Wow. I really haven't read a book in a while. This has been quite a reading slump. Well, at least it's over now.I just finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot. My first Kindle book, actually (and finishing a book on Kindle is not as satisfying as finishing a physical book).
This was the perfect book to get me over the slump. A fast, easy read, it is full of fascinating information and moving personal stories. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks has several narrative threads. It's about the extraordinary cells taken from a cervical tumor of a poor black woman in 1951 which turned out to have remarkable reproductive abilities. These malignant cells just keep on reproducing, and the HeLa cell line contributed to many advancements in medicine. At the same time, this part of the story is deeply connected to the medical profession's exploitation of poor black patients as research subjects.
Skloot also investigates the life of Henrietta Lacks, and describes the history of this poor Southern family. In addition, much of the book is devoted to the lives of Henrietta's children, describing their relationship to the medical profession, and how they learned about their mother's special cells.
I'm not describing it very well. Basically, it's a fascinating, multifaceted story that makes a great read.
1 comment:
Thanks so much for this review! I caught the very end of someone discussing this book on TV and I wanted to know more, but missed getting the info. Sounds very interesting.
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