Book Review

One Leg Up

by Margee Driscoll

This review was written by Mike Wever, the editor of Wanderings. The novel is available now in paperback through Amazon.

One Leg Up is the story of how young pushover Theresa Cook finds strength and an emotional center inside the state penitentiary with the help of her cellmate, unrepentant prostitute Bernadette Quinn, and a pair of unexpected friends from within the harsh prison world.

Margee Driscoll works a number of social topics into the story, including the aftermath of the Vietnam war on soldiers and the shortcomings of the state's social support systems. She is most effective in her treatment of religion, managing to portray characters with clear Christian beliefs but still enmeshed in very human flaws. There are a number of moments in the story that bring on serious thought about the nature of God, but the book never falls to the level of attempting to browbeat any readers who don't share the views it expresses.

One nagging problem in this novel is the lack of the editorial attention it received from the publisher. Punctuation problems can be found throughout the story, along with grammar and spelling mistakes. These errors are distracting, but not so severe as to make to make the book unreadable.

Problems exist in the writing itself as well. The point of view often jumps abruptly from character to character and there is a tendency for characters to swing suddenly from joy to anger and back again without much cause given. These flaws are balanced out by an easy, accessible narrative style and characters whose motivations are clear, consistent and easily understood.

One Leg Up is an early novel in the career of a writer with dedication and talent. When that career is done, this novel may not be Margee Driscoll's crowning achievement but it will certainly have a place in the collection of the many fans she is sure to attract.