‘Millstone’ novel offers some prospective for students fearing finals

Thanksgiving Break is one of my favorite times of the year — good friends and food all week long, and a breather from classes during which I can start to mentally prepare myself for the hell that is the end of the semester.

So in an effort to distract myself from the impending weeks, I dug through my bookshelf searching for a good read. What I found was Margaret Drabble’s "The Millstone," a book that was — in an intangible way — a reassuring reminder that there are far more frightening things in the world than final exams.

Rosamund Stacey, a well-read but otherwise extremely naïve young woman in 1960s London, finds herself pregnant after her first sexual experience. Living alone in her parents’ flat and horrified by the alternatives, Rosamund decides to have the baby on her own, despite the social stigma an unwed pregnancy surely would bring.

So begins Rosamund’s journey to motherhood. In a remarkably and almost unbelievably calm manner, she schedules appointments for herself at the local clinic and searches through the newspapers to find a nanny service for help. She also intently watches children passing her on the street. No doubt these children have been there all along, but her own pregnancy has made her more curious about them.

The months progress and Rosamund finally has her baby, still not knowing what to expect when raising a child. What she finds after her daughter’s birth is a sense of completeness and fulfillment, but — more importantly — a sense that everything in her life from this point will be all right.

This book has a very comfortable quality. Even though the main character is facing a life-altering decision and all the serious repercussions that come with it, the author makes reading this book as easy as having a conversation with a good friend. No pretenses, forced politeness or awkward pauses come between Rosamund and the reader. Drabble’s simple, yet powerful, writing style immediately puts readers at ease with the story, and allows them to sympathize with Rosamund’s situation. Drabble also uses clear, distinguished language. Reading this book is as simple as having a conversation with a person. It was easy to feel comfortable with the language.

I must have liked this book so much because of the perspective it gave me. After reading it, it seemed that my problems are trivial in comparison to the character’s. People every day have more serious issues to deal with than worrying about tests. I dread the thought of what my classes have in store for me in the next few weeks, and in a way I feel very unprepared for my finals (Yes, I know the massive study sessions have yet to commence, but still, the thought alone is not fun). But seeing what Rosamund had to deal with and, the mind-boggling decisions that she faced, made me think my anxiety over finals is slightly unwarranted.

Don’t get me wrong — finals always bring uncertainty and apprehension. But, after hearing Rosamund’s story, I’m ready to suck it up and make it through finals. If you read this book, you’ll probably feel the same.