Diane Noble, The Last Storyteller

The Last Storyteller

Diane Noble

Waterbrook, Sep 2004, $12.99, 384 pp.

ISBN: 1578563992

In California, an elated Sam informs his girlfriend Taite that he has received a fellowship to work for one year at the Institute of Neurological Research in Boston. He asks her to accompany him, but she refuses. His news trumps her news as she was going to tell him she was pregnant, but decides not to say a word because she loves him and does not want to dampen his future.

Despondent and thinking of an abortion, Taite decides to visit her Welsh grandmother, Naini. Her elderly grandmother encourages Taite to look back at her heritage as she tells stories of her past and encourages her to reconcile with her mom and to share the joy/burden with Sam. Will Taite be THE LAST STORYTELLER of a proud family or will she bring the next generation into the world with Sam at her side?

THE LAST STORYTELLER is an intriguing, contemporary tale that looks at several societal issues to include abortion and stem cell research. Though Diane Noble comes across much stronger on one side of these issues, the author provides the ethical dilemmas so that readers realize that these are complex questions not worthy of thirty second blips as normally tossed at people. The story is told through the three generation of women (Taite, her mom and grandma) so that the audience sees the differences in outlook. Sam is a fabulous protagonist as he works with stem cell research, but wonders about the morality when he does not want Taite to abort their child. This is a strong tale with a powerful look at modern morality.

Harriet Klausner