2019 Book Review #25: Orphan #8

This book caught my eye on the town library shelves because of the art work on the cover.

When I picked it up and read that it's based on the "forgotten world of New York City's Jewish orphanages, I just had to get it.

STORY SUMMARY

The book opens in 1919.  Rachel Rabinowitz is 4 years old.  She's the youngest child of Jewish people making a living in NYC.  Her older brother Sam is 6 years old and goes to kindergarten.

One day, mama finds out that her husband is having an affair with a girl from the factory where he works, and flies into a rage.  He retaliates by hitting her; she falls and dies with Rachel and Sam looking on.  They have no other family to claim them so they head to the Jewish orphanages.  Because Rachel is only 4 years old, she is placed in the Hebrew Infant Home and Sam goes to the Home for older children.  The social worker tries to find foster families to take them both but she has no luck.

Everything is not as it appears, however, in the orphanage.  A Dr Mildred Solomon is doing medical experiments on the children.  She subjects Rachel to many experimental X-ray treatments that help to build the doctor's reputation but it risks Rachel's health.

Now, it's 1954 and Rachel is a nurse in the hospice area of the Old Hebrews Home.  And one of her new patients is Dr Mildred Solomon who is dying of bone cancer! Rachel realizes the power she holds over the old doctor...the doctor who experimented on her leaving her hairless. also, Rachel has just discovered that she has breast cancer!  All because of those past X-ray treatments.  So Rachel begins to think about how she can exact revenge on the old lady.  Before the night shift ends, Rachel will need to make a decision between life and death and between forgiveness and revenge.

MY THOUGHTS

I enjoyed the premise of this story....the real life events that inspired the story are explained in the back of the book by the author. The interesting thing to me is the author's maiden name is Berger and that's the last name of my colleague I teach with.  She married a Jewish man named Berger from the NYC area...same as the author's ancestors!  So I wondered if there might be a connection.  I mentioned it to my co-worker and she was going to try to find out!

The character development is very good.  The novel is powerful in that it talks about friendship, the capacity to harm someone but also to love.

The book touches on Rachel's self identity and the fact that she has to learn to accept her self as a lesbian.  She seems to have difficulty with this and it isn't just because of the era in which she lives. She also has to deal with unwanted advanced by boys and an uncle. Abuse is rampant in this story...from the medical experiments and emotional neglect of the institution to the groping of the uncle when she is an older teen reconnected with her brother.  When her brother talks about the concentration camps he has seen during his time in the army, she likens it to the medical experiments she endured as a child.

This book also deals with "coming of age" issues and self-acceptance.

I like how each chapter was either in the past with Rachel's back story or in the present with Rachel's dilemma as a nurse.

What I didn't like about the book was the sexual scene between Rachel and her lover Naomi.  I found it quite distasteful for historical fiction.  I understand the importance of the whole homosexuality topic for that era but the sexual scenes could have been left out.  

It was interesting to read the author's notes about the Jewish orphanages in NYC during the beginning of the 20th century.  

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to some mature and graphic content).

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 7.