Reader's Ink discussion

What drew Marina to her old mentor, Annick Swenson? Compare and contrast the two women. How does Annick see Marina? Barbara Bovender tells Marina, “She’s such a force of nature. . . . a woman completely fearless, someone who sees the world without limitations.” Is this a fair assessment of Annick? How would you describe her? How has the elderly doctor’s past shaped the person she is and the choices she has made? How does their history impact their current relationship?

I just read our fellow book club members review of the book, and I agree a lot with her comment about Annick, where she said it takes a lot to keep her angry through a whole book about a character. Annick riled me some too in the early stages of the book, when we finally met her. I was agitated when we knew nothing about their office mate except he was buried, and that all seemed very fishy to me.

Annick grew on me quite a bit, and as relationships go, to reunite Marina and her was quite interesting. I was intrigued to see the dynamics build between the two of them, and ultimately respect.

Somewhere I have notes I made about this book and I had to take it back to the library about 2 1/2 weeks ago. Will add more when I find them.

I was getting mighty anxious at what seemed to be the world's best gatekeepers in the Bovenders. What a pain in the arse they were.

Jumping over from the Ending thread to say that, the more I think about it, the more I feel like all of Dr. Swensen's activities revolve around what's easiest for her.

There's Easter (as already mentioned). There's Anders and her claim that he died, which was easier for her and avoided any disruption to her research. Even her attempts to get Marina to stay seemed less about Marina and any particular skill Marina brought and more about what was easiest for Dr. Swensen. Rather than find a more appropriate test subject, Dr. Swensen impregnated herself with no interest in that child's future well being or what her death could do to her research.

Dr. Swensen has a profound lack of empathy for the people around her. She's robotic - intelligent enough to know what should be said and to pick up on the societal expectations for interactions - but she lacks an emotional core. She claims to care because it's what is expected, not because she actually cares. In some ways, I'd almost say she's a psychopath (which brings to mind a friend's rather amusing theory that one must be a psychopath to succeed in academia, but that's a story for another day).

Here's a definition of psychopaths from Scientific American:

"Superficially charming, psychopaths tend to make a good first impression on others and often strike observers as remarkably normal. Yet they are self-centered, dishonest and undependable, and at times they engage in irresponsible behavior for no apparent reason other than the sheer fun of it. Largely devoid of guilt, empathy and love, they have casual and callous interpersonal and romantic relationships. Psychopaths routinely offer excuses for their reckless and often outrageous actions, placing blame on others instead. They rarely learn from their mistakes or benefit from negative feedback, and they have difficulty inhibiting their impulses."

So ladies, what do we think? Psychopath or just a bit eccentric?

I enjoyed the character of Annick--I thought she was really fully realized by Patchett.

I think an old-fashioned desire to please the teacher is what drew Marina to Annick, but I thought Marina should have exhibited a lot more resentment toward her than she did (for the stunt she pulled with the c-section).

I don't know that I'd call Annick a psychopath, but she's absolutely, wholly selfish--which is why I thought her nursing Easter back to health WAS a break in her self-absorption, though she quickly assumed him for her own use.