Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Condition

The Condition
The Condition
Author: Jennifer Haigh
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Hardcover
esjro avatar reviewed on + 904 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2


The McKotch family is torn apart when forced to acknowledge that their daughter Gwen has Turners syndrome. Each family member deals (or avoids dealing) in a different way, and Gwen's illness becomes an excuse for their dysfunctional family dynamics. When Gwen falls in love for the first time, a plot hatched by the matriarch of the family threatens to tear apart their already fragile remaining ties.

The Condition is not so much the story of an illness as it is a portrait of a family. Each of Jennifer Haigh's characters are unique and complicated, and she does an excellent job of portraying the insecurities and misguided love inherent in a family.