The Foundling - Ann Leary

Ann Leary's new novel, The Foundling, took inspiration from a true story about her own grandmother. 

Leary takes us to 1927 England and The Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age. A time when when eugenics was seen as progressive social science. Uh huh.

Mary Engle is eighteen and grew up in an orphanage. She's excited to be hired as a typist by Dr. Vogel, the female doctor in charge of the institution. We see the entire book through Mary's eyes. She is portrayed in the beginning as an innocent, used to taking orders, afraid of making a mistake and eager to please her employer. While that worked for me in the beginning, I slowly found myself slowly beginning to dislike her. While it's human nature to protect one's self, Mary takes everything Vogel says as gospel and turns a blind eye to what's actually going on. To be fair, she does start to notice after she encounters Lillian, an old friend from her orphanage that has been sent to the institution. I lost count of the number of times I heard the phrase "I can't lose my job". The romantic plot line for Mary was sweet in the beginning, but the scene with her 'awakening' felt like an afterthought and fell flat for me. It seemed very out of character. The relationship as a whole felt one-sided.

However, Leary does a great job portraying the antagonist, Dr. Vogel. Her actions and dialogue riled me greatly. This is the character that rang true. I had a hard time with the words used to describe the patients even though they fit the time period being portrayed. Lillian was also well portrayed and she was easy to get behind. She hasn't given up or given in. 

The last quarter of the book picks up speed and action. For me, this was the part that kept my attention. I liked Leary's premise and the familial connection. I thought her depiction of the institution was well detailed. And from a historical point, very interesting. But, I just didn't like the lead character. So, for me, a three.  

I chose to listen to The Foundling. The reader was Laura Benanti. She did a fabulous job capturing the character of Dr. Vogel. The voice she used is perfectly condescending, superior and just oozes entitlement. She provides a very innocent, unsure, subservient tone for Mary that suited the character. But, as I grew further annoyed with Mary, the voice started to grate on me. Benanti creates new voices for many players, both male and female. Her voice is clear and easy to understand. The speed of speaking is just right. Hear for yourself - listen to an excerpt of The Foundling.