one deserves some special treatment. Here's my review: You MUST read it. See, that was easy. The richness of the writing holds lessons for us all. I was drawn in immediately by her mastery of detail and characterization. So much so, in fact, that I plan to read it again - this time as a learning tool!

As writers, we often wrestle with concerns that there are no new ideas left. We've read (or written) blog posts about it. We try to say things in "new" ways . Here's the coolest thing about Janeology: Karen Harrington found a new idea. This book is mind-bogglingly original and utterly fascinating. Seriously.

This description can be found at Goodreads:

Jane, a loving mother of two, has drowned her infant son and is charged with his murder in this powerful examination of love, loss, and family legacy. When a prosecutor decides Jane's husband Tom is partially to blame for the death and charges him with "failure to protect," Tom's attorney proposes a radical defense. He plans to create reasonable doubt about his client's alleged guilt by showing that Jane's genealogy is the cause of her violence, and that she inherited her latent violence in the same way she might inherit a talent for music or a predisposition to disease. He argues that no one could predict or prevent the tragedy, and that Tom cannot be held responsible. With the help of a woman gifted with the power of retrocognition—the ability to see past events through objects once owned by the deceased—the defense theory of dark biology takes form. An unforgettable journey through the troubled minds and souls of Jane's ancestors, spanning decades and continents, this debut novel deftly illustrates the ways nature and nurture weave the fabric of one woman's life, and renders a portrait of one man left in its tragic wake.

So often we read books that are like comfortable chairs - they feel good, familiar, comfortable. This book is not like that. It's unlike anything else I have ever read - and it reeled me in and left me awed. While courtroom drama is familiar territory, Karen twists it and ties it in genetic knots that will leave you dying to trace your own family geneolgy. Trust me - READ THIS BOOK.