August 2015

Last year, I read THE PAYING GUESTS by Sarah Waters and enjoyed it. When I saw that ORPHAN #8 by Kim van Alkemade was being compared to it, as a historical fiction title, it immediately caught my attention. The book opens in the early 1900s with Rachel Rabinowitz becoming orphaned at the age of four, separated from her brother and placed in the Hebrew Infant Home in Manhattan. While her family home was a crowded tenement, the orphanage she moves to lacks much beyond the basics, the victim of poor funding and overcrowding. There are moments of hope for adoption and a better life that are quickly dashed, and Rachel realizes that life for her will be within the orphanage walls.

Rachel strives to gain adult attention, seeking endlessly to please them. Among the adults is Dr. Mildred Solomon. Dr. Solomon embraces Rachel, seeing her as a perfect candidate for a test she wants to run, feeding eight orphans barium and then X-raying them to see how the digestive system works. Seeing herself as “chosen” for this, Rachel complies, not knowing what we now know about the dangers of X-rays used in this way. These experiments leave Rachel permanently disfigured.

Flash forward, and Rachel has become a nurse. She harbors resentment about what has happened to her. Still, she does not dwell on it, and instead is a warm and understanding caregiver at Manhattan’s Old Hebrews Home. In a twist of fate, she finds herself charged with treating Dr. Solomon, who is dying of cancer, and memories bubble back up. What will she do with the doctor’s life in her hands? She wants Dr. Solomon to admit her wrongdoing, and they dance around each other as the doctor is dying.

The story moves between Rachel’s life as a child and as an adult, layering in the back story and building tension all the while. The conclusion is satisfying and inspires lots of thoughts.

I found myself surprised that van Alkemade is a debut author. Her sense of storytelling feels a lot more mature. The book is inspired by true events, which makes it all the more sad. There is lots to talk about for book groups, and I look forward to seeing what she does next!