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by: Jacquelyn Mitchard
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780066210230
ISBN: 0066210232
Label: Harper Collins Publishers
Manufacturer: Harper Collins Publishers
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 351
Publication Date: June 01, 2001
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Release Date: June 19, 2001
Sales Rank: 1196933
Studio: Harper Collins Publishers
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Jacquelyn Mitchard's first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, launched the Oprah's Book Club and riveted millions of readers across the country. Now comes A Theory of Relativity, Mitchard's most compelling and beautifully written novel yet.
At twenty-four, Gordon McKenna thinks he's already heard the worst news of his life when he learns that his sister Georgia is fatally ill. Then Georgia and her husband die in a car accident, leaving behind their baby daughter, Keefer. Gordon and his parents are able to survive their sorrow only by devoting themselves to the care of the beloved one-year-old.
But the decision of who will raise Keefer is far from over, and soon Gordon's most basic assumptions about his family will be challenged in ways so provocative that he will be driven to disbelief and then to outrage. The ordeal will test the bonds of this closely knit family, challenging even love's ultimate capacity to heal.
Amazon.com Review:
'They died instantly.' When it comes to first sentences, it's hard to beat the car-crash immediacy of A Theory of Relativity. What follows, alas, is even more wrenching, if not nearly as black and white. Having perished in the wreck, Georgia and Ray McKenna leave behind an orphaned 1-year-old girl named Keefer--and handsome, self-involved Gordon McKenna decides to adopt his adored sister's child. Unfortunately, that's not what his affluent in-laws have in mind. The ensuing custody battle turns into a protracted legalistic horror show: a kind of Bleak House for the Oprah age, complete with appeals, retrials, PR campaigns, and even last-minute legislation.
The case is all about what's best for Keefer--right? Actually, it's also about what constitutes a family, how much genes determine our fate, and the precise meaning of blood relative. Author of the gripping family dramas The Deep End of the Ocean and The Most Wanted, Jacquelyn Mitchard is no stranger to this fictional territory. To her credit, she has created a story without heroes or villains--but also one that could have used a little more editorial nip-and-tuck. The narrative is strongly weighted toward monologue and exposition, and as a result, a compelling story ends up hampered by an awareness of its own consequence. (There's also an abundance of dialogue like 'no wettie!' and 'uckie,' which reminds us that fiction is one place where toddlers should be seen and not heard.) Still, Mitchard is a canny student of the human heart, and in the age of cloning, in vitro fertilization, and alternative families, the nature versus nurture debate seems more relevant than ever. The author may be no Dickens, but you could call her sentimental in the same way: unafraid, that is, to appeal to her readers' strongest emotions. --Chloe Byrne
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Excellent read
I think this book was very entertaining and thought provoking. It's a good book-club book!
Rating: - Excellent
I read this book years ago and just re-read it now. I found it as wonderful the second time as the first. As an adopted child, the underlying "who is family" question throughout the book really hit home and was handled beautifully. I think it would be an excellent book for anyone in a book club - definitely a book great for discussion.
Rating: - Good from the first page
This is the best book I have read for a while. So many are carbon copies of others with just different characters. This was a story with real people and a real premise. I enjoyed it from the first page through the end and highly recommend it.
Rating:  - Audio Book Listener
The characters in this book were well developed- but there were so MANY of them!
I wanted to make a Family Tree just to keep them all straight!
If you've never tried listening to Aduio Books, you should give them a try- they're WONDERFUL entertainment while doing housework, traveling, gardening, and you don't have to turn on the light when you want to "read" at night!
Rating:  - Just okay
I was really looking forward to reading this because a friend highly recommended it. I'm pretty open minded (especially after having read "Running with Scissors") so I'm surprised it didn't enjoy it.
The characters were well developed but the writing was hard to follow. Hence, I too, caught myself re-reading portions to clear up the confusion. A lot of tangents...kind of like conversations with girlfriends over a few glasses of wine.
Being from Madison, it's always ... Read More
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