Test tube babies, surrogate mothers, artificial insemination--procreation ain't what it used to be. As scientists race to turn babies into products instead of gifts, no one seems to be worried about the end results of this techno-fertility craze. But Kathryn Trueblood addresses this controversial issue in her collection of short fiction, which includes a novella, "The Sperm Donor's Daughter," and several stories that also explore today's nontraditional family. The novella's title character is 20-year-old Jessica, who was raised by her single mother, a self-proclaimed man-hater. She spends her adolescence searching for dad in all the wrong places, namely in the male faces that pass through her mom's motel. Eventually, Jessica discovers that her mother has fabricated a complicated tale about her supposedly dead father's identity. In reality, he was an anonymous medical student who donated his sperm for extra cash. When Jessica becomes pregnant, she embarks upon a journey to find the real article. Jessica's quest forces her mother to confront the lies she has perpetuated throughout her child's life, as well as question her motivation for avoiding the truth in the first place. Once Jessica finds dear old dad, he is forced to ponder the stickiness of sending his seed out into the world unattended. Jessica learns the meaning of family values in a clan that would make Jesse Helms shake in his narrow-minded, Republican boots. Trueblood's other stories include tales of blended families in which stepchildren usually get lost in the shuffle of their parents' personal passion. Her message is clear: Assume responsibility for what you spawn. But she is also kind to the idea that a family can still nurture its members even when Ward and June Cleaver aren't in command. --Susan Wickstrom |
