Counting Backwards

One of the most frustrating pieces of feedback for a writer is that their main character is unlikable. Putting aside the entire topic of writers self inserting themselves into stories or over-empathizing with their characters even when they don’t resemble them, sometimes characters need to be unlikable in order for the plot to make any sense. Is it possible to like a book without liking any of the characters in it? In my view, yes, so long as those characters are interesting.

I intensely disliked Jessa Gidney, the main character of Jacqueline Friedland’s Counting Backwards from the very first page. I also really hated her husband Vance. I found him controlling and chauvinistic. If there was a wrong thing to say, there was an 80% chance that this guy was going to say it. Yet, I also felt kind of bad for him, because Jessa refused to treat him like an equal partner in their fertility journey. Warning – if you are adopted, or have adopted, you may find some of Jessa’s views on the topic repugnant, even though she and the narrative both try to justify her desire for a child of her own body and refusal to consider other options just as legitimate. (Possibly all this ineffective rigamarole was an effort to make her more likable, which frankly failed). It is not a healthy relationship. But it is necessary for the narrative.

You see, in addition to her own fertility journey, which will be familiar to many women, Jessa is a lawyer about to embark on a journey that pertains to women’s fertility everywhere. During a pro bono immigration case she discovers that women in a detention center are being sterilized without their knowledge or consent. Which is a horrifying discovery for anyone, but especially for a woman desperately trying to get pregnant herself. To further compound things, Jessa makes a discovery about her family’s past and their involvement in a famous Supreme Court case regarding sterilization and racial supremacy. And this discovery does very little to help her relationship with Vance, who is Jewish and an active podcaster helping to restore art stolen in WWII to its rightful owners. Let’s just say she has many motivations for taking on the immigration case, even though it is not her field of law.

While Jessa’s personal life slowly implodes, like we all expected it would, readers are also given a glimpse into the aforementioned supreme court case by reading diary entries from the woman involved – Carrie Buck. While these diaries may be fictitious, Carrie’s case is not, and she is perhaps the most likable character in the book. But also the least interesting because the government has taken away all her agency for most of her narrative. Her story is heartbreaking and infuriating, which is entirely the point. It makes us want to rail at a woman like Jessa, who has so may choices and options if she would just get up the courage to use them. Watching her learn to do so is rewarding, as is learning about how Carrie still finds a way to make some choices for herself that do indeed bring her peace if not restitution.

Counting Backwards is a powerful read. It’s OK that you want to yell at the characters sometimes and shake them. You don’t need to like these people to be interested in their stories, which are indeed worth knowing. I love the idea of a real life court case from the past being dramatized. I’d love to see more of that. No matter who the main characters are.

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