Orchid Child

In the past few months, I kept hearing about a new book called Orchid Child by Victoria Costello. The setting in Ireland caught my interest, but so did its unique premise of intergenerational trauma, epigenetics, and schizophrenia. I was intrigued to see where these interconnecting themes would go!  

Special thanks to NetGalley and Between the Lines Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Summary

It’s 2002, and Kate Jones, a neuroscientist, has just lost her job. Now she and her teenage nephew Teague, for whom she’s guardian, move to western Ireland for her new position as co-lead on a research study about schizophrenia. Teague is schizoaffective himself, and his visions are becoming increasingly hard to ignore. 

80 years earlier, Kate’s grandparents Ellen and Michael were forced to flee their home in Ireland and make a new life in New York, but that life was filled with hardship. Michael had what was called “second sight,” a gift he passed on to some of his descendents—possibly including Teague. How might the past be connected to the present? How can mental disorders and “second sight” be related?

Review

Orchid Child follows two timelines: In 2002, Kate is researching mental disorders across families, and her nephew Teague is grappling with his increasing hallucinations and early-stage schizophrenia. In 1920, Ellen and Michael are a young Irish couple forced to flee to New York, but life doesn’t get any easier for them there. Between the two, I preferred the 2002 narrative; it also gets a lot more page time than the historical timeline. Even so, Ellen and Michael’s chapters are compelling. I only wish there had been some more connectedness between the two timelines. 

I did like learning about Irish history and culture here, though it’s less detailed than in other books I’ve read. I had some prior knowledge of the Irish War of Independence. While that part moves quickly here, it was also interesting to see how it was for Irish refugees living in the United States in the aftermath. Ellen and Michael are part of the Irish diaspora, and their Irish culture and history runs strong, even in their new home. Unfortunately, tragedy follows them to America in major ways. 

Moreover, I loved learning about epigenetics and intergenerational trauma throughout this novel. Another book I’ve read about that is The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford, and it was fascinating to see that research expanded on in Orchid Child. It’s a principal plot point here, and as the author notes at the back of the book, the research Kate and Ryan are conducting here is based on a real study done in Ireland between 1996 and 2003. Wow! 

This novel explores the parallels between schizophrenia (and other mental disorders) with the concept of “second sight.” What is the overlap, if any? How do the perspectives of modern-day scientists contrast with Druids or traditional thinking? Related to all of this is the concept of orchids versus dandelions (in terms of genetic predispositions to environmental sensitivity versus survival). Teague is considered an orchid child; Kate is a dandelion. How can orchid children get a better chance at thriving despite the odds? 

Although Orchid Child explores a range of fascinating topics, from science to Irish history, it’s a somewhat uneven book. The first half was slow reading for me, though it picked up a lot in the second half. It weaves in a lot, yet the ways some plot points tied together didn’t completely work for me. There are also numerous characters to keep track of, and they make mistakes and have difficult lives. Even so, I ultimately liked the main characters, flawed as they may have been. 

Final Thoughts

Orchid Child is an interesting book about science, mental disorders, family history, and intergenerational bonds. Though it’s a bit uneven in places and the characters aren’t always likable, it is thought-provoking and original. 

Get the Book

You can buy Orchid Child here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

Orchid Child by Victoria Costello
Audience	Adult
Genre	Historical Fiction; Contemporary Fiction
Setting	Western Ireland; New York City
Number of Pages	312
Format I Read	ebook (NetGalley)
Original Publication Date	June 13, 2023

Official Summary

Kate is a neuroscientist who covets logic and order, unless she’s sleeping with her married lab director, and then logic goes out the window. So does her orderly life in Manhattan when she’s fired over the affair and Kate’s mother presses her to accept responsibility for her fifteen-year-old nephew, Teague, an orchid child who hears voices and talks to trees but rarely people.

To salvage her career, Kate agrees to conduct a study in West Ireland where hostile townsfolk rebuff her study of their historically high rate of schizophrenia and a local chief Druid identifies Teague’s odd perceptions as the gift of second sight, thrusting a bewildered Kate on a trail of madness, magic, and armed rebellion that leads to her own grandparents, who were banished as traitors from the same town.

When a confrontation with the chief Druid endangers Teague’s life, Kate lands at the intersection of ancient Celtic mysticism and 21st century neurodiversity, where the act of witnessing old wounds can heal suffering in both past and present – even hers, if she can accept the limits of science and the power of ancestral ties.