The Family Code by Wayne Ng
A Review
After reading this novel, I am left feeling emotionally exhausted. I still don’t know how I am supposed to feel. I know I shouldn’t be surprised that people live like this every day and that terrible things happen to children but a part of me doesn’t want to believe that it happens at all. I come from what I consider a “normal” family but then again, what is normal? My parents stayed together, there was always food on the table, and I never worried about where I was going to live next, so I consider myself incredibly lucky. What about the kids that didn’t grow up in a stable environment? Are they destined to repeat the errors of their parents? The Family Code by Wayne Ng gives the reader a glimpse into the life of a struggling single mom and her son as they attempt to keep their family together throughout times of trauma, violence, crime, and family secrets.
Hannah Belenko always knew she was lacking in the motherly instinct department but losing her daughter to the state made it obvious she was failing as a mother. Getting by in life was her forte but that just wasn’t cutting it anymore. Six-year-old Axel lives everyday tiptoeing around his mother, trying to keep her happy and dreaming of a better life. When Hannah is threatened by her boyfriend, she decides to pack her bags and run away to Halifax with Axel in tow. Even though Hannah wants a better life for her and Axel, she is plagued by her childhood traumas and the Belenko family code of silence.
I really enjoyed the way this novel was written. Having two points of view on the same situation is always interesting but when one of those points of view is that of a child, it adds a completely different feel to the novel. The innocence of the child acted as the light at the end of the tunnel and kept me reaching for it, weeding though the chaotic situation that Hannah had created for her child. It was so incredibly sad to watch that light dim throughout the novel as things went south but it showed how resilient children truly are and how parents, even when their methods are problematic, want to keep the light within their child burning bright.
The characters in this novel were real, so real that they seemed to leap off the page. They were raw, unforgiving, and vulnerable. The author has done an amazing job at making you love and hate the characters at the same time. I admit that I detested Hannah right from the beginning. I think we all grew up knowing someone like Hannah and her antics brought up a lot of anger and hatred inside me, but I kept reading because I knew that she had to have some sort of redeeming quality. When we finally started to learn of her past and what her tyrant of a father put her and the whole family through, it became apparent where the problems she had originated.
It is obvious that Wayne Ng’s years as a social worker have allowed him to see the worst in people but have also given him the compassion required to allow people a second, and many times, a third chance in life. The important takeaway of this novel is that people are not always as they seem. Families always want to paint a pretty picture of perfection for those on the outside looking in. We can never truly know anyone else’s struggles and though it may be hard to withhold judgment, we must because until we know the whole story, we know nothing at all. As painful as this story may be for some, I feel it is an important one to read so we can remind ourselves that people struggle daily with hiding many dark secrets.