AT THE LIBRARY
“The Conjoined,” by Jen Sookfong Lee (264 pages, ECW Press)
From the moment I spotted this book I was intrigued. The word placement on the cover suggests that the story contains both a “con” and something “joined,” while “conjoined” hints at characters being joined together in some inevitable way.
Jessica Campbell, a 30-something social worker, is helping her father organize the family home and sort through her mother’s belongings following her funeral. While cleaning out the chest freezer, Jessica makes a macabre discovery. Nestled at the bottom of the freezer are the frozen bodies of two adolescent foster children, Jamie and Casey Cheng, who went missing 28 years earlier. The discovery defies explanation. What circumstances could have led to their death and placement in an icy tomb? Jessica’s mother Donna was an attentive and caring wife, mother, foster parent and homemaker. She embodied stability and security. Children in Donna’s care received compassion and understanding. What went wrong?
The author weaves together threads of the past: Donna’s childhood experiences; Jaime and Casey Cheng’s journey into foster care; and Jessica’s memories of the brief period in which the Cheng sisters lived with her family. While there is a mystery, this story isn’t a typical who-done-it novel but a more nuanced exploration of themes.