Family Law
A Novel
-
- CHF 7.50
-
- CHF 7.50
Beschreibung des Verlags
When an ambitious female lawyer becomes the victim of harassment, she must decide what's more important: her family's safety or the rights she's fighting for?
Set in Alabama in the early '80s, Family Law follows a young lawyer, Lucia, who is making a name for herself at a time when a woman in a courtroom is still a rarity. She's received plenty of threats for her work extricating women and children from troubled relationships, but her own happy marriage has always felt far removed from her work. When her mother's pending divorce brings teenaged Rachel into Lucia's orbit, Rachel finds herself captivated not only with Lucia, but with the change Lucia represents. Rachel is out-spoken and curious, and she chafes at the rules her mother lays down as the bounds of acceptable feminine behavior. In Lucia, Rachel sees the potential for a new path into womanhood. But their unconventional friendship takes them both to a crossroads. When a moment of violence--a threat made good--puts Rachel in danger, Lucia has to decide how much her work means to her and what she's willing to sacrifice to keep moving forward.
Written in alternating voices from Lucia and Rachel's perspectives, Family Law is a fresh take on what the push for women's rights looks like to the ordinary women and girls who long for a world redefined. Addressing mother daughter relationships and what roles we can play in the lives of women who aren't our family, the novel examines how we shape each other and how we make a difference. The funny, strong, and yet tender-hearted female leads of Family Law illuminate a new kind of timeless Southern fiction--atmospheric, rich, and with quietly surprising twists and nuances all its own.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Phillips's uneven dual narrative set in early 1980s Alabama (after The Hidden Summer) is stronger in its exploration of women's resistance to the status quo than it is in its lackluster attempt at examining racism. Lucia Gilbert, a formidable divorce lawyer, grew up in Alabama with racist parents and specializes in helping women fight for their rights. Rachel Morris, the 13-year-old daughter of prospective client Margaret, befriends Lucia after they meet in Lucia's office, though Margaret ultimately declines her services in favor of someone who's less of a feminist firebrand. Rachel, though, begins regularly visiting her house, where she marvels at the differences between Lucia's refined household and her own, as bookcases are filled with books rather than potpourri and "endless figurines." After gunshots are fired at Lucia's home, Lucia and the already jealous Margaret both insist Rachel stay away, though Lucia's example of independence continues to influence Rachel. Meanwhile, Lucia and Rachel both chafe at the racist jokes that pour forth from family and friends—though much of this feels unfortunately gratuitous. Worse, while Lucia's reflections on the unjust misfortunes of a former Black client's 13-year-old daughter shed some light on her interest in looking out for Rachel, who is white, the absence of Black voices in the narrative makes the gesture at consciousness feel hollow. Readers ought to take a pass. Kimberly Witherspoon, InkWell Management.
