This book by well known author Jodi Picoult was a slightly different take on her usual formulaic novels, although there were some similarities with The Green Mile by Stephen King which distracted me at times. The novel is ultimately about vengeance and redemption and coming after finishing Cage of Stars by Jacqueline Mitchard it was interesting reading, although not interesting enough for me to pull an all nighter.
Her research is impeccable for her novels and I have noticed she usually tries to draw attention to various topical issues, often more than one in the same book. This book dealt with not only the ethics surrounding the death penalty but associated things like restorative justice. Also the foster care system and the associated problems faced by people with learning and speech difficulties. She also covered Judaism and Catholicism and Agnosticism, Gnostic Gospels, faith and healing and miracles and the question of would we recognise the Messiah if He came to Earth now. Although it was never really explained how we would come to accept a Jewish or Christian Messiah who is a murderer.Then we have the heart transplant and the repercussions of living with an organ inside you that came from a murderer....do you think evil thoughts and can we live with such a person's organ inside us? We even have a female Jewish ACLU lawyer with self esteem issues.
So this is clearly my problem with her books .... I am so distracted when I read her novels because she puts so much into them that I find my mind going off on tangents, and this is not helped by the constant platitudes and predictability of her novels. I did not buy this novel new and that is probably the best way I can describe her work for me. I would not pay full price or even half price for her books but I would get them out of the library as I do like to see what the current topical issue is for her. In fact these books may be in effect a sort of time capsule, we may look to these in twenty years and be amazed at how society has changed, so she may be some kind of genius after all.
I rate it 3/5
Hi Kathleen,
ReplyDeleteI've literally just started reading this very book, I'm only on page 10! So I am interested in what you have to say. I have read most of JP's books - and I do enjoy them (although some are noticeably better than others)~ and I agree she researches the content well.
Sometimes I too have felt overwhelmed by who is who, and so many different threads - although oveall I like her writing.
I finished my last JP book a couple of weeks ago and it took me simply ages to read as it was hard going at first, although the pace picked up as I continued. It was entitled "Nineteen Minutes".
Hi Jan isn't that spooky? I do think we are linked somehow! I read Nineteen Minutes and I am trying to remember if i had trouble with it...possibly not as I am very into those school tragedy type ones.
ReplyDeleteWhat really impressed me with Jodi is that she corresponded with my son, who as you may know is a writer, in a very helpful way about writing and the process. I admire her for turning her earlier books around from the more romance style formulaic novel ...she just needs I think to write these in such a way that we do not always predict what the characters are going to do or how they are going to react. Does that make sense Jan?
I have only read one of her books and I did enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteThough as you said very intense with so many twists and turns.
I'll look out for this one now at the library ;)