by Ian McEwan
First published 2014
Judge Fiona Maye sits in London's High Court facing an impossible decision. A seventeen-year-old boy with leukemia will die without a blood transfusion. His Jehovah's Witness parents support his refusal of treatment on religious grounds. The hospital demands the court intervene to save his life. Fiona must determine whether the boy truly understands his choice or remains under his parents' influence. She visits him in the hospital, finding him articulate and passionate about his faith. Meanwhile, her marriage to Jack deteriorates as he grows tired of their childless, work-consumed life. The case forces Fiona to examine her own beliefs about life, death, and the authority she wields. Her judicial decision will determine whether the boy lives or dies, but the emotional aftermath proves more complex than any legal ruling.
Genres: fiction, drama, literary-fiction, contemporary, psychological-thriller, legal-thriller
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: judicial-decision, moral-dilemma, unreliable-narrator
Setting: England, London
221 pages · Hardcover · Nan A. Talese
Content warnings: medical-trauma