Pandemics Inspire Fear — and Fiction

Worried about the novel coronavirus becoming a global pandemic? Remember that humanity has faced such crises before, and authors have used them as explorations of the attendant personal and social dislocation. Going all the way back to the Black Death, the bubonic plague that decimated Europe periodically from the Middle Ages through the 18th century, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Geraldine Brooks offers Years of Wonder, about a housemaid named Anna Frith in an isolated village outside London in 1666, where a contaminated bolt of cloth brings the disease that soon reaches into every household. Anna must confront the disintegration of her community, superstitious witch-hunting, the lure of illicit love and a fight for survival. The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 inspired another Pulitzer winner, Katherine Ann Porter, in Pale Horse, Pale Rider. It's about the relationship between a Denver, Colorado, newspaper woman, Miranda, and a soldier, Adam. Miranda becomes sick and delirious with the flu, but recovers, only to find that Adam has died of the disease, which he likely caught while tending to her. Meanwhile, Pulitzer winner Philip Roth's Nemesis recalls the impact of the 1944 polio epidemic on a closely knit Newark Jewish community as its children are threatened with paralysis, lifelong disability and death. Protagonist Bucky Cantor, a 23-year-old teacher devoted to his charges, joins his girlfriend at a polio-free summer camp only to have the disease follow him there and alter the course of his life. La Peste (The Plague) by Albert Camus is considered a classic that explores the human condition as a plague sweeps the French Algerian city of Oran, and characters, ranging from doctors to vacationers to fugitives, struggle with love and loss, isolation and social responsibility, selfishness and sacrifice. Of course, no one beats Stephen King for dystopian terror, and The Stand takes place in a world in which 99% of the world's population has been wiped out by a mutated strain of super-flu. Survivors now must choose between the leadership of Mother Abagail, a benevolent 108-year-old woman, and Randall Flagg, the "Dark Man" who delights in chaos and violence. Finally, circling back to our usual mystery theme, there is EVO by Diane May. Livio Marchiori, a homicide detective in Verona, Italy, is battling "The Hypnotist," a serial killer who never touches his victims and leaves no evidence except detailed videos of his murders. So Marchiori is initially pleased to partner with Captain Victor Miller from Interpol, only to discover that illegal CIA genetic engineering has created the serial killer with mind control powers and a terrifying threat to humanity. For acclaimed nonfiction books on pandemics, see https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/24/books/pandemic-books-coronavirus.html

'Bad' and 'Good' Mothers on Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, the nation will celebrate motherhood with floral bouquets and restaurants full of dutiful children honoring moms. Of course, in fiction, especially mystery writing, the "bad" mother is usually more significant to plot and character development. Start with Euripides' Medea, who punishes husband Jason's betrayal by murdering their children. Examples of other famous bad moms in literature range from Shakespeare's shallow sensualist Queen Gertrude in Hamlet to Philip Roth's overbearing Sophie Portnoy in Portnoy's Complaint, V.C. Andrews' cruel Corinne Dollanganger in Flowers in the Attic, Stephen King's fanatic Margaret White in Carrie, William Faulkner's rejecting Addie Bundren in As I Lay Dying, and Jane Austen's foolish Mrs. Bennett in Pride and Prejudice. Probably the most heinous crime in our culture is a mother's murder or torture of her own children. But most fictional bad mothers commit emotional crimes rather than physical violence. Their toxic mothering patterns have been helpfully categorized by Peg Streep, author of Mean Mothers: dismissive (ignoring and rejecting), controlling (micromanaging), unavailable (emotional withdrawal or actual abandonment), enmeshed ("stage" moms), combative (hypercritical and competitive), self-involved (superficial narcissists), unreliable (behavioral swings), and role-reversed (dependent moms, such as those with alcoholism or depression). No wonder bad moms are such good fodder for writers! But even if you see a mother's failings reflected in fiction's bad moms, my advice is to cut motherhood some slack this Mother's Day. Definitely don't expect mothers to live up to our culture's myths of the "good" mother, with her instinctive, unconditional and instant mother love! Maternal behavior is not instinctive; human behavior is more complex, individual and cultural than that. Maternal love is not unconditional and without preference; good parenting actually sets boundaries and recognizes differences. And maternal attachment is hardly instant; a mother-child relationship takes time and hard work. Just being a "good enough" mom is an achievement! For a good article about harmful motherhood myths, see https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/tech-support/201502/mothers-love-myths-misconceptions-and-truths