GG Book Review: A Jest of God

Laurence, Margaret. A Jest of God.  University of Chicago Press (1966).

For years Rachel Cameron has dreamed of leaving her small town and manipulative mother; but duty and caution have kept her at home.  At thirty-four, she finally confronts passion and death, and realizes that she cannot continue to sacrifice love and freedom, but needs both to survive.  Rachel’s passage toward self-discovery is one we will all recognize — one that is exciting, sad, funny, and true.

This book was absolutely fantastic!  A marvelous story about a woman coming into her own and finding her voice.  I am sure men can appreciate Laurence’s down to earth prose, but this is really a book about a woman for women. 

A Jest of God deals with the relationship between mother and daughter, sisters, men and women, and a woman’s self.  The protagonist, Rachel has three realities in her life; the one she feels she is expected to live, the one she believes others experience and the reality inside the darkest parts of her mind.  I think many Readers can relate to the fact that Rachel’s inner dialogue is somewhat shocking (given the time period) and very taboo.  She is hard on herself and others, but constantly begs herself to stop thinking those things. 

She also has a feeling that she is missing out on life. Rachel is stuck at home with a mother who would put a Jedi to shame with her subtle mind tricks. Her mother guilts Rachel into staying with her so that she can have someone to take care of her.  I think the mother-daughter relationship in this book is very real.  Although not everyone’s mother is that subversive, or that needy, there is a feeling of duty as the child of an aging parent.  They have looked after you your whole life and now they need help, but at what cost to yourself?  This is a balance that Rachel has not achieved. Her sister’s answer was to run away, so Rachel feels all the responsibility of care giving.

On top of all of these feelings of guilt and uncertainty, she finds herself entangled with a man who has her feeling completely new things.  She does not trust him, nor does he want her to, but she can’t help but make him her salvation.  Add this to an ever-growing complicated relationship with her coworker Calla and you have all of the ingredients for a breakdown.  Does Rachel manage to find her voice before she breaks down completely?   You will have to read it to find out.

Although I loved the story, there were 3 spelling mistakes in this book.  Not minor ones either.  I hate when that happens as it ruins the flow of the book and the meaning of the sentence.  I keep getting drawn to it on the page.  For this reason, I can’t give it 5 “ehs” but it came pretty darn close.  Even though this version has an afterword by Margaret Atwood (love!!) I would buy the version published by McClelland & Stewart. It may not have the spelling errors.