Carole Cadwalladr Explores How ‘The Family Tree’ Shapes the Person You Become
These are some of the central questions in Carole Cadwalladr’s debut novel, “The Family Tree.” As the title implies, the story is about several generations of a dysfunctional, yet all too ordinary family.
Narrator Rebecca Monroe is trying to figure out what makes people the way they are, mostly, because she’s afraid of becoming her mother. Rebecca’s scientist husband is adamant that genes and DNA completely control our fates, but Rebecca has her doubts. These doubts prompt her to begin investigating the events of her childhood and examining them with scientific scrutiny.
Rebecca’s mother killed herself on the day of Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s wedding and now Rebecca is piecing together the events that led up to that day, trying to make some sense out of a seemingly senseless act. It’s a daunting task, as she is relying mainly on her confusing childhood memories. It’s not until her grandmother becomes ill, that secrets that remained hidden for generations come to light and the pieces of Rebecca’s history begin to come together.
The author keeps this from becoming your typical family drama by using a variety of unique devices to move the story along, such as Rebecca’s dissertation on the expression of genetic traits, and various scientific theories and definitions. She weaves these into the fabric of the story and they serve to explain and compliment memories from Rebecca’s childhood.
Moving smoothly between flashbacks and Rebecca’s present day academic studies and troubled marriage, Cadwalladr paces her novel in a way that makes it difficult to put down. She explores the relationships between mothers, daughters, husbands, wives, sisters, and the entire extended family in a way that is familiar and yet still manages to be fresh.
For anyone who has ever wondered why they are they way they are, for anyone who wonders how much of their personality is predetermined, for anyone who thinks that they have a dysfunctional family, this book is well worth reading.
