Family Tree - Barbara Delinsky (Kindle)

On September 22, I attended my very first book club meeting. I've been searching for one for ages, but have found that some book clubs are about anything BUT books. More often, they are the perfect opportunity to complain about the husband, brag about the kids, and gossip. If they get around to discussing the book of the month, this is just an added perk. This was not the case with this group of ladies. We ate, we laughed, we talked books. The selection for this month was "Family Tree" by Barbara Delinsky.

Dana and Hugh Clarke are the golden couple. Young and attractive, both with lucrative jobs, they are expecting their first baby. They live in a stately ocean-front home, afforded by not only successful careers, but Hugh's wealthy, Mayflower-decended, and rather snooty family of priviledge. Dana, on the other hand, never knew her one-night-stand father, and was raised by her grandmother when her mother died young. None of this really mattered, though, until...

the baby was born. With black features. Then all hell breaks loose. Did Dana have an affair with the handsome black neighbor? Is there an African American in her undocumented geneology? Accusations fly, trust is destroyed, and what should have been the happiest day of Dana's life turns into a nightmare. Who would have known that so many upstanding, honorable, do-gooder people in her life were actually closet bigots? To shut everyone up, Dana not only takes a paternity test, which is demeaning, but attempts to track down her parentage. Soon, multiple family secrets are revealed. The proverbial skeletons in the closet are not only out in the open, they are all partying on the front lawn with a live band and beer kegs.

Threaded throughout the primary plot are also themes of paternal responsibilities, fidelity, integration, false selves, and good old fashioned come-uppance.

The plot is intriguing and controversial. It was easy to feel Dana's terror, confusion and disappointment - can you even imagine the chaos that would ensue if two white people gave birth to a black baby? It is also not that hard to imagine the hypocrites coming out of the woodwork. You know, the ones that would volunteer on a committee to raise money for poor black children, but don't want it in their back yard? As sensitive as the topic is, it was handled with grace and tact. Now, is this another To Kill a Mockingbird or The Help? No. It is more of a Prejudice 101 "lite".

I didn't have much of a connection with Dana personally, however. While I sympathized with her situation, I often felt that she complained enough to feel like she was beating a dead horse. Issues, attitudes, insecurities and trust were discussed over and over again. I got the point already! I also did not love her husband Hugh either. While he had his strong points, he felt slightly unstable and weak. I'm not sure I could have forgiven him.

What the book club had to say: They may have liked the book a tad more than I did, but overall it seemed the group shared my sentiments. The book did inspire long discussions about the attitudes we see, even today, towards people of color...starting in high school and extending onward...attitudes we wish weren't there. We veered off course every so slightly to talk about men of color that would look good naked (sorry, but this was inevitable in a group of women). One club member admitted to having dated a black guy. Would we be understanding if our daughters or sons did the same? We talked about adoption - would we want to adopt a black, Hispanic or Asian baby? Bottom line? The book isn't going to blow your mind, but presents a premise that inspires thought-provoking questions.


3 out of 5 stars