Origin **1/2

by Diana Abu-Jaber
First Edition 2007
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
pages 364

This is a story about a forensic scientist who solves a mystery. And that's about it. OK ,there's more. She believes that she was raised by apes until she was "rescued" and brought to her foster parents. And her memories are fond memories of matted fur and loving long arms. She daydreams of birds and foliage constantly. This "questionable" origin is closely tied to the case she is trying to solve.

She seems to be a tightly wound woman, and she blames her past partly for that. This neurosis affects her relationships with men and she blames on her "past".

The story takes place in Syracuse New York, where it seems to constantly snow. She, Lena, is so out of it that she tends to wander in the snow and several traumatic events happen in the snow.

As mysteries go, it wasn't that hard to figure out. I figured it out about midway through the book, once it became clear exactly what was happening. All that was left was to find the culprit. Sure there were a couple of Red Herrings thrown my way, but not enough to stop me from figuring it out. perhaps more mysterious was the question of her origin.

And the story of her origin was probably the better story in the book. It was interesting the affect it had on her when she learned who she was and who she wasn't. I like the pshyodrama aspect of the book. The pain and confusion that she suffered through.

Lena became tiresome to me. If she was functioning in a forensic science lab, why did she have so much trouble functioning elsewhere? I suppose there are instances when people feel best when they are working and feel at a loss when left on their own. I just didn't buy it here completely.

Overall, this was an interesting, fun read with some interesting things to say about identity and sanity, but not enough meat to really go deep into the book.