Harriet and David wanted a large and happy family. They bought a large house with many rooms and a dining table which can easily accommodate more than twenty five people. Their parents are unhappy and worried about the maintenance of such a big house.
Four children came and Harriet's is a happy family, Every Christmas and Easter holidays, their house would be filled with people, happiness and laughter. The four children are adored by all. And Harriet and David look at each other and smile.
But all that changed with the arrival of the fifth child. He was unplanned. And since the beginning of pregnancy, Harriet is having severe stomach pains. The baby is moving around and kicking continuously inside her and she is unable to bear the pain. Finally in the eighth month, the child- Ben arrives. He is strange to look at - with yellow eyes, flat nose and sloped head. And he is strong and hyper active.
As the days progress, people see that he has a violent streak. When one year old Paul, goes near the crib and tries to touch him, Ben pulls and twists his arm. Then there are mysterious deaths of a cat and dog. Now everyone is afraid of Ben including his siblings. And the siblings hate him.
Harriet tries really hard to teach him to socialize and mix with his siblings. But there is little success. And even after two years, he can hardly speak. The parents decide to put him in an institution where such children are taken care. He is sent there and the family is back to normal.
When Harriet goes to visit him after few months, she realizes that he has been sent there to die. The conditions in that place are inhuman and all other children are abnormal. And Ben is drugged and unconscious and lying surrounded in his own excretion. She can not bear to see such a state and brings him back home.
Her family is very angry with her. Her other children leave the house and start living with grand parents except for youngest Paul. And David spends most of his time outside the house. She asks the help of John - youth with a gang who roam around the city in their bikes to take Ben with them during daytime and bring him back home in the evening,
This story of mother's love for abnormal child not withstanding the opposition of entire family is good. I was reminded of another book "Beloved " by Toni Morrison. The difference is here Harriet tries to save her child but in Beloved, mother tries to kill the children so that they will not suffer like her under slavery.
Four children came and Harriet's is a happy family, Every Christmas and Easter holidays, their house would be filled with people, happiness and laughter. The four children are adored by all. And Harriet and David look at each other and smile.
But all that changed with the arrival of the fifth child. He was unplanned. And since the beginning of pregnancy, Harriet is having severe stomach pains. The baby is moving around and kicking continuously inside her and she is unable to bear the pain. Finally in the eighth month, the child- Ben arrives. He is strange to look at - with yellow eyes, flat nose and sloped head. And he is strong and hyper active.
As the days progress, people see that he has a violent streak. When one year old Paul, goes near the crib and tries to touch him, Ben pulls and twists his arm. Then there are mysterious deaths of a cat and dog. Now everyone is afraid of Ben including his siblings. And the siblings hate him.
Harriet tries really hard to teach him to socialize and mix with his siblings. But there is little success. And even after two years, he can hardly speak. The parents decide to put him in an institution where such children are taken care. He is sent there and the family is back to normal.
When Harriet goes to visit him after few months, she realizes that he has been sent there to die. The conditions in that place are inhuman and all other children are abnormal. And Ben is drugged and unconscious and lying surrounded in his own excretion. She can not bear to see such a state and brings him back home.
Her family is very angry with her. Her other children leave the house and start living with grand parents except for youngest Paul. And David spends most of his time outside the house. She asks the help of John - youth with a gang who roam around the city in their bikes to take Ben with them during daytime and bring him back home in the evening,
This story of mother's love for abnormal child not withstanding the opposition of entire family is good. I was reminded of another book "Beloved " by Toni Morrison. The difference is here Harriet tries to save her child but in Beloved, mother tries to kill the children so that they will not suffer like her under slavery.
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