Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall - Book Review

Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall

Publication Date: 07th Feb 2023 (first published on 1st March 2022)

Genre: Historical Women’s Fiction, Multi-timeline 

3.7 Stars 

One Liner: A much-needed theme, but the storytelling isn’t great 

*****

Angela Creighton discovers a letter with a confession and decides to find the receipt. It leads her to the 1970s when abortions were illegal, and a group of women ran an underground network with a code, Jane, to help women get abortions through safe medical practices. 

In the 1960s, a young Evelyn Taylor is dropped at the home for unwed mothers and forced to give up her baby for adoption. Years later, she is Dr. Taylor and a part of the Jane Network. 

 It’s the 1980s, and Nancy discovers a truth about her life. How does it affect her? How do the lives of the three women meet in the present in 2017? 

The story comes in limited third-person POVs of multiple characters. 

What I Like: 

The plot presents the true stories of countless women (300,000 Canadian women, according to the statistics shared by the author) who were forced into homes for unwed mothers and had to give up their babies for adoption. 

The book combines the Canadian version of Magdalene laundries and the lack of a woman’s choice to decide whether or not she wants to keep her pregnancy. It also deals with the trauma of infertility and recurring miscarriages (presenting them as two sides of the same coin). 

Many real-life events are woven into the story. Dr. Henry Morgentaler also makes an appearance in the book. As someone with limited knowledge of Canada’s history, I could learn a little more about the country’s past. 

The sections dealing with the Jane Network and the House of Unwed Mothers are very well-done. These are the strong points of the book. There are itsy-bitsy pieces of sharp, dark humor that add to the narration. 

What Could Have Been Better for Me:

The book is more like a collection of events than a proper story. While it has an intricate and complex plot, there are many loose ends and plot holes. The book relies on the emotional impact theme to carry off the plot, which doesn’t always work. 

The characters are distinct but don’t have a proper arc. We know who they are, and that pretty much sums them up. While it is easy to connect to themes, it is hard to connect to the characters (feels like watching them on the screen). 

The ‘twist’ or revelation is predictable, and I guessed it halfway through. The ending, though perfect for the title, leaves many unanswered questions. That’s not something I like after reading 400 pages. 

To summarize, Looking for Jane is a poignant debut novel about women’s rights over their bodies. The book is a debut novel and it shows in narration and execution. But read it for the themes- the past, present, and future. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

#NetGalley #LookingForJane 

***

P.S.: Rounding it up to 4 stars because of the theme, the author’s research, and because I could speed-read it without missing vital plot details. 

***

P.P.S: I saw posts about St Brigid of Kildare (Ireland) on my social media feed when reading the book. Brigid (Brigit) is supposedly a pagan mother goddess Christianized as St Brigid, and Imbolc in the Gaelic calendar ended up as St Brigid’s Day (on 1st Feb). 

A certain post mentioned that Brigid wasn’t only a mother goddess but especially took care of unwed pregnant girls and helped them. I couldn’t help but think about how a land that worshipped Brigid went on to become a home for the Magdalene Laundries and continued to have such harsh abortion laws until recent years.