Body Politic

by Glyn J. Godwin

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How much is a life worth? Especially if it's yours... Griffin Dowell and Amanda Collins must find out - before it's too late. A lawyer for the rich and influential, Griffin Dowell has always looked the other way when it came to shady political dealings. He's even used his considerable legal skills to convince other prying eyes to do likewise. But when a friend is murdered and Griffin's own life is threatened, his work suddenly becomes very personal. Meanwhile, Dr. Avraham Hegel - a top scientist in stem cell research and a favorite political ally of the president's wife - commits suicide on a lonely country road. All that remains for his assistant, Amanda Collins, is a clandestine note, a key to an airport locker, and an old rubber doll. When Amanda discovers people are willing to kill for what she suddenly possesses, she must decipher the mysteries threatening her life. Two unlikely people, worlds apart, each struggle to uncover deception - and encounter the perilous consequences of facing extreme power with truth. (back cover, Body Politic, Glyn J. Godwin, 2003)

Body Politic is a startlingly serious novel dealing with several potent social issues and some futuristic (at least one hopes they are futuristic and not already happening!) issues. Although entirely fictional, the author writes with a certainty that these situations could become true in the future. This is not a novel for the faint of heart, but it is a novel for those who want to be thrilled, horrified, and moved to think beyond what a common Christian fiction book read for entertainment might provide. While I guarantee you will be entertained and captivated by the plot and the plight of several of the characters, there are some deeply disturbing descriptions of baby organ harvesting within it. While one doesn't need to stretch the imagination too far to believe what the author is presenting, it is something we seldom dare to contemplate because it is horrific and to believe it and to abhor it demands a response from each and every reader. What that response is, I'm not entirely sure. I wouldn't begin to state that every Christian will have the same response, but a response is required by the compelling emotional and spiritual ramifications of such a theme. It does say in Matthew 25:40: The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' I have yet to do a great deal more thinking about this book and the response it demands from me. The temptation is there to shrug it off and move on to the next read, but there is something so compelling about it, that I am unable to do so easily. Can I say this about every Christian fiction novel I read and review? Absolutely not! There are few that require a great deal of thought or personal commitment, but this is definitely one of them.

Okay, more specifically, I do have a few points I would like to question. I was interested to know if the President's wife was patterned after any past (or present) First Ladies. I found this character in the novel to be a bit of a caricature of the "evil and controlling" woman behind the president. Hilary Clinton has oft been cited as saying "We the President" and I wonder if this is where this character gets her beginning? On that note, I did find her to be a complete caricature - not a real multi-dimensional character with motivations that the reader can understand. She is simply presented as "evil" and desiring her own "utopia". That does not give me sufficient motivation to believe this character - not enough is given for suspension of disbelief to occur.

I also questioned the motivation of the First Lady to have so many people killed. Is it possible so much could be going on without the President knowing what his wife was up to? Could she possibly have that much power?

It does seem that some lives have more value in this book than others, which is peculiar. The leading sentence on the back cover says, "How much is a life worth? Especially if it's yours..." It does seem that if it is your life, it is much more valuable to you than someone else's. It makes sense, I I suppose, but is it an honest response to how God values each life? There is considerable loss of life in this novel, and it appears that some lives are more expendable than others - for example, the life of the thug, Ramos, is easily snuffed out while Dowell is relieved he didn't have to kill the guard at the factory as he is apparently deemed more worthy to live.

There are a few more little problems I had with the novel and am encouraging my husband to read it so we can dialogue. Perhaps at that time, I will add some more critiques of this stimulating novel.

Bravo! Glyn J. Godwin - a powerful novel!