Thank you for joining us once again on this social lens as we move beyond the walls of movies into a novel written by world renowned James Patterson in collaboration with Richard DiLallo. Well, we all know most movies are written before they are turned into scripts.
In our usual fashion, we draw valuable social inferences from the pages of this book and present them to you in hope that you learn a lesson or two and feel inspired to contribute efforts towards change or at the very least change your perspective. Enjoy reading.
- Wealth At All Cost
The central theme of the novel's mystery revolves around the kidnapping or stealing and sale of new born babies at a hospital. Beyond the walls of fiction, this is a crime that actually happens in reality and it raises questions about what people are willing to do for money. The corruption and 'I don't care' attitude towards gaining wealth at all cost.
Both those who accepted to sell, and those who persuade and accept to buy or kidnap, and those who buy from the buyers are terrible people. It's like a higher version of organ sale. Just like we explained in the movie review of 'In The Heart of The Sea', there are certain practices which we condone that come back at us. Practices like organ sale provide avenues for wicked exploitative tendencies that birth worse evils like human farms. Who knows, if such human farms already exist in places where the sale of organs like kidneys are now the best opportunity to make a living.
- Double Standards
Midwife Lucy hassles Detective Leon Blumenthal to crack the case of missing kids at the hospital. She sometimes comes across as aggressively demanding for an immediate solution. This is quite ironic considering that she's also in a high pressure and tensed up workplace were she has to calmly handle women in labor. Sometimes she even needs to scold them into cooperating with birthing procedures.
Although her complains and agitations are well founded, the situation is just another shitty day at work for the detective.
This aspect of the novel helps us understand that we need to see other perspectives in life, especially when we are trying to communicate or express our opinions.
- The Hard Drugs Problem
Midwife Lucy's visit to her family home and subsequent discussions with her mother reveals a hard drug problem in the small town. The local drug kingpin is one of the wealthiest in the community amidst all the social problems his drugs are causing. Even Lucy's brother is a jobless drug addict with a severe health risk.
The effect of hard drugs on the individual and the society are worrisome and we have provided valuable insights that can help addicts overcome this problem in our review of the movie 'Four Good Days'.
- The Empty Nest Problem
Lucy's brother, Cabot, is a 32 year old unemployed drug addict but he's keeping the aging mum and dad company. This might sound controversial but lets be frank, because secretly most parents wished they had a child stay back with them in old age. It is an emotional and social conflict kind of problem.
Personally, being the last boy of my parents, I was also in a similar position. I was addicted to marijuana and unemployed. I used to pinch cash off my dad's wallet to fuel my drug habit. It took years for me to realize I was being enslaved spiritually by what I was doing to myself.
In all honesty, the desire to retain a child's company is like an indirect lure to engage in unproductive activities, like drugs, that would ensure the child isn't productive enough to become independent and leave home. It is a social dilemma that doesn't seem solvable.
- Social Control or Greed
Balboa Littlefield has gained quite a reputation in the little town for dealing drugs. He lives in affluence and there are even talks of naming a children's playground after him.
Is it that life is just unfair or is there something important about controlling the growth of society with drugs? Well, in our opinion, two wrongs don't make a right. There's truly no positive value or excuse for the promotion of such vices in society. In some civilized western countries, hard drugs like marijuana are now legal.
Let this be clear to us all, our problem isn't about growth or growing too fast. Our problem is how to grow in the right direction in a peaceful, balanced, and harmonious manner. So the idea of hard drugs being a means of control is appalling.
- Corruption Opportunity
Orlov and Nina target vulnerable teens and professionals who are in a tight spot and apparently need financial improvements in their lives.
This is a reminder of the corruption opportunities identified in our review of the movie 'Code 8'. It reminds us that desperation and impatience often leads to much worse problems. It also brings to mind the importance of social services that cater to people in dire need.
- The Money Excuse
The kidnapped babies were sold to a secret research facility and used as guinea pigs.
Although the novel is a fictional story, there are still some nefarious things perpetuated by wicked entities in society under the guise of the greater good or making money. This guilt bearing excuse of making money or scientific headway from a nefarious act, is just a flimsy attempt at shielding heartbreaking wickedness. Let us be mindful on how we overlook things under the excuse of 'at least they created something'.
If our world progressed patiently in the right direction, many human lapses will be uncovered and we will achieve much more. For example, Hidden in the Chinese traditions and culture of acupuncture and martial arts, there are scientific knowledges regarding the nervous system.
A wrong approach would be kidnapping healthy people for unethical research which might bring quick but unstable results. A right approach would be a system of observation and analysis of cadavers and physical mobility problems in individuals without any sign of injury. The right approach would uncover much more that the short-cut will.
This is why it is important for government institutions and large corporates to support education research which have no immediate value but are more valuable to humanity in the long run. This would make it less attractive to greedy individuals who might take the wrong approach.
- A Spiritual Bargain
Dr. Sarkar who lent his expensive car to Midwife Lucy for a vacation trip, turns into a woman battering monster when she rejects becoming an accomplice in his evil schemes.
As a young girl, have you ever been advised to not receive gifts from people you had no interest in? Well, this is a valuable lesson for you. There are some individuals who are so bonded in wickedness that they can't give a gift without gaining more in return. Gifts from such people are like a spiritual bond worth more that an expected pound of flesh. In the sequences provided in the novel, Lucy even attempts mouth to mouth resuscitation on Dr. Sarkar's corpse after he had been shot by Leon while attempting to kill Lucy. It just goes to symbolize that she had already become spiritually bonded to his enslavement. Who knows, maybe she would have become his accomplice and spouse in an abusive relationship, if not for Leon's intervention.
Some women are that easily captured, and it is one of the reasons why we must be more responsive to the plight of our women and hold people accountable for how they treat women even without the woman's consent or complain. Spiritual bonds can keep a person silent in an obvious unfavorable position but it doesn't mean that it should be accepted or overlooked by society. It is also one of the problems of the bonds of true love based on the cross-matching between angelic and demonics. The demonics tend to have a high possessive and oppressive mindset, much of which originated from the mistake that led to the first betrayal of a King (see our perspective, Addendum section for more info).
Thank you dear readers for taking the time to read through this issue of our book recommendation and thank you too to Sara Riel open clinic for the availability of beautiful books like this. Stay blessed and have an awesome week.
You can find digital copies of this novel through the following links.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/50623448-the-midwife-murders
Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Midwife-Murders-James-Patterson/dp/1538718871
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