BOOK REVIEWS Courtesy of Beaverdale Books
‘Irreplaceable’
By Stephen Lovely
Hyperion Books
Pub Date: 2/9/2010
$14.99
352 pp
How many people does it take to replace a heart? Iowa City author Stephen Lovely delves into the complexities of organ transplants and those affected by them in his debut novel “Irreplaceable,” now in paperback.
We meet Isabel only briefly, riding her bicycle on a country road, racing home to beat a storm, when she is struck and killed by a truck driven by Jasper. Isabel’s husband Alex, dealing with his grief over the loss of his wife, cannot reconcile with her wish to be an organ donor. As Alex and Isabel’s mother, Bernice, bond over their shared loss, they also disagree about letting the recipient of Isabel’s heart, Janet, into their lives. They also have to redefine their relationship when Alex allows himself to move on and let another woman become part of his life.
Janet, meanwhile, realizes that having a new heart means a whole new set of problems — from the medications she must take to the pressure to always feel grateful to the dietary restrictions that she also imposes upon her family (Oh, what she would give for a bacon cheeseburger!). Her husband Mark is growing tired of the whole ordeal — this is not what he signed up for. And Jasper feels that he should be recognized for saving Janet’s life.
Lovely capably juggles the intersecting stories of each character, and it’s not always pretty. The novel was inspired by his time spent working in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and also give an insider’s view of what it is like to be waiting for an organ donor. “Irreplaceable” is thought-provoking and makes a good selection for book clubs. CV — Review by Alice Meyer
