Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Tracy Crisp, Wakefield Press, $29.95.
Surrogacy is an emotive subject because there are so many issues surrounding motherhood, children and families. The concerns are intense and penetrating.
Not only does Crisp touch on struggles of past generations, but also incorporated are modern dilemmas that still continue to cause apprehension.
The scenario is simple: Dr Cate O’Reilly approaches a young nurse, Rachael Carter, to house-sit. Cate and her lawyer husband, Drum, go to Vietnam, hoping to adopt a child. However, the road to parenthood turns out to be a rocky one.
Instead, they broach the subject of surrogacy with Rachael.
Rachael sees an opportunity to leave her own troubles behind, but is soon caught up in new struggles, both sexual and psychological. She discovers that this couple will do anything to see their dream of a child fulfilled.
The door opens an intimate issue. The problem is multi-faceted and surrogacy is a marvel.
The story then turns back in time, as the instinctive and poignant realities stretch out, and we return to when another mother from a different era is pressured to give her baby away.
Character lines are not tampered with much as the storyline aligns itself more tightly to motherhood. While the plot is more tightly bound to motherhood issues than character, Crisp’s brusque, unfussy prose, eye for detail and slightly down-to-earth sense of humour make Surrogate an absorbing read.
