Small Great Things

I was listening to the book Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. At the same time I am hearing the news from Minneapolis where car loads of white supremacists are rumored to be stashing bottles of gasoline in Minneapolis neighborhoods, the author of this book introduces a character named Turk Bauer. Turk is a white supremacist living in Connecticut. He is married to another white supremacist and her father is the leader of the white supremacists in the area. Reality and fiction are getting a little too close for comfort. Turk Bauer is a disturbing character. He is full of hate and anger. He has swastikas tattooed on his scalp. Turk is a violent man. What is more disturbing is that the author writes about him in such a way that I had to admire him too. He wasn't all bad. He is a kind and loyal husband who wants to assist her through her pregnancy in any way he can. At the hospital he objects when Ruth Jefferson assists his child. He requests that no persons of color assist him new son. Of course things go wrong and like all Jodi Picoult novels there is a long legal trial. I understand this book will be made into a movie. Julia Roberts will play the attorney and Viola Davis will play Ruth Jefferson. I give credit to Picoult for daring to write a book about racism. In the interview after the book she admits her own prejudices and is very honest. I admire that. I enjoyed the book but I thought she developed the character of Turk Bauer better than Ruth Jefferson. The ending was a tad melodramatic but overall it was a good book to read.