BETTER TO TRUST

A woman’s traumatic illness and recovery prompt her to reexamine her life in this novel.

At the start of Frimmer’s story, 38-year-old teacher Alison Jacobs abruptly collapses, gets rushed to her local hospital, and feels very weak and woozy even after she regains consciousness. Preliminary examinations reveal bleeding in her brain, presenting an urgent need for surgery. Although grave news, there is a silver lining: Her sister’s husband, Grant Kaplan, is an expert neurosurgeon and has a good deal of experience with cases like hers. The operation proceeds, and although it seems successful, it fundamentally changes Alison’s life. Her long healing process almost totally impairs her, leaving her heavily reliant on the in-home caregiver who helps her with everything from eating to getting out of bed and using the bathroom. The novel deftly dramatizes Alison’s experiences with recovery and rehabilitation. During this difficult time, she and her friends are following in the local newspaper the story of a man suing Grant for malpractice. The patient claims he was harmed during exactly the kind of brain operation Grant performed on Alison. This development naturally raises uncomfortable questions about whether or not some of Alison’s own postoperative symptoms are Grant’s fault. Alongside this main tale, Frimmer works in subplots involving Grant and Alison’s niece, Sadie. The author does a very smooth and readable job of shifting the narrative point of view among these three players. Grant is almost immediately revealed as a fairly unsympathetic character, an arrogant showboater with a slightly unfeeling air. “He relished the sound of the pneumatic drill as it tunneled through the bone,” readers are told at one point, “the sharp pop as the scalpel pierced the dura, and the familiar smell of bone dust in the air.” Far more appealing and intriguing is Alison’s transformation, both medical and personal, as the narrative progresses. Frimmer chronicles this multipart drama with warmth and a sharp narrative intelligence, and although Sadie’s plot strand is noticeably weaker than the others, even there the story’s tender humanity saves the day.

A thoughtful and multifaceted tale of recuperation and reinvention.