So Lucky by Nicola Griffith; Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $15
British-born, Seattle-based lesbian author Nicola Griffith is an award-winning creative talent whose career has tapped into a plethora of subject matter. Publishing books in genres like historical fiction, literary suspense, and science fiction, Griffith was also once a self-defense instructor at one time.
That physical aspect of Griffith's life ended when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1993. This harrowing event also lays the foundation for her new novel "So Lucky," a profound work of autobiographical fiction about overcoming life's boundaries, resisting victimization, and discovering long-dormant strengths.
The novel follows Mara Tagarelli, an esteemed 30something Atlanta professional who directs the multimillion-dollar Georgia AIDS Project. In Griffith's dramatic opening pages, Mara is saying goodbye to Rose, her wife of 14 years. It's a sad event, but her heartbreak pales in comparison to the medical diagnosis about to sabotage any remaining joy in her life.
A neurologist delivers the news, multiple sclerosis, and the formerly firm edges of Mara's world begin to fall away. Luckily there is Aiyana, Mara's longtime friend, who offers comfort, stability, and, in what could be a huge mistake, sexual companionship in the wake of her romantic loss. Mara learns of her medical diagnosis after Aiyana has departed to New Zealand for a work assignment, and she remains alone to struggle with the side effects of prescribed drugs and the pain of an increasingly weakened spine.
Griffith is a talented storyteller, as evidenced in her thrilling "Stay" and the medieval English masterpiece "Hild." Here her prose flows just as well, spinning a tale of a protagonist who isn't particularly likeable, but under the circumstances, compels sympathy. Mara has lots of embittered moments that make her real and relatable, but not necessarily less unpleasant. For instance, when she visits her physical therapist, she muses that he must find her a bother since "it was clear I was of no account, a cripple not a woman, someone he had to touch because it was his job, about as important to him as a chair."
Subplots churn around serial killers and hate crimes. Mara discovers that fellow MS sufferers on a mailing list are being assaulted. Could she be the next victim? Mara purchases a gun for self-protection and confers with Miz Rip, her fierce cat.
Griffith's novel is a meditation on the nature of the disabled, the country's treatment of them, and how chronic illness can impair a person physically, mentally, and socially. It shows her talent for crisp characterization, smooth prose, and unique circumstances that ultimately prove rewarding.