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momantha 's review for:
The Storyteller
by Jodi Picoult
Jodi Picoult novels are always so beautifully written that I can be sucked into any topic or story she tells. It's very rare that I dislike any of her books, and I always finish them soon after starting since they're nearly impossible to put down. When I read the description of this book, I thought the plot sounded incredibly stupid and unbelievable, yet I knew that wouldn't stop me from reading it and ultimately liking it. I applaud Jodi for stepping outside of the typical structure that has outlined nearly all of her books. It's obviously a winning formula, but it becomes repetitive after a while and she has such an astounding way with words that I wish she would take more of a creative license. In that respect, she went outside the bounds of that formula a bit here, although many of the typical elements remained, including the big *twist* at the end. For some reason, maybe that I expect a final twist at this point, I guessed what it would be very early on into the book. Often I find her twists unnecessary to the plot, but in this case I found it appropriately lined up with the themes of forgiveness, atonement, and mirrored the additional story being weaved throughout the novel brilliantly.
I was surprised by how much of this book delved into the holocaust. I expected the occasional flashback, but it seemed to me more like this was a holocaust book, with a brief intro and outro dealing with how the story came to being told and the resulting fallout. I thought the "main characters" turned out to be more peripheral, and the story ended up really being more about the people in her life. I've read MANY books about world war II and the holocaust, and it appears like the research and descriptions here were very tragically accurate. No matter how many times you read about this era, it's always horrifying and gut wrenching.
I liked this book a lot and I think certain stories within it came full circle quite nicely, but I still felt it lacked in small ways to keep from me rating it 5 stars. In a sense, I'd like to rate all Picoult books 5 stars because they're always so damn well-written that they get inside of you, but I guess compared to other books of hers that I've read, this one wasn't my favorite. Still a solid 4-stars though.
I was surprised by how much of this book delved into the holocaust. I expected the occasional flashback, but it seemed to me more like this was a holocaust book, with a brief intro and outro dealing with how the story came to being told and the resulting fallout. I thought the "main characters" turned out to be more peripheral, and the story ended up really being more about the people in her life. I've read MANY books about world war II and the holocaust, and it appears like the research and descriptions here were very tragically accurate. No matter how many times you read about this era, it's always horrifying and gut wrenching.
I liked this book a lot and I think certain stories within it came full circle quite nicely, but I still felt it lacked in small ways to keep from me rating it 5 stars. In a sense, I'd like to rate all Picoult books 5 stars because they're always so damn well-written that they get inside of you, but I guess compared to other books of hers that I've read, this one wasn't my favorite. Still a solid 4-stars though.