THE BOOK FAIR

     THE

GOOD

SISTER

Author:      Drusilla Campbell

Published: 2010

Genre:        Fiction

Cover:        Paperback

Pages:        324

Review:

Campbell creates the tale of a family’s perfect storm with the story of Simeon, a mentally ill woman and of her family’s persistent denial of her illness.  The story often flashes back to childhood memories.

 

As the story opens, Simeon stands trial for the attempted murder of her children.  Though the family had warnings throughout the years that Simeon suffered depression, collectively, the family brushed it aside.

Simeon’s husband, in denial that his wife could suffer depression in the midst of their vast, material wealth, attempts to help Simeon by saddling her with another child, as she has yet to produce a son.

The story offers bits and pieces of crucial family history.  Roxanne reveals her mother, Ellen, abandoned her when a young child to her grandmother as Ellen chose her boyfriend over her.

Simeon’s neglect of her children and her various actions leading up to the trial clearly support her inability to cope with four children.

 

The author stresses the seriousness of depression and the failure of the family members to take action.