First published 2018
A woman weighs the decision to have a child, questioning whether her desire for parenthood stems from selfishness or genuine love. She wonders if having a baby would transform her into a better person or if she should find that kindness without bringing another life into the world. Her reflections interweave with explorations of X-ray technology, psychoanalysis, and the beginnings of modern surgical practice. These scientific developments mirror her own attempts to see beneath surfaces and understand hidden truths. The novel moves between her present uncertainty and historical moments when medicine first learned to peer inside the human body. Through this dual lens of personal and scientific discovery, she examines what it means to truly see another person and what we imagine about ourselves as parents and children.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, medical, contemporary, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, introspective, unreliable-narrator
198 pages · Hardcover · John Murray