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A review by tarahmanning
Mercy by Jodi Picoult
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.