What Happened to Tom

More about the book

Fiction. Women's Studies. Inspired by Judith Jarvis Thomson's philosophical thought experiment "The Violinist," WHAT HAPPENED TO TOM? is a psychological and philosophical thriller. Plan B became available without a prescription well after Viagra became so very popular. No surprise then, that Tom, like many men, assumes that since pregnancy is a natural part of being a woman, it's no big deal: a woman finds herself pregnant, she does or does not go through with it, end of story. But then Tom wakes up to find his body's been hijacked and turned into a human kidney dialysis machine. He has to stay connected to Simon for nine months or Simon will die. Much of the novel is written as dialogue between Tom and the female doctor who did this to him (they met in a bar and he remembers nothing more); Tom and his friend Steve; his girlfriend, Beth; and, eventually, the violinist named Simon. Tom finds he is powerless to take legal or medical action to deal with the situation and loses everything. Considering this situation analogous to an unwanted pregnancy, this book draws out the ethical dimension of a pro-choice position. WHAT HAPPENED TO TOM? is ultimately a feminist allegory about women's reproductive rights.