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Summary: The American Family Meets Its Narrative Master
Review: "A Theory of Relativity" proves again that when writing about an American family in a state of crisis, Jacquelyn Mitchard has few peers. Her third novel is filled with meticulously taut sentences; her plotline is a page-turner yet dramatically sound (in other words, this is NOT Fiction Lite); and her observations as regards the details of family life, courtroom protocol, legal milieus and personal lives in disarray are as sharp as can be. Without giving away too much, here's a summary of the plot: A couple is killed in a car crash, leaving behind a two-year-old daughter. A custody battle ensues between the child's maternal grandparents and her paternal grandparents. However, the deceased mother had been adopted (as was her brother), so a complicated set of arguments emerges vis-a-vis blood relations, what makes a real family, and what's best for the child. Multiple twists, turns, surprises, turnarounds and upsets carry on until the end of the book. This novel (by the author of "The Deep End of the Ocean" and "The Most Wanted") is a reminder of the powerful degree to which Mitchard has made the American family the centerpiece of her fictional world(s). All her characters are rounded and presented on the pages with depth and distinction. Everyone's backstory is explored psychologically, emotionally, economically, etc. Again and again, what emerges is the simple (yet not so simple) truth that one's family history determines almost everything about the way one thinks, feels, acts; also what one fears, desires and loves most of all. In "A Theory of Relativity," Mitchard has once again reminded me of another great American storyteller: Irwin "Rich Man, Poor Man" Shaw (1913-1984). Like Shaw, whose hefty novels were chronicles of a tempestuous epoch in American life ("The Young Lions," "The Troubled Air," and "Acceptable Losses" to name a few), Mitchard is creating not just narrative entities, but also a portrait of America "in our time" (to steal a Hemingway title that is apt). Jacquelyn Mitchard, in fact, much like Hemingway and Irwin Shaw (and Jack London, Mark Twain, and innumerable others) segued to the novel after working for years as a journalist. Her commitment to large themes is complemented by her devotion to the tiniest details. And in "A Theory of Relativity," she has written another compulsively readable book.
Rating: 
Summary: A little slow
Review: After purchasing and reading 'The Most Wanted' and 'Deep end of the Ocean', I was quite disappointed with 'A Theory of Relativity'. The book delves into the legal world of adoptions and whilst i have learnt a great deal, I found the book somewhat slow and hard to get into. The author tends to go too deeply into the legal jargon and I feel that the book loses the real emphasis of the story- the relationship between the child and uncle. Above all I must commend this talented author
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Summary: Mitchard is back in top form with a story based on her life
Review: As an adoptive mother, I've always felt a special connection to Jacquelyn Mitchard's work, reading everything I can about her adventures as both a writer and an adoptive parent. I was particularly eager to read this one when I heard it was based in part on Mitchard's personal experience facing the possible loss of one of her adopted children - even though this child, an infant girl, was already living hin her home and even though Mitchard was permanently and indelibly bonded with this girl. This struck close to the bone, echoing some of my own concerns and fears as an adoptive mother. While I wasn't crazy about Mitchard's previous novel (The Most Wanted), A Theory of Relativity shows that she is back in top form. When a couple dies in a car accident, Gordon (brother to the deceased wife) comes forth to adopt the surviving child, a one year old girl. Unfortunately, other family members feel differently and a custody battle ensues. While Gordon and his parents want to be the child's parents, the parents of the deceased husband want custody as well. I was intrigued not only by the suspenseful plot but by the questions this book raised: What are the limits we, as a society, place on "blood" ties and those formed by adoption? Why are adopted children not always considered equal to those who are genetically related to their parents? How and why can families be torn apart by these distinctions?I found this to be a very believable story and couldn't help feeling that Mitchard's personal experiences brought a special ring of truth to this book. I'm looking forward to more powerful, emotionally honest novels from this wonderful writer in the future!
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Summary: I'm glad I read it
Review: I almost didn't read this book because my husband and I were involved in (and lost) an extended legal battle to adopt a foster child that had been in our family for 2 years. I was afraid reading it would be too painful. While I found some parts of the book emotionally difficult to read, I'm glad I read it. The author sometimes gets off track and I would like to have seen more space given to what the child was experiencing. But over all, she does a good job of showing how desperately strong non-bloodline family ties can be and that is at the heart of this story.
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Summary: So much potential, but so disappointing!
Review: I became a fan of Jacquelyn Mitchard after reading--and LOVING--The Most Wanted. I immediately went to my favorite Borders and invested in The Deep End of the Ocean, which is one of the few books that has actually made me cry. I waited on pins and needles for Jacquelyn's next book and bought it in hardcover as soon as it came out, but what a disappointment. The premise is strong, but the execution does not rise to the challenge. Her previous two novels had such sweeping, gripping emotions--this novel was too crowded with characters and objective details to provide the emotional experience I expected. Jacquelyn is a GREAT writer--I only hope she comes out with a better book SOON.
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Summary: could not finish
Review: I could not finish this book. I thought it just dragged on. The topic is interesting, but the book does not pull it together.
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Summary: As someone who has been through a custody battle,
Review: I couldn't put this one down. I'm not adopted but when my parents divorced, the whole family wanted to adopt me, and it split my family to this very day, 10 plus years later. The emotions that Gordon felt were very real. You want the best for the child, but if nothing's working in bringing the child to your home, you give up. I love Mitchards writing, and I think this one to be one of her best. Yes there is alot of background information, but as with anything to get a clear picture of a story you need that clarity. She has to detail everything. I couldn't put this book down, and enjoyed it. The ending was quite interesting and unexpected which is a pleasure when you get to the point that you think you could guess the ending to every book when they get formulaic. Pick this one up, with "The Most Wanted" and I guarantee you'll have a weekend worth of excellent reading.
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Summary: Good Story, Not-So-Good Telling
Review: I have been looking forward to this book for a long time as I have followed Mitchard's adoption travails in the press. I faithfully read her weekly column and think it is wonderfully done. The premise and story in this book were interesting and emotional. As I read the first 100 or so pages, I was immediately drawn into the terrible grief these families were suffering. I felt my heart pounding and breathlessness that comes when one is overwhelmed by life's tragedies. I really and truly wish that I could say that I loved this book and that it was masterfully done. However, the quality of the writing in this book was a major disappointment. There were many grammatical errors, the writing was disjointed and thus confusing, characters were undeveloped, and so on. References were made to things that never were revealed to the reader. I often found myself having to re-read sections of the book to see what the author was trying to say. I had to force myself to finish it----it became a chore to try to find the story and emotion in the morass of confusing verbiage that surrounded it. I ended the book wondering what the editor had done.
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Summary: 3/4 Magazine Article - 1/4 Good Novel!
Review: I have to be honest - this was the first Jacquelyn Mitchard I have read. I never read DEEP END OF THE OCEAN because the storyline was troubling to me, and by the time I decided I might want to give it a try, it was a movie, which ruined the book completely. So when I heard about THEORY back in April, I anxiously awaited and counted the days until its release. I knew Ms. Mitchard is a popular and, I heard, fantastic author and the advance reviews all predicted great reading with a heartwrming story. What book were those reviewers reading? The dialogue in this book is great and the second to last chapter really moves along with quick dialogue between two of the characters - but that's it. The first half of the book is nonstop descriptions - the car accident, the illness, the farm, the school, Gordon's teaching background - on and on and on it goes. It feels like you're reading an article in a woman's magazine about a local family's custody battle. Where's the story, where's the character development, where's the dialogue???? The few conversations that do take place are pointless - two in particular left me asking "HUH?" What was the point? (Ch. 13 - between Nora & Hayes and Ch. 15 between Gordon & Lindsay) Many of the conversations and dialogue between characters are pointless and lead to no where - some of the descriptions are also pointless and seem to have been written to just fill a page (what was the point of Nora's thought on the farm? It was never mentioned again and was never the topic of conversation or even an issue) This book could have been so much better if Ms. Mitchard had just written more interaction between characters and dialogue. The characters are often alone in a room with their thoughts and that's what you're reading - what is going on in the minds of the main characters. Not enough interaction or speaking to each other. The most important events are skimmed over too quickly leading to more reading about what the characters thought of what just happened. I would probably give Ms. Mitchard another chance based on her history and what other people have said about her writing - if the next book was about a subject I was interested in reading about that is. Hopefully, this was just a "slump" and the next book will be as good as her first.
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Summary: Eye opening
Review: I read Deep End of the Ocean by Ms Mitchard and absolutely loved it! So when I heard about this book, I picked it up without knowing too much about it. It is a wonderful read! The story is so real and the characters fascinating. I am recommending it to my sister-in-law who is an adopted child and to friends who recently adopted. If you are adopted, adopting or thinking about adoption, it is a MUST read!
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