Book review: Irreplaceable by Stephen Lovely

(image courtesy of Stephen Lovely)

The far-reaching effects of one woman's decision to become an organ donor are explored in Irreplaceable, a stunning debut novel by Stephen Lovely.

Killed in a bicycle accident a year before the story's action begins, Isabel Voorman, an ambitious botanist living in Athens, Iowa, made the decision to be an organ donor a couple of years prior to her death. Reluctantly, her 30 year-old husband, Alex, consents to honor these wishes, including donating her heart, which goes to Janet Corcoran, an art teacher at a predominantly Mexican-American high school in Chicago. Feeling a sense of obligation to Isabel's family following the transplant, Janet makes efforts to contact Alex and Isabel's mother, Bernice, who is more receptive to the communication. Alex, however, views Janet as a reminder of his loss and resents her for living while his wife died.

In addition to addressing the complexities involved in the post-transplant emotions of both donor and recipient families. Lovely also adds a third dimension - the point of view of the man who was driving the truck that killed Isabel. Riddled with guilt, he stalks Alex and Bernice, obsessed with finding out the identity of Isabel's heart recipient. He reasons that he is ultimately responsible for saving Janet's life by providing her with her new heart.

As the story alternates between narrators and their lives eventually intersect, readers receive an objective account of what happens in many cases of organ donation. While the story is fictitious, the scenario is for the most part realistic, and, certainly, the complexity of emotions that accompanies the process is universally accurate. In addition, Lovely is thorough in his description of the organ donation and procurement process. There is one scene in particular, where Isabel's organs are being removed for donation, that may be disturbing to some readers, but ultimately gives the novel a more realistic feel. Scenes such as this help the reader to not feel as if they are reading a book "selling" them on the concept of organ donation, but one that is thought provoking and gives an objective view from all sides. Ultimately, that objective view is the most convincing argument possible for the cause of organ donation.

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