She applied the Page 69 Test to Kinship of Clover and reported the following:Looking at page 69 of Kinship of Clover made me realize, once again, how many subplots are woven into this novel. I do this on purpose, because I’m easily bored as a reader and a writer, and I like having different narratives to keep me interested. Page 69 in this novel is representative of one of the major strands: Flo has Alzheimer’s and she is not facing it gracefully. In conversation with the physician at an Assisted Living facility, her son Sam is trying to understand the treatment of his mother’s behavior with medication. Medication with potentially dangerous side effects. The reader of just this page can see Sam’s concern for his mom, and a bit of her feisty nature. This page doesn’t, however, let the reader into the other major thread - college Botany major Jeremy’s obsession with plant species loss, and the way extinct plants have started growing into his body. Or does he just think they are? On page 69, we’re in Sam’s point of view, so the omniscient perspective isn’t observable either.Visit Ellen Meeropol's website.
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--Marshal Zeringue
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