Thursday, June 12, 2008

Janeology


Janeology by Karen Harrington ~~ Jane, a loving mother of two, has drowned her toddler 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.


This is not your typical "ripped from the headline" story of a mother who kills her child in the midst of a depressive episode. It turns into a tale of a husband who is then put on trial himself , to be held for his own accountability in the death of his child. He wasn't even at home at the time of the killing, put the prosecutors go after him because he should have known his wife wasn't stable and they feel he did nothing to stop it! Is he responsible for his wife's actions??? Is she even responsible? His attorney has a very ingenious approach to getting his client off. As someone who has a degree in Early Childhood Education, I have always found the whole debate of 'nature vs. nurture' very interesting. Is someone predisposed to violence because their ancestors were violent? Or because of the way they were raised (be it by their natural parents or through adoption). Ms. Harrington doesn't answer the typical mystery question of who or how....but of why? A unique twist on an old genre. A powerful story that will leave Tom & Jane with you long after you finish the book. A

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow so turned off by that summary..., although the idea of defense due to genealogy is interesting.

Lori's Reading Corner said...

It's good so far. I'll let you know at the end how it reall is. The author herself sent it to me :)

Anonymous said...

This looks good! Can't wait to see your review:)