An outstanding & provocative journey into a world of taboos
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This novel is not just a straightforward murder-mystery. There are several themes which distinguish it from this genre.
First, it takes the reader into the world of a nursing home, albeit of the American variety, which may be new territory for many people. As an experienced registered nurse working in a hospice, this world is fairly familiar to me; the sick, the dying, the confused, the frightened are people I meet every working day. As such, there were issues I could identify with.
A disturbing issue is that of a nurse performing fellatio on a patient. As I read it, I experienced a whole range of emotions simultaneously; shock, disgust, anger, sympathy, empathy, understanding. Then, I questioned each of these emotions. This book forced me to confront my own humanity (again) and sexuality (again). This nurse was wrong to do what she did; probably in real life would have been struck off and hit the headlines. Yet, she gave something else to Stephen (the patient) apart from his first sexual experience (a gift in itself, I guess - though I'm struggling to get past the ethics to acknowledge that). As nurses, we are told constantly to remain objective, not get involved, remain professional (which can sometimes cause a lot of conflict with being human as well). She gave him her humanity; she was a person to him as much as he was a person to her. There's so much more in this than just sex.
There's the issue of power; in all its different guises. There's religion, though, thankfully not overdone; there's spirituality, represented in a wonderfully positive light. There's a miracle; the "aide", Peggy, is transformed as a result of the events, from an immature, uncaring nightmare member of staff, to an open-minded, willing to learn and understand sort of person all nursing homes, hospitals and hospices need.If I was a nurse tutor, I'd put this book on the essential reading list and set an essay on some of the themes. It's fantastic and I'm so thankful to my boyfriend's mum for lending it to me. Now, I need my own copy and I'll be recommending it to my friends and colleagues.
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Heard the book on an audio cassette - abridged - EXCELLENT
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M. Scott Peck is an excellent writer. I just finished listening to this book on an audio cassette. It was just great - I have to go out and buy the book because the abridged version was magnificent - - I can only imagine how rich the unabridged book must be!!! Five Stars!
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Scott Peck showed that he is simply blessed!
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This book was terrific. I found myself knowing each of the characters in a way that most fiction writers are never able to do. The use of wisdom and the method of delivery was interesting and spell binding. I was sad it ended. I could have gone on forever.
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Love in a nursing home
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Scott Peck has turned his hand to fiction with this surprisingly satisfying tale of love and emotion set in a nursing home. Many of us think of nursing homes as emotionally gray places, where human passions have gone out and hope and longing now revolve around next Sunday's visiting hours and the next meal. Well, not so the Willow Glen. The most improbable people fall in love, and their passions become all the keener because they have time to focus on each other.
To quote Madeleine L'Engle's review on the book jacket, "The reader truly cares about the characters, and it is wonderful to see the growing into fullness of some of them." Stephen Solaris, a 29-year-old cerebral palsy victim unable even to speak, becomes the emotional center of Willow Glen. Free of the distractions of daily existence, he has developed a deep inner life and an ability to communicate without words. Other characters are drawn into his orbit: nurse Heather Barsten, psychotherapist Stasz Kolnietz, the old lovers Marion Grochowski and Tim O'Hara, and a full cast of nursing home residents and attendants.
Although it starts as a novel of character, A Bed by the Window becomes a murder mystery. Willow Glen is torn apart by a brutal murder that shakes every character. It's a page-turner, both for the major mystery (Who in this place would kill - or even could?) and the subplots (Will Tim O'Hara's blocked arteries hold up till the end of the book? Will Heather stop loving losers and find a nice man?)
But the book rises and falls on its characters. Scott Peck has created characters the reader cares about. Although they sometimes approach stereotypes, his characters have an "Everyman" feel that makes you care rather than detach. Long after I first read the book, I remembered each character in detail - and that's one criterion of good fiction, isn't it?
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