Absolution

Just finished Absolution by Alice McDermott and I can’t stop thinking about it. Not only is it beautifully written, with nuanced characters that seem more than real, but it raises, throughout the book, the question of how do we do good in the world. The first issue, of course, is seeing, that is, seeing the need, opening our eyes. But then once we see, what exactly are we able to accomplish? Do we have any power at all, and is any of it effective? It’s from the point of view of a woman in the early sixties, so it gives a good portrait of life for women in that era, how powerless they were, yet it seems we all have some power. And maybe, for each of us, that power is limited to what we can do for another person. The book doesn’t give any answers, but the questions are profound.