Big girls who commit murder and other heinous crimes end up in the big house. But are they big girls or are they still children inside, victims themselves of a cruel and negligent upbringing? How do some women, even mothers, come to be in such a position? Aren't we all something made by our parents' pasts and their parents' pasts before we were even conceived?
"The Big Girls" by Susanna Moore is partially about a woman in prison for killing her children. She will be at Iconcolast Books in Ketchum 7 p.m. Saturday, May 19, for a book release party.
"I wanted to write about mothers, about being a mother," Moore said. "What was interesting was I had spent about a year reading about prisons, psychosis and guards, everything I could find. My interest was so awakened I volunteered to teach writing in a prison.
"I really was interested in writing about what it is to be a mother. And what is the most extreme condition? What are the most extreme things that can happen?
"Some of the women in the prison were more sympathetic to me. Some I found poignant. Others I was less patient with. It changed my views."
Moore, who was a participant at the 2006 Sun Valley Writer's Conference, is best known for her Hawaiian trilogy that includes "The Whiteness of Bones," a book of nonfiction, "I Myself Have Seen It," the racy "In The Cut," and the historical and haunting "One Last Look."
With her new novel, "The Big Girls," she continues writing in carefully constructed sentences but without the lyricism of her earlier novels. This ability to shift styles and genres is what marks her as a great writer. She is a woman of intensity, mystery and style.
In this documentary-style tale of a women's prison and several people connected to it, Moore examines the dangerous and claustrophobic realities real women face while incarcerated.
In alternating narratives, we meet a newly divorced, single mother, Dr. Louise Forrest, who has just become the prison's chief of psychiatry. One of her patients, Helen, is a suicidal inmate who's been convicted of killing her children and is the subject of damning national attention.
The only male voice comes from a prison guard, Ike, who becomes involved with Dr. Forrest. The only "voice" not in prison is a young Hollywood actress, Angie, that Helen believes is her long-lost sister. The main character's stories also are interwoven with those of a second string of friends, colleagues and inmates.
"The Big Girls" is compelling, addictive and disquieting. Moore plums the depths of human misery and the power of unbidden instincts with a frightening boldness.
Susanna Moore
