What I got was a well-written, original novel that explores the role of motherhood as well as the state's role in protecting children and families. Chan balances the book between the realities of our world and the nightmare of a slightly different world where the book takes place. It was really thoughtful, uncomfortable, and unforgettable. It was also straight torture to read. And I don't even have kids! I'm not sure I could recommend this book to anyone because it stressed me out so much to read it.
***SPOILERS***
Frida Liu has a "very bad day" and leaves her toddler Harriet at home alone for a couple of hours. It is a very bad decision by a woman who is so tired and stressed that she can't think straight. But when neighbors call the police for a crying child, Frida unwillingly enters the system. Although it is clear to Frida's ex-husband and the reader that she is not a danger to her child, Harriet is taken away from Frida until a hearing can determine if she is safe to parent.
The judge forces Frida into a pilot program for bad parents. She must attend this program (basically jailed at an abandoned liberal arts campus) for a year. If she doesn't go, fails out, or is otherwise difficult, her parental rights will be terminated and she will be put on a national registry of neglectful mothers that will follow her for the rest of her life.
The school is bad from the beginning, but just when I think it can't get any worse, it does. The women "teachers" walk around in pink lab coats. Anything the women do is deemed selfish and bad for their children. The women practice on little (super advanced) robot children that look, act, think, and feel like real children. If they don't show real love and affection for this almost real doll, they will lose access to their real children. They only get ten minutes per week of phone time with their kids, but even this is often taken away as punishment. Frida goes months without talking to Harriet.
The hypocrisy of the school is hard to stomach. Taking parents away from their kids for a year damages the children often more than the parent's original infraction. They intentionally hurt the dolls to get a response, so the parents can practice "soothing" them. The women can have nothing in their lives but caring for their doll and hoping to get their children back. Loneliness, even birthdays, are deemed selfish and unmotherly. And then in the end, they terminate Frida's parental rights anyway! She went through that hell of a year for nothing! The only thing getting me through this book was hoping she could get Harriet back with as little damage to their relationship as possible.
***END SPOILERS***
This book will make you think and may even change your perspective. I'm not going to forget it, but it was difficult to get through.
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