Published: May 2014 (this edition)
Publisher: Black Swan
Pages: 482
Source: Library Copy
“Dear Thing” is a real emotional rollercoaster of a book
which tackles the topic of surrogacy; it’s so beautifully absorbing that you
will not be able to put it down.
Ben and Claire have an almost perfect life; the only thing
missing is a baby. They have been trying to have a baby for years and have gone
through numerous tests and cycles of IVF, after their latest failure Claire
decides she’s had enough and begins to a contemplate life without children. Ben
is heartbroken and seeks comfort with best friend and single mum Romily. Romily
in a drunken haze offers to be a surrogate for Ben and Claire, she found pregnancy
easy with her daughter Posie and would
do anything to help her friends. Before she really has chance to let this idea
sink in she finds she’s pregnant and there is no going back. When reality sinks
in Romily’s feelings which she has kept hidden for so long are beginning to surface
and could threaten her friendship with Ben and Claire and potentially wreck
their marriage. This is the story of an impossible decision when there are two
mothers and only one baby.
Surrogacy is not a topic which is written about very much
but Cohen has done a wonderful job of highlighting the issues that arise and
showing us both sides of the story. It really tugs at your heart as right from
the first page you feel the heartbreak Ben and Claire are suffering and you can
feel the despair as they face yet another setback in their dreams. Cohen has
made the reader feel like they are also feeling the emotions of the characters
and as the story is told from the perspectives of Claire, Ben and Romily you feel like you are pulled one way
then another.
I think Cohen has done a brilliant job in the portrayal of
the two contrasting “mothers”. Claire is the perfect motherly type, she’s organised,
caring, loves cooking from scratch and you can tell her whole focus will be on
making “Thing” completely happy, the only thing she can’t do is conceive and
carry her child. Romily is dis-organised, forgetful and more focused on her own
life than Posie’s, but she has the perfect body for growing a baby. Both
totally different but both want the baby so much.
I think my favourite character was Romily’s daughter
Mariposa “Posie”, I just love that unique name and thought it suited this very
intelligent and insightful seven year old perfectly. I thought Posie brought
some light- heartedness to a book which was needed when dealing with such a serious
topic.
The title “Dear Thing” comes from the letters which Romily
begins to write to the unborn baby as a way to work out her feelings that are
churning inside her. It’s through these letters that we learn more about Romily
and why she makes such a huge gesture to her friends and I think they help us
to understand her and the way she is with Posie.
This book is truly gripping and I loved that things didn’t
always go the way you expected, which kept you just wanting more. This is not
just a book about surrogacy and longing for a child, it’s about friendship,
about finally letting go of the past and about realising what you thought you
wanted is not always what you need. It is a book which will stay with you for a
long time and one which I thing anyone who has a child should read. Truly breath-taking, I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
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