In many Ian McEwan novels, there is a moment of crisis or extremity that shatters his characters’ lives, reveals the innermost workings of their hearts or triggers a reassessment of everything they’ve believed. [. . . ]
The pivotal moment in Mr. McEwan’s suspenseful but very spindly new novel, “The Children Act,” concerns a ruling that Fiona Maye, a British High Court judge, must make on the case of a 17-year-old boy named Adam Henry, who has refused a lifesaving blood transfusion on religious grounds. (He and his parents are strict Jehovah’s Witnesses.) If the judge grants a hospital permission to overrule Adam’s wishes and go ahead with the transfusion, his chances for recovery are decent; if she refuses, and Adam is not transfused quickly, his prognosis is grim: He could die or suffer brain and kidney damage. Fiona’s involvement in the case will not only have a momentous impact on Adam and his family, but will also mark a turning point in her life, changing forever the way she thinks about herself.