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morganm1's review
3.0
After reading "My Sister's Keeper" and "The Pact", this book was a disappointment. Boo.
kathie_g's review
3.0
I love this author but I have to say this was not one of her best. I did not like Cam and struggled with reading about his infidelity and Allie’s naivety. The thought provoking plot was definitely worth reading but not enough of it there to make me truly give the story a better rating.
chezleyrose's review
1.0
I love Jodi, I couldn't stand this book. I finished it, because I can't not finish a book, but it took me about triple the time of a normal book.
I wish that Jodi had stuck to the story, the adultery tangent was distracting and unnecessary. The ending, predictable. Sorry Jodi, not your best work.
I wish that Jodi had stuck to the story, the adultery tangent was distracting and unnecessary. The ending, predictable. Sorry Jodi, not your best work.
smderitis's review
3.0
I love Jodi Picoult's work. It never ceases to entertain me or grip my emotions. It also never fails to keep me on the edge of my seat and heavily question my own opinions and morals.
Mercy was no different. Trying to decide if love is an overpowering, acceptable reason to kill your ailing spouse was an interesting concept, one that I do not think I would have thought as hard about if I had not read this book.
The relationship of Jamie and Maggie is the one that everyone dreams of finding. It is honest, endearing, smitten, deep, but most of all, it is rooted in trust. So much trust, in fact, that Maggie trusts her husband to fulfill her final wish, and suffer from the chain of events that will inevitably follow. To hear Jamie's story of suffering through his wife's illness, suffering through her "mercy" killing, and then through the court case to decide his future is pain-stakingly hard for those who believe that love conquers all, but the story line will leave you on the edge of your seat.
Some sections, though, may leave you a bit dazed. During descriptions of Carrymuir, the homeland of the MacDonald clan, and the history behind their ancestry, I must admit that I got a little bored. While the information is necessary to understand their bond and influence over those that surround them, I sometimes found myself confused or wondering if these sections would be worth the length that they encompassed.
For the majority of the novel, I found myself perpetually angry at Cam for the choices he makes in his marriage. I found myself on the side of his wife, Allie, hoping for the best, but always hoping she'd stand up for herself. The final scene, in the kitchen with the grape juice, left me to wonder what was down the road for them. And while I like open ended endings that leave the reader to fill some of the pieces, that was not a piece I wanted left out.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. As with all of Jodi Picoult's works, I enjoyed the court scenes the most, as they are vivid, quick, enticing, emotion pulling and thought provoking. Even though this isn't my favorite by Picoult, I still recommend it to anyone who holds an interest.
Mercy was no different. Trying to decide if love is an overpowering, acceptable reason to kill your ailing spouse was an interesting concept, one that I do not think I would have thought as hard about if I had not read this book.
The relationship of Jamie and Maggie is the one that everyone dreams of finding. It is honest, endearing, smitten, deep, but most of all, it is rooted in trust. So much trust, in fact, that Maggie trusts her husband to fulfill her final wish, and suffer from the chain of events that will inevitably follow. To hear Jamie's story of suffering through his wife's illness, suffering through her "mercy" killing, and then through the court case to decide his future is pain-stakingly hard for those who believe that love conquers all, but the story line will leave you on the edge of your seat.
Some sections, though, may leave you a bit dazed. During descriptions of Carrymuir, the homeland of the MacDonald clan, and the history behind their ancestry, I must admit that I got a little bored. While the information is necessary to understand their bond and influence over those that surround them, I sometimes found myself confused or wondering if these sections would be worth the length that they encompassed.
For the majority of the novel, I found myself perpetually angry at Cam for the choices he makes in his marriage. I found myself on the side of his wife, Allie, hoping for the best, but always hoping she'd stand up for herself. The final scene, in the kitchen with the grape juice, left me to wonder what was down the road for them. And while I like open ended endings that leave the reader to fill some of the pieces, that was not a piece I wanted left out.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. As with all of Jodi Picoult's works, I enjoyed the court scenes the most, as they are vivid, quick, enticing, emotion pulling and thought provoking. Even though this isn't my favorite by Picoult, I still recommend it to anyone who holds an interest.
rachvos9's review against another edition
I put it down to read another book that came in, and I didn’t pick out back up for a month. Abandoned at 184 pages.
tarahmanning's review
3.0
This book was so confusing to me - I'm still trying to understand if I missed something.
When I read the summary of what this book was about - I was under the assumption it would be centered on dignified deaths - or euthanasia by choice. Jamie admits to killing his wife, Maggie because she asked him to. She was dying of cancer and the doctor had told her she didn't have much longer. She wanted to go out on her own terms, not succumb to the pain the cancer was inflicting on her body.
Jamie drives to Wheelock, a town with strong, deep roots in Scotland, where he tells his cousin, Cam, also the chief of police, what happened. Cam arrests him, charges are filed, and a court date is looming. Angus, Jamie & Cam's uncle who came over recently from Scotland - takes Jamie in while he awaits his judgment.
I was really looking forward to hearing the back and forth of this subject and the different points of view on it.
However, that storyline took a backseat (in like the third row) to Cam's story where he cheats on his wife with her assistant. (That's not a spoiler - it tells us that on the back cover of the book) There is some "magical" pull to Mia that Cam can't stop, the first time he meets her she takes his breath away and he's kissing her within the week. For her part, his wife Allie, also makes me roll my eyes. She adores Cam to the point of being pathetic - she does everything to make his life easier, she is quick to forgive his moods, surrender to whatever it is he wants, to move her goals and dreams around to make sure Cam shines brightest. Basically, she can't believe he married her so she's going to do everything she can to make sure he never regrets is.
I couldn't stand either of them for their behavior - and the fact that their storyline stole the spotlight of something that could have been so much better. Angus seems like an amazing character to this story but it seemed to me that Picoult started telling his story and then dropped it without finishing his arch.
This book felt like a bait and switch. We knew there would be the two stories running in tandem but I didn't realize the soap opera would take center stage. I really wished it had been the other way around because this was a great opportunity to really dig into a polarizing subject and flesh out the black, white, and gray of it all. But family drama won out.
When I read the summary of what this book was about - I was under the assumption it would be centered on dignified deaths - or euthanasia by choice. Jamie admits to killing his wife, Maggie because she asked him to. She was dying of cancer and the doctor had told her she didn't have much longer. She wanted to go out on her own terms, not succumb to the pain the cancer was inflicting on her body.
Jamie drives to Wheelock, a town with strong, deep roots in Scotland, where he tells his cousin, Cam, also the chief of police, what happened. Cam arrests him, charges are filed, and a court date is looming. Angus, Jamie & Cam's uncle who came over recently from Scotland - takes Jamie in while he awaits his judgment.
I was really looking forward to hearing the back and forth of this subject and the different points of view on it.
However, that storyline took a backseat (in like the third row) to Cam's story where he cheats on his wife with her assistant. (That's not a spoiler - it tells us that on the back cover of the book) There is some "magical" pull to Mia that Cam can't stop, the first time he meets her she takes his breath away and he's kissing her within the week. For her part, his wife Allie, also makes me roll my eyes. She adores Cam to the point of being pathetic - she does everything to make his life easier, she is quick to forgive his moods, surrender to whatever it is he wants, to move her goals and dreams around to make sure Cam shines brightest. Basically, she can't believe he married her so she's going to do everything she can to make sure he never regrets is.
I couldn't stand either of them for their behavior - and the fact that their storyline stole the spotlight of something that could have been so much better. Angus seems like an amazing character to this story but it seemed to me that Picoult started telling his story and then dropped it without finishing his arch.
This book felt like a bait and switch. We knew there would be the two stories running in tandem but I didn't realize the soap opera would take center stage. I really wished it had been the other way around because this was a great opportunity to really dig into a polarizing subject and flesh out the black, white, and gray of it all. But family drama won out.
marie_gg's review
2.0
This is one of Picoult's earlier books, from 1996, and I found it disappointing compared to her other novels. I think the only Picoult novel I've read that was published before Mercy was Harvesting the Heart, and I found that lacking as well in comparison to her other books. I think she began to hit her stride in 1999 or 2000.
Mercy is based on this theory:
"You know it's never 50-50 in a marriage. It's always 70-30, or 60-40. Someone falls in love first. Someone puts someone else up on a pedestal. Someone works very hard to keep things rolling smoothly; someone else sails along for the ride."
I'm not sure if Picoult the writer really believes this theory--and I realize that it's true in some cases--but what struck me was how terribly sad to be in a marriage where one partner was more devoted to the other person than vice versa. One example given was when the wife (Allie) surprises her husband at work, and he doesn't look pleased to see her. Who would want to stay in a marriage like that? And why should you?
Picoult likes to write plots that illustrate that you can't know what you would do in a difficult situation until you face it firsthand, and this novel is no different.
Jamie and Allie are both in marriages in which they love their spouses more than their spouses love them. When Jamie's wife Maggie becomes sick with incurable cancer, she talks him into smothering her with a pillow before it gets worse (without being concerned about what could happen to him after the fact). And in Allie's case, the husband she is completely devoted to, police chief Cam MacDonald (Jamie's cousin), has an affair.
Many of Picoult's novels have unlikable, unsympathetic characters, and this one was no different. Jamie was one of these egotistical, selfish sorts, and Mia, the woman he philandered with, was another. I found their affair to be hard to understand--the major thing Jamie seemed to see in Mia was her wanderlust and the fact she represented what he gave up (traveling, no chains). And he felt no remorse whatsoever in cheating on his wife, as if he felt he was entitled to an affair.
I had ZERO sympathy for Jamie or Mia, and this made the novel hard to like. I also found some of the more likable characters, Allie and Jamie, difficult to connect to, because Picoult didn't paint a vivid enough picture of their upbringing, family background, and motivations. We learned nearly nothing about either of their childhoods, for example, while we learned much more about the unsympathetic Jamie. Why was Allie so desperate for love that she would consent to life with a man who was not devoted enough to her in return?
This novel was written before the assisted suicide laws were passed in many states (including Oregon). I suspect that the attitudes toward mercy killing have changed in the past 14 years. When it was published, it was probably more thought-provoking than it is now. For new readers of Picoult, I'd take a pass on this one and read her more recent books instead.
Mercy is based on this theory:
"You know it's never 50-50 in a marriage. It's always 70-30, or 60-40. Someone falls in love first. Someone puts someone else up on a pedestal. Someone works very hard to keep things rolling smoothly; someone else sails along for the ride."
I'm not sure if Picoult the writer really believes this theory--and I realize that it's true in some cases--but what struck me was how terribly sad to be in a marriage where one partner was more devoted to the other person than vice versa. One example given was when the wife (Allie) surprises her husband at work, and he doesn't look pleased to see her. Who would want to stay in a marriage like that? And why should you?
Picoult likes to write plots that illustrate that you can't know what you would do in a difficult situation until you face it firsthand, and this novel is no different.
Jamie and Allie are both in marriages in which they love their spouses more than their spouses love them. When Jamie's wife Maggie becomes sick with incurable cancer, she talks him into smothering her with a pillow before it gets worse (without being concerned about what could happen to him after the fact). And in Allie's case, the husband she is completely devoted to, police chief Cam MacDonald (Jamie's cousin), has an affair.
Many of Picoult's novels have unlikable, unsympathetic characters, and this one was no different. Jamie was one of these egotistical, selfish sorts, and Mia, the woman he philandered with, was another. I found their affair to be hard to understand--the major thing Jamie seemed to see in Mia was her wanderlust and the fact she represented what he gave up (traveling, no chains). And he felt no remorse whatsoever in cheating on his wife, as if he felt he was entitled to an affair.
I had ZERO sympathy for Jamie or Mia, and this made the novel hard to like. I also found some of the more likable characters, Allie and Jamie, difficult to connect to, because Picoult didn't paint a vivid enough picture of their upbringing, family background, and motivations. We learned nearly nothing about either of their childhoods, for example, while we learned much more about the unsympathetic Jamie. Why was Allie so desperate for love that she would consent to life with a man who was not devoted enough to her in return?
This novel was written before the assisted suicide laws were passed in many states (including Oregon). I suspect that the attitudes toward mercy killing have changed in the past 14 years. When it was published, it was probably more thought-provoking than it is now. For new readers of Picoult, I'd take a pass on this one and read her more recent books instead.
minerva1221's review
4.0
Would you kill someone out of love? That's the main premise of this story. A man confesses to killing his terminally-ill wife. He did it simply because she asked him to. Or is it really that clear cut?
In this book, nothing about love is simple. It posed some interesting questions that had me wondering how I would react in similar circumstances. While I didn't agree with the choices the characters made, I can understand why they made them.
In this book, nothing about love is simple. It posed some interesting questions that had me wondering how I would react in similar circumstances. While I didn't agree with the choices the characters made, I can understand why they made them.
scientist_reading_world's review
3.0
Mercy, Treason, Love, Lies, Forgiveness.
3 stars
This time Jodi Picoult let me a little bit disappointed with this book. It has a good premise, What it means to truly love someone? and What are you capable to do for love? Go against moral standards? but it not so good executed. The writing style is, as usual, amazing being very fluid and simple that made me always feel so good, happy and excited to read her books.
So this story follows Jamie MacDonald who killed his wife Meggie and confesses. He killed her out of mercy cause she is dying of cancer. He murdered in a small city where his cousin leaves, is the police officer and is the chief of the MacDonald clan.
And then you except to be a book about the ethics involving the case the pro-life and euthanasia, but you only get a few glimpses of that during the trial and a specific scene that is never explained.
The story is more about the cousin of Jamie, Cameron (Cam) who betrays his wife for a woman that he instantly falls in love with. There are a lot of problems with Cam, his wife Allie, and the mistress Mia. See spoiler section
The court scene is very good as in a lot of Jodi's books but overall I think that this book could be two different books, one about mercy and killing someone who is dying and euthanasia is not legal and other about betrayal, adultery, and empowerment.
Overall was an enjoyable reading but I was expecting more out of this book but you should read it if you have time for it.
Okay let's discuss a few details and characters of this book
1) Jamie and Meggie's relationship
During the book, we have the chance to see how Meggie arrived at such a state and made Jamie killed her. at the beginning of the book, Meggie asks him a simple question, I know you love me. The question is how much being the first glance of how she used all the love and devotion that Jamie has for her to kill her to end such pain.
Meggie had the idea of killing her self long before the illness. When Jaime is doing the VR for the quadriplegic who wanted to play tennis again, she says to him if I ever stay in such condition I allow you to give me a shot. She had already the mind that she did not want to suffer in life and make Jamie suffering too.
Jamie tries to convince himself that he did that for pure egoism for not wanting to remember Meggie in such a bad way but for everything we see during the book he loves her more as he says to Allie.
In all book, we see a beautiful relationship with a tragic ending due to cancer which is one of the most unfair diseases of all time. For me the last scene when Jamie finally sees and finds Meggie is fantastic.
2) Allie
For me, Allie irritated me a lot! First for being so submissive, focus on a man, with no self-love or self-esteem and when she founds out that Cam betrays her with Mia she grows a bit in respect but still far from the point she gains respect on the relationship.
From the beginning. First, she chooses the shop because is near Cam police office. Then she is always comparing to Cam, he is sexier, taller, etc. She does 100 things just to see the effect does things has on him, leaving the shirts in the laundry without him asking, put tea just to have something to talk with him and treat him like a king while he treats her with no respect (we get at that point later).
When they talk about Jamie's case Allie says that she would kill Cam if he asks for it and then kill herself not because of guilt just because he was no longer with her.
During all the book Allie is treated badly by Cam, not being respected by him and cheated by him. She thinks that he yealing at her when he is angry is a privilege and honor!
She starts opening the eyes during Christmas when she wants to give a small picture of Jamie and Cam together in Scotland and he becomes very angry and violent and she finally says something about it instead saying that he is right. when Valentine Day arrives for them (since she owns a flower shop they celebrate early) he forgets as always, buys things in a rush like be my valentine's Dad, lies to her saying that he has a conference but he is going to do a lover weekend with Mia. Allie in that time gets very angry.
The turning point is when she founds out all the lies and the cheating and decides to sell all his things, and decides to go away.
I was happy but then she comes back and instead of going away since she is very submissive to Cam she decides to go back and after a lot of fighting they finish together after all the things he did to her during all those years.
I wished she could be more emotionally independent from him and made him suffer what she suffered.
3) Cam
The worst man in this book, with no morals, no respect for his wife and no courage to admit that he was so wrong.
At the start, we can see Cameron not caring about Allie always dreaming about traveling, and when he meets Mia that travels a lot he falls instantly in love form her. and the first time Cam is alone in his house with Mia they kiss just like that.
The thing is Mia wants what Cam has a family, love and a home, he wants to travel around the world with her and see the world. So their love is condemned from the begging but they still go on without talking about it and hurting Allie in the process.
Even when we saw his ex-girlfriend older he thought of her in a sexual way with his wife in the same room.
During the rest of the book, we always see Cam getting with Mia, lying to Allie, not treating Allie as she deserves and when Mia decides to leave the first time he hires a private detective to find her and in the second time he is so angry but also finds that Allie knows everything.
Mia is no angel either she plotted a lot of things and situations and even help him to feel less bad about it because of the fantasy. She even says that she wants to be far from him but comes back to the town.
When Allie's angry with him, he starts to see how much he loves her but still with Mia in his mind forever. BUT he does not like the new Allie and wants the old one to come back because with that everything will be easier. He also states that he does not like to be submissive to her like trying to apologize and regretting his mistakes is a bad thing.
But in the end, the love that Allie feels for him is enough to forgive him.
For me, someone with those traits and personalities would need to change a lot not because of cheating but because of everything.
3 stars
This time Jodi Picoult let me a little bit disappointed with this book. It has a good premise, What it means to truly love someone? and What are you capable to do for love? Go against moral standards? but it not so good executed. The writing style is, as usual, amazing being very fluid and simple that made me always feel so good, happy and excited to read her books.
So this story follows Jamie MacDonald who killed his wife Meggie and confesses. He killed her out of mercy cause she is dying of cancer. He murdered in a small city where his cousin leaves, is the police officer and is the chief of the MacDonald clan.
And then you except to be a book about the ethics involving the case the pro-life and euthanasia, but you only get a few glimpses of that during the trial and a specific scene that is never explained.
The story is more about the cousin of Jamie, Cameron (Cam) who betrays his wife for a woman that he instantly falls in love with. There are a lot of problems with Cam, his wife Allie, and the mistress Mia. See spoiler section
The court scene is very good as in a lot of Jodi's books but overall I think that this book could be two different books, one about mercy and killing someone who is dying and euthanasia is not legal and other about betrayal, adultery, and empowerment.
Overall was an enjoyable reading but I was expecting more out of this book but you should read it if you have time for it.
Spoiler
Okay let's discuss a few details and characters of this book
1) Jamie and Meggie's relationship
During the book, we have the chance to see how Meggie arrived at such a state and made Jamie killed her. at the beginning of the book, Meggie asks him a simple question, I know you love me. The question is how much being the first glance of how she used all the love and devotion that Jamie has for her to kill her to end such pain.
Meggie had the idea of killing her self long before the illness. When Jaime is doing the VR for the quadriplegic who wanted to play tennis again, she says to him if I ever stay in such condition I allow you to give me a shot. She had already the mind that she did not want to suffer in life and make Jamie suffering too.
Jamie tries to convince himself that he did that for pure egoism for not wanting to remember Meggie in such a bad way but for everything we see during the book he loves her more as he says to Allie.
In all book, we see a beautiful relationship with a tragic ending due to cancer which is one of the most unfair diseases of all time. For me the last scene when Jamie finally sees and finds Meggie is fantastic.
2) Allie
For me, Allie irritated me a lot! First for being so submissive, focus on a man, with no self-love or self-esteem and when she founds out that Cam betrays her with Mia she grows a bit in respect but still far from the point she gains respect on the relationship.
From the beginning. First, she chooses the shop because is near Cam police office. Then she is always comparing to Cam, he is sexier, taller, etc. She does 100 things just to see the effect does things has on him, leaving the shirts in the laundry without him asking, put tea just to have something to talk with him and treat him like a king while he treats her with no respect (we get at that point later).
When they talk about Jamie's case Allie says that she would kill Cam if he asks for it and then kill herself not because of guilt just because he was no longer with her.
During all the book Allie is treated badly by Cam, not being respected by him and cheated by him. She thinks that he yealing at her when he is angry is a privilege and honor!
She starts opening the eyes during Christmas when she wants to give a small picture of Jamie and Cam together in Scotland and he becomes very angry and violent and she finally says something about it instead saying that he is right. when Valentine Day arrives for them (since she owns a flower shop they celebrate early) he forgets as always, buys things in a rush like be my valentine's Dad, lies to her saying that he has a conference but he is going to do a lover weekend with Mia. Allie in that time gets very angry.
The turning point is when she founds out all the lies and the cheating and decides to sell all his things, and decides to go away.
I was happy but then she comes back and instead of going away since she is very submissive to Cam she decides to go back and after a lot of fighting they finish together after all the things he did to her during all those years.
I wished she could be more emotionally independent from him and made him suffer what she suffered.
3) Cam
The worst man in this book, with no morals, no respect for his wife and no courage to admit that he was so wrong.
At the start, we can see Cameron not caring about Allie always dreaming about traveling, and when he meets Mia that travels a lot he falls instantly in love form her. and the first time Cam is alone in his house with Mia they kiss just like that.
The thing is Mia wants what Cam has a family, love and a home, he wants to travel around the world with her and see the world. So their love is condemned from the begging but they still go on without talking about it and hurting Allie in the process.
Even when we saw his ex-girlfriend older he thought of her in a sexual way with his wife in the same room.
During the rest of the book, we always see Cam getting with Mia, lying to Allie, not treating Allie as she deserves and when Mia decides to leave the first time he hires a private detective to find her and in the second time he is so angry but also finds that Allie knows everything.
Mia is no angel either she plotted a lot of things and situations and even help him to feel less bad about it because of the fantasy. She even says that she wants to be far from him but comes back to the town.
When Allie's angry with him, he starts to see how much he loves her but still with Mia in his mind forever. BUT he does not like the new Allie and wants the old one to come back because with that everything will be easier. He also states that he does not like to be submissive to her like trying to apologize and regretting his mistakes is a bad thing.
But in the end, the love that Allie feels for him is enough to forgive him.
For me, someone with those traits and personalities would need to change a lot not because of cheating but because of everything.
jellokites's review
3.0
If I could rate this a 3.5 I would, but did not feel it was a 4. I liked it but did not love it, and for being one of my favorite authors, I was surprised. But maybe since this was one of her earlier books (this was published in 1996, and the earliest book I read was 1999) it took a bit to get her style down.
I guess I was very disappointed by the decision that Cam made to spend time with Mia. Although I am glad Mia did end up leaving so that Allie and Cam could reconcile their relationship.
As for Jaime killing his wife, I can understand why he did it, but to me, it still does not make things right, as sad as the situation was.
There was reference in the book towards the end that someone "close" was going to die. So then I was trying to figure out who, when it turned out to be Angus, and I was thinking a more central character.
It took me awhile to get into the book, but I did enjoy it for the most part.
I guess I was very disappointed by the decision that Cam made to spend time with Mia. Although I am glad Mia did end up leaving so that Allie and Cam could reconcile their relationship.
As for Jaime killing his wife, I can understand why he did it, but to me, it still does not make things right, as sad as the situation was.
There was reference in the book towards the end that someone "close" was going to die. So then I was trying to figure out who, when it turned out to be Angus, and I was thinking a more central character.
It took me awhile to get into the book, but I did enjoy it for the most part.