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A review by stacyculler
Fortune's Daughter by Alice Hoffman
3.0
I am a huge fan of Alice Hoffman’s writing normally, but this one was just ok for me.
This is the story of Lila and Rae, and pregnancy. Rae is pregnant and without a support system. Therefore she latches on to Lila, for some reason, although the connection and reason for her attraction seems inexplicable to me.
Lila is not really welcoming of the attention, as she has her own issues. She has buried her emotions from having given up her daughter at birth, and kept her history secret from her husband. But Rae will not take no for an answer as she tries to convince Lila that she needs her as a birth coach.
This story reads more like short stories of various women’s birth stories than it does a novel. I always enjoy birth stories, and as always, Alice Hoffman throws in a bit of the mystical into the experience, which is enjoyable.
Overall, though, I was thrown off by the disordered narrative and the shifting perspectives are confusing.
I did like Story about the cottage that was built for mothers who had lost their babies at birth: the women of the village would take gifts and leave them at the door for the grieving mother daily, and she was left to grieve in solitude for 6 days, with only the daily gifts left at the door. On day 7, they set the cabin ablaze, with the mother inside. It was her choice whether to remain inside or emerge. She always emerges, realizing that, indeed she still has the will to live, and is among the first to help rebuild the cottage.
That story was rather powerful.
This is the story of Lila and Rae, and pregnancy. Rae is pregnant and without a support system. Therefore she latches on to Lila, for some reason, although the connection and reason for her attraction seems inexplicable to me.
Lila is not really welcoming of the attention, as she has her own issues. She has buried her emotions from having given up her daughter at birth, and kept her history secret from her husband. But Rae will not take no for an answer as she tries to convince Lila that she needs her as a birth coach.
This story reads more like short stories of various women’s birth stories than it does a novel. I always enjoy birth stories, and as always, Alice Hoffman throws in a bit of the mystical into the experience, which is enjoyable.
Overall, though, I was thrown off by the disordered narrative and the shifting perspectives are confusing.
I did like Story about the cottage that was built for mothers who had lost their babies at birth: the women of the village would take gifts and leave them at the door for the grieving mother daily, and she was left to grieve in solitude for 6 days, with only the daily gifts left at the door. On day 7, they set the cabin ablaze, with the mother inside. It was her choice whether to remain inside or emerge. She always emerges, realizing that, indeed she still has the will to live, and is among the first to help rebuild the cottage.
That story was rather powerful.