The Condition: A book review

I'm reading The Condition by Jennifer Haigh, which is available on Bookshare for members and Amazon. It'a a novel about family dynamics, but deals with them over a number of years, which is an interesting approach. As the novel begins, thirty five year old Paulette's and Frank's children are in their teens and preteens. They are just noticing that their daughter Gwen is not developing as quickly as her cousins are. The book then skips to when the children are in their 30's, after Paulette and Frank have divorced. Billy, the oldest, is hiding a secret; Gwen, who was diagnosed with Turner Syndrome*, struggles with her relationship with her mother and vice versa; and Scott, the youngest and labeled the most "difficult" child, sees his own issues in his son.

I haven't finished the book yet, but find the family and relationship dynamics that are described concerning Gwen and her parents more interesting than in most books I read that deal with the issue of raising a child with a disability or illness. For example, Frank is a scientist and he's always seeking out the latest treatments, then questioning what was done or not done. Paulette, on the other hand, is mostly concerned with appearance - how Gwen dresses to minimize her looking like a boy due to her small stature, for example. She also pushes her daughter into awkward social situations, like a nightmare blind date with a six foot plus basketball player, trying to normalize things (she thinks she knows what normal is). Although there is no question that, despite the dysfunction, family members love each other, the book realistically portrays how not allowing Gwen to live with Turner Syndrome and be herself causes everyone more pain in the end than is necessary. My understanding is that this gets somewhat resolved, but I'm not done reading the book yet.

What's most interesting is that the author shows that if these dynamics didn't swirl around "the condition", they would probably be about something else, considering the petty concerns of the characters at the opening of the novel. Very good read.

*Turner Syndrome results in short stature and loss of ovarian function. Please click above link for further information.