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Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Book Brief: The Sabbathday River


The Sabbathday River
by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Farrar Straus Giroux, 1999
499 pages
source: borrowed from the library
click here for goodreads summary

One sentence summary:
Set in a small town near Hanover, New Hampshire, The Sabbathday River  borrows elements from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter  to tell a story of infanticide and the resulting trial.

My thoughts:
I read this page-turner for my book club and we found plenty of discussion-worthy legal, medical, and social issues. But the novel, published in 1999 and set in 1985, felt somewhat dated. This quote, for example, made me laugh out loud... probably because I remember using the Index Medicus.
"One day this [medical research studies] will all be on computer, you know, and you'll be able to just look it up. But for now it's a matter of slogging through the literature, and there's a good deal of it out there."
Jean Hanff Korelitz has written several other novels including A Jury of Her Peers, The White Rose, Admission, and most recently You Should Have Known (which is on my kindle). Have you read this author?

My rating:





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19 comments:

  1. bermudaonionSeptember 23, 2015 at 9:18 AM

    I really liked The Admission so I'd give this a try. It sounds like the book needed to be dated to be set in that time period.

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  2. Katherine PSeptember 23, 2015 at 9:21 AM

    This sounds interesting though the dated quote did make me laugh. Can you imagine one day it will all be on the computer! It's like in old mystery novels where the detective is looking for a payphone!

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  3. KaySeptember 23, 2015 at 9:27 AM

    Are there still payphones? I don't think so. Sorry, distracted. Yes, I've read You Should Have Known and I liked it very much. This one sounds like a book I should pick up. Who would have ever imagined that so much of our lives would be on computers or even more, a phone. LOL

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    1. JoAnnSeptember 23, 2015 at 6:14 PM

      Kay - The last pay phone I know of was at our library, but even that one is long gone, lol! Glad to know you liked You Should Have Known. I'm definitely inclined to read more by this author.

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  4. Brian JosephSeptember 23, 2015 at 9:48 AM

    It sounds as if this book tackles some really interesting issues.

    I do not think that the lack of technology inherent in the book would bother me. It is akin to folks not driving around in cars in a novel set in the 1800s :)

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    1. JoAnnSeptember 23, 2015 at 6:22 PM

      Brian Joseph - The book is interesting from a feminist standpoint... especially since the 80s wasn't that long ago.

      The lack of technology in the book bothered me in the sense that it's so dated, yet I lived through it. Not sure I like that my lifetime has become 'historical' ;-)

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  5. Emma LitttlefieldSeptember 23, 2015 at 3:41 PM

    I haven't heard of this book or author but it sounds interesting. Imagine a world where everything has to be looked up in books - printed on paper!

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    1. JoAnnSeptember 23, 2015 at 6:27 PM

      Emma - I'm old enough to have lived in that world. Yet it's strange the idea has become so horrifying... even to me!

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  6. JoAnnSeptember 23, 2015 at 6:25 PM

    Vicki - We read it because one member of the group randomly picked it up at the library and then couldn't put it down. I was afraid it would be a legal thriller with little to discuss, but was definitely wrong!

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  7. thecuecardSeptember 24, 2015 at 8:21 AM

    I had not heard of this novel or author but it does sound pretty interesting

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    1. JoAnnSeptember 24, 2015 at 6:03 PM

      Susan - It really was! I plan to read more by this author.

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  8. https://booksthoughtsadventures.comSeptember 24, 2015 at 7:48 PM

    This one is new to me but I know I have read at least one of her other books.

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    1. JoAnnSeptember 26, 2015 at 11:26 AM

      Patty - I'll definitely be reading more of her books.

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  9. Beth FSeptember 26, 2015 at 7:00 AM

    I don't know why I haven't read this yet. I liked The Admission and her newest is on my list. I OWNED Index Medicus!! (I used to edit medical texts, before they were sent overseas for this task)

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    1. JoAnnSeptember 26, 2015 at 11:28 AM

      Beth F - Admission was released at the same time my daughters were going through the process and I just couldn't face it then. Too close to real life, I guess. Still hope to read it one day.

      Index Medicus... ah, the memories ;-)

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  10. (Diane) Bibliophile By the SeaSeptember 27, 2015 at 7:16 AM

    We have come a long way in just 25plus years. We were talking about how our first computer cost over $2000 and had that dumb, cheap dot matrix printer...lol

    Sometimes it can be fun to flash back in these kinds of dated reads.

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    1. JoAnnSeptember 27, 2015 at 9:48 AM

      Diane - Yes we have! Still, it's a little strange to think your adult life has become so historic ;-)

      Delete

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