I don't know why but I usually shy away from mysteries. My friend Elaine recommended this one and I'm glad I tried it, as it had a hold on me from page 1, with Naomi out jogging and finding a baby floating in the river. Instead of calling the authorities, she wrapped the baby in one of her cooperative worker's hand-made alphabet linen samplers and brought the body to the police station where she found herself being interrogated. Naomi's considered an outsider, since she and her husband came to this small New Hampshire town not that many years ago. After their divorce Naomi stayed and started a business, marketing the handmade samplers and quilts made by local women, Heather Pratt being one of them. Making no attempt to hide her affair with a local married man, Heather was not part of the local women's clique. After giving birth to Polly, she further ostracized herself by breastfeeding Polly on the front porch of the local store. This situation set the scene for many more twists and turns, including a courtroom drama, forensic evidence, morally corrupt small town lawyers and policemen, and a second dead infant. Naomi's friend Judith is defending Heather who's on trial for the murder of two infants. Judith and Naomi share a Jewish heritage and during a Jewish holiday observation celebration the family members spend more time than I would have liked discussing the existence of God. I wanted to get back to reading about the trial. I found an explanation for the departure in the last few twists and turns of the story.
I picked this book up from the library because I really enjoyed Admission - the newest novel by the same author. Sabbathday River was written 10 years before Admission, and it's easy to see how the author has grown and improved. I don't know that if I had read this one first I would have run to read the new one.A baby is found floating in the river and a suspect is immediately found. Although a local girl, Heather has been an outsider in her own community, so there are few people who support her and many who are eager to see her convicted. She admits to haven given birth recently to a stillborn baby, but not the same baby found in the river. The police have their suspect so they won't follow up on her claims. Her one friend does, and she finds Heather's baby. This is pre-DNA era, so the only way to rule out parentage is thru blood type. The rest of the novel is the trial, the evidence, the claims by the DA and the surprise ending - which I found absurd.There is real talent evident in the writing, but too many detractions to make it a great book.
Do You like book Sabbathday River (2001)?
I wish there was a way to rate this 2.5 stars. I didn't always like it. There was a decent mystery, and it was literary in the sense that characters were dealing with their issues, the philosophies, their religion in addition to dealing with the plot. The writing was good. However, there were some aspects of the story that I found unbelievable to the point of almost ruining it for me. In particular I found the resolution of the mystery frustrating. Also, one of the main characters is supposed to be this incredibly intelligent, feminist woman and there are several things that I couldn't believe she wouldn't have caught well before the ending when things finally become clear.
—Jessie
Naomi Roth is jogging beside the Sabbathday River and finds a dead baby face down in the water. She pulls it out, wraps it in a handmade sampler and carries it to the police station. Thus begins a mystery that shows up the worst of a small town full of prejudices and exclusion.I do not generally read modern mysteries. For the most part they leave me cold or I find them predictable. This book, however, was more about the psychology of the characters to me, with the mystery hanging out there like an extra bonus wanting to be solved as well. At times it felt excessively bleak and the townspeople a little over-the-top in their lack of compassion or understanding, but this did serve to move the characters forward and explain some of their actions.Korelitz held my interest and while I did suspect her final twist before it arrived, I did not feel that it distracted from my overall enjoyment of the book. Perhaps I will read one of her later books, since it is always nice to break from the routine and just get swept up into a "story" now and then.
—Sara Steger
A pleasant surprise since I knew nothing about the author or the content of the book until I began reading. While this is basically a mystery set in a small town area of New Hampshire, there is a thick layer of "women's issues" addressed throughout as well as a "growing up" of idealistic, "hippy", tree hugging types who thought they'd change the world. Also, I liked that all the characters are "flawed" in one way or another, and so it becomes very difficult of be judgmental of what is moral or the answer. Law enforcement and legal issues are addressed as well.
—Jane Brant
