Some more Picoult July 4, 2007
Posted by Book Reader in Jodi Picoult.2 comments
so, I ran through My Sister’s Keeper, then Nineteen Minutes, and now I’m at The Plain Truth. But I think I’m starting to have enough of this mix of “1/4th of romance, 1/4th of court, and 2/4th of social and family matters”.
All the things that come to my mind right now would be spoiling the stories’ endings for you, so I won’t say anything. Just my rating:
My Sister’s Keeper – 4 out of 5
Nineteen Minutes – 5 out of 5
The Plain Truth – 3.5 out of 5 (so far, I’m some 25% through the book. The ghost references of course make me think about The Second Glance 
)
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult June 7, 2007
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(reading in progress)
Brian’s thoughts on firefighting are just impossible not to mention. I’m quoting from memory, so forgive me for being imprecise…
- yes, I’m just going to wait and see
- I’ve become a firefighter to save people. I just should have picked specific names
- Safety of the rescuer is always more important than safety of the one being rescued
I’m still far from the middle of the book, so the characters are still developing. I don’t want to judge anyone yet.
The Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult May 25, 2007
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It’s a strong emotions book. I appreciate Jodi Picoult’s intention to touch important subjects. These are painful, and rarely leave us thinking in only good/bad, white/black categories.
Weak points, in my opinion:
- too much stress on Native American culture and heritage. I understand it’s important to some, but, frankly, I was bored with it
- quite standard pressure building pattern, typical for court room novels
- Andrew’s behavior in the prison seems a bit unreal. It seems to me that some of his actions and decisions do not match the life he used to lead…
Strong ones:
- real characters
- real problems
- good storytelling
- the end that does not say “and they lived happily ever after”
4.95 out of 5.
The Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult May 22, 2007
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(reading in progress)
This is so terrible when people destroy their lives by drinking…
This is so terrible when people are entangled in a legal battle that, besides bringing justice, will also break many people’s lives…
The Pact by Jodi Picoult May 21, 2007
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Gripping story, interesting characters, difficult choices.
What is intriguing, the reasons for being suicidal are barely touched considering the breadth of the novel. The focal point was how people are affected *afterwards*. Picoult followed a principle “take a person(s), put them in a difficult position, and then report on their thoughts and actions”.
The book was much better than The Tenth Circle, but worse than The Second Glance. I think Vanishing Acts (I’m at some 50% of it) are worse than The Pact.
What I did not like was the “is that it?” feeling close to the end of the book. The pressure raises constantly, to suddenly disappear completely at the end. I know–this is a problem with most of advanced multi-thread stories, but anyway, I can’t help it. I just did not want the story to end, yet…
5 out of 5.
Second Glance by Jodi Picoult March 13, 2007
Posted by Book Reader in George Guidall, Jodi Picoult.2 comments
I should never allow myself to jump from a great book to another before writing down my thoughts about the first one. It happened this time with this incredibly rich and so emotionally powerful book by Jodi Picoult. It’s been more than a week since the time I finished it, and I’m already having problems remembering all the incredible details.
I recommend this book to people who look for emotions, a little bit of mysticism, uncertainty, and warmth. I recommend this book to people who look for a plot that runs in seemingly separate threads, to suddenly find all of them converge in a single point. I recommend it to people who want to find interesting believable characters.
Of course, there are numerous important questions asked in the book. Yes, questions, not answers!!! That is the quality I liked best—I was not told what to think, how to decide, no—I was given information needed to find my own answers. I was shown parallels where they initially seemed not to exists—genetic research and Vermont Eugenics Society. Life, death, and suicide. Love beyond the grave.
Superior read. 5 out of 5. Superior performance by George Guidall, who narrates the audio version. 6 out of 5.
