Claiming Noah

This is the story of two couples and the pain and heartbreak they go though to become pregnant and then to raise their babies.

Unable to become pregnant, Catriona and James undergo IVF creating several embryos. After two failed attempts, Catriona becomes pregnant and delivers a healthy boy, Sebastian. Early in the pregnancy they decide to donate their last embryo to another infertile couple (surprisingly not waiting until their child is born before making this decision). Diana and Liam, on the list for embryo adoption, become the happy recipients successfully producing baby Noah a month after Sebastian is born.

What should be the start of two happy families rapidly becomes the story of two dysfunctional families. Catriona develops postnatal depression, which morphs into full blown psychosis requiring several weeks in a psychiatric clinic. Curiously, James, despite wanting a child so much before the pregnancy, doesn’t really engage with Sebastian, trotting happily off to work and failing to notice that his wife is more than just a little depressed. Nevertheless, when Catriona returns home from the clinic she finds Sebastian well cared for and with James taking 6 months paternity leave so she can return to work, she finds that she shakes off her negative feelings and becomes a good and loving mother.

In contrast Diana has taken easily to motherhood and loved taking care of Noah. However, one morning in the supermarket when Noah is only two moths old, she finds herself in the middle of every mother’s worst nightmare when Noah goes missing.

What follows is a compelling story of love and loss and the anguish experienced by two mothers as they fight for the right to raise their son. The author explores many facets of motherhood and the controversies surrounding IVF, adoption and the rights of parents and children. Although a champion of mothers, she does not have a lot of sympathy for the men in this novel. The fathers are weak and shady characters who have little empathy for their wives and their sons. Despite seemingly both desperate for a child before their wives become pregnant, neither seems to make much effort to bond with their sons and their feelings about their sons are never clear to us. James shows little sympathy for his wife's problems and Liam is distant, starting an affair soon after his son disappears. Although the writing is not strong and a little patchy in places in this debut novel, the story is simply told and the moral dilemmas faced by both couples will make you stop and think.

Claiming Noah, from debut author Amanda Ortlepp, tugs on the heartstrings, exploring a modern day dilemma raised by fertility treatments which challenges society's ideas of motherhood and family.

Unable to conceive naturally, Catriona and James turn to IVF to create their family but after the failure of two cycles, Catriona, already ambivalent about motherhood, agrees to just one last attempt and when her pregnancy is confirmed, insists the remaining embryo be donated. After a difficult pregnancy and long labour she delivers a son but from the moment Sebastian is placed in her arms she feels a nameless dread, and begins to spiral into postnatal psychosis.
Diana and Liam are excited when they are told a donor embryo is available and thrilled when it takes. Nine months later, Diana gives birth to Noah, and despite the exhaustion that comes with a newborn and Liam's casual indifference, Diana adores her beautiful son and then her world is turned upside down when he is abducted during a moment's inattention.
Almost two years later, while Diana still clings to the hope Noah will be returned to her, Catriona, is happily preparing to celebrate Sebastian's and James' birthday with family and friends... and then comes a knock on the door.

Claiming Noah is a heartrending story that eventually sees the lives of Catriona and Diana intersect. Though I found some parts of the plot to be a little melodramatic, the situation Catriona and Diana find themselves is thought provoking and confronting.

At its core, Claiming Noah is an examination of the legal, moral and ethical issues related to embryo donation and adoption. Ortlepp admits she became fascinated with the topic when she stumbled across it and her research shows. Claiming Noah explores a kind of 'worst case' scenario which develops into an untenable crisis when tragedy strikes.

By choosing to present the alternating viewpoints of Catriona and Diana, the author encourages the reader to explore the complexities of their individual situations. Both women are sympathetic characters, and there are no easy answers to the dilemma Ortlepp has created. As a mother, the heartache of both Catriona and Diana when faced with the loss of their sons is touching.

A story about motherhood, loss, betrayal and love, Claiming Noah is an emotionally charged novel.