EVERYBODY HAS EVERYTHING

Toronto-based journalist Onstad pens a novel that asks if everyone is cut out for parenthood. The book also addresses marital relationships in the modern world, in which both men and women are married to careers that define them. 

While Ana is rising in her career as a research lawyer in a major firm, her husband, James, a television journalist, has just been laid off and covers his unemployment status by telling people that he is writing a book. Ana and James have put a lot of time and considerable money into fertility treatments and testing without successfully bringing a child into their lives. Things change when they become guardians of 2-year-old Finn. Little Finn’s mother, Sarah, is in a coma after being seriously injured in the car accident that killed Finn's father. The father’s will specified that his friend James would be his child’s guardian in the event of his death. James takes pleasure in being a loving, attentive father to Finn. Ana, on the other hand, is constantly worried about potential disasters and finds the responsibility overwhelming. Ultimately, she realizes she doesn’t really want to be a mother but also that such a sentiment is not one a woman can easily express. The ending does not resolve all issues raised but does offer hope for a bright future.

A fine novel about contemporary parenting and relationships.