Reviewer: Allie
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This story is presented in the form of a personal journal. Amelia Gifford is studying at Edinburgh University in Scotland, 1964, when she discovers she’s pregnant. As with any unplanned pregnancy, especially in the early 1960’s, the situation is complicated. Although Amelia’s in love with the father of the baby, she knows they have no future together. This leaves Amelia with a difficult decision to make. The book is divided into sections, with the first section laying out the events leading up to the pregnancy. In the remaining three sections, each of Amelia’s choices is played out, which reminded me of Sliding Doors with the whole question of “what if?” Each section takes place over a year, with Amelia writing about her feelings and what’s happening in her life as she deals with the repercussions of the choice she’s made, as well as the reactions of those around her. In one section Amelia gives the baby up for adoption, in another she has an abortion. In the final part, Amelia decides to keep her baby. Each section ends with a letter to Carolyne (the baby) twenty-one years after her due date or birthday.
The book is well written. I love the concept of examining our decisions and wondering where we’d be if we’d made different choices. How different would our lives be if we’d done this, instead of that? Obviously, the dilemma of an unplanned pregnancy is huge – life changing. I had trouble connecting to the story, which truly surprised me because my mother became unexpectedly pregnant about the same time as the character in the book. So I’m very aware of the lasting impact this can have on a person. The time period is relevant, because women had so few options back then, which is hard for those of us born in the last forty years to fully comprehend. Still, I was left with a feeling that there was only one choice for Amelia, which felt a little forced on me. I think perhaps the story would’ve flowed better if there’d been three different woman facing the same decision and taking different paths.
The diary format worked against the story, because there were times when Amelia droned on and on and I just skipped passages. At times, she was very unkind to herself and it was depressing. Also, because it was the same person and the same year for three sections, there was a great deal of repetition. The book was thought provoking and the letters to the daughter were beautiful and heartfelt, but it was a heavy read. It read more like a heartbreaking memoir than a work of fiction. Perhaps if I’d been prepared for that, I’d have different opinions about the book.
3 stars
About the Author: Abigail B. Calkin’s first novel, Nikolin, was a finalist for the 1994 Benjamin Franklin Award. She is currently working on her third novel, a historical fiction sequel to Nikolin. She is a consulting editor for the Journal of Precision Teaching. Raised in Framingham Centre, Massachusetts, and New York’s Greenwich Village, she now lives in rural Alaska.
Abigail B. Calkin Official website: http://www.abigailbcalkin.com/
Links for The Carolyne Letters:
Amazon – http://bit.ly/carolyneletters
Barnes & Noble – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-carolyne-letters-author-calkin/1114718533?ean=9781938301155
Goodreads –http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17381757-the-carolyne-letters?from_search=true
