Unless you live under the rock I do, Fifty Shades of Grey is only something you sort-of remember your coworker talking about. My friend, Mer, had found a write-up about it somewhere online and jokingly suggested it be our next book-club book. So it was suggested, so it shall be done, as she more seriously suggested it after our wine-fueled conversation inevitably turned to butt-sex.
For dinosaurs like myself, we had to wait until the beginning of April for the release, but those with e-readers could download it early. By the time I received my copy (the afternoon of its release), one book-clubber was already into the second book of the trilogy. Yes, that's correct, this appropriately-dubbed "mommy porn" (although anyone would appreciate it) is three-books long, and they're of pretty hefty size; long enough for the really weird stuff to come out.
Unlike everything else I've read about Fifty Shades of Grey, this won't include spoilers of the second and third books. Simple reason for that: I haven't read them. This also won't include a fawning over of Christian Grey. I get it, but that's not what floats my boat at the moment.
See, Christian Grey is an extremely successful, young, and even more beautiful entrepreneur. As the reader, I wasn't too sure exactly what his job was, then again that's why they award special business degrees, and not to me. But his work seems to take a back seat as he becomes more infatuated and obsessed with Anastasia Steele, recent English literature grad. But he does it in such a charismatic, charming, knock-your-socks-off romantic way that you can't but help but want to bend over so he can shove a cane up your ass.
They embark on a heavily emotional and physical relationship that ends up testing both Christina and Ana's "hard and soft" limits. Listening to the author, E.L. James, speak on the creation of her bestseller, I realized I read too much into the story. Then again, I saw so much of me and relationships I've been in throughout the book that it was difficult not the take the story as a giant metaphor for what people have been doing for centuries: being masochistic. Who hasn't been with someone we knew in our heart was going to hurt us but didn't care because the in-the-moments were amazing?
When you read it - because you do have to read it; I'm even shipping it to a friend of mine - I think it will be easy to draw parallels to your own, what you thought, was a mundane life. Besides the sex scenes - which romance novels a la Fabio cannot even compare - most everything in the story is relateable in some way, which is why I think it is so popular. The sex is just the icing on the cake, but extra special because it teaches women that exploring their sexuality and what makes them feel good is perfectly ok, should be expected, and can be a turn-on in and of itself. But my absolute favorite part about the book is the discussions it has spawned; you've made an instant BFF if the stranger next to you on the bus has read it also.
I absolutely cannot wait for book club this month! :-)
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
The Hunger Games (aka You Have Got to be F*cking Kidding Me)
My friend, Mer: "I've been reading the Hunger Games trilogy. Amazing! I can't put it down! Katniss is bad-@ss!"
Me: "I've never heard of it." (which is very strange considering it is Harry Potter-big, including the movie out next month)
Mer: "Really?! Its like Survivor, a reality show on TV but they battle to the death. And it's kids - 12 to 18 year-olds."
Me: "You have got to be fucking kidding me, that's awful."
And trust me, it only gets more awful-er.
Don't get me wrong, Mer was right - it is definitely a book you'll find difficult to put down. If I didn't have a toddler I most likely would have finished it in a weekend. And if not for the hold-your-breath-while-on-the-edge-of-your-seat, non-stop action, you might be able to spare a moment or two to contemplate just how horrific and awful this story is. P.S. Mer later told me it was categorized as a Young Adult novel. You have got to be fucking kidding me.
Maybe I am too aware of current events. Maybe this is one instance where my degree in Political Science is not a good thing, for I foresee the government depicted in The Hunger Games to be scarily right around the corner. Especially if a Republican is elected President instead of Obama or - I'll settle for - a Green Party candidate.
As all good stories do, this took place in post-apocalyptic America; or what used to be known as North America, but now is some creepy, freaky place that just makes me thing of dull silver medal. There is the Capitol, which is the equivalent of the Pharaoh's of Egypt - glimmering in wealth; whereas the outlining areas - in this case, Districts 1 through 12 - are poorer than poor. So under-fed and under-paid are they, Katniss and her friend, Gale, are forced to hunt beyond their fenced District to ensure their families survival.
But there was a point in time the Districts didn't feel so helpless, and it's because of their collective efforts that the Games even exist. SPOILER ALERT: the Games are their punishment; watching their children kill each other in cold blood is what they get as retribution. But you don't think of that because you're too busy concentrating and hoping Katniss survives. She's not very outspoken, is smaller than the other contestants, and comes from the poorest of the Districts; 12. She's not favored to win but rapidly becomes the favorite. The Hunger Games is truly an underdog story at it's best.
Suddenly, she just might have a chance at winning and, as the reader, you're constantly praising her cleverness, and her ability to manipulate a situation to her favor while I would just be sitting in the corner of the arena - an artificial environment created by the government - rocking back and forth blowing a whistle. In short, I probably would have been one of the first ones killed.
I was naive. As I read, I foolishly hoped that each of the contenders - 1 boy and 1 girl from each District - would collectively decide that this was a horrible practice and band together to defeat the government. Nope. In some Districts, children are training for the Games from the moment they can walk in the off-chance their name would be picked from the lottery system.
At it's core, The Hunger Games is a tale of survival; and knowing that belief in oneself is the only way said survival is going to happen. It's a bit dramatic for every-day life, but thank God it's not every-day life. Yet.
I was constantly surprised as I continued to read, but that didn't stop me from trying to predict where Suzanne Collins was going to take me next. I was shocked by the ending, and it left me wondering what on earth could happen in the next 2 books; a lot, apparently.
The general premise of the story confuses me. In our protest-happy nation (I was one of the few liberals adamantly against the Occupy movement), I didn't understand how the parents could stand by and just let this happen; just watch as their children died violent deaths hundreds of miles from their home. I had to keep telling myself it was fantasy. All of the characters' names are weird, so it has to be fantasy.
Only my friend, Mer, brought up an interesting point: things like this aren't new. Gladiators would fight to the death, and I'm pretty sure some people participate in ultimate cage fighting in some part of the world. We subject animals to it for our entertainment so this "fantasy" idea isn't that far of a stretch.
I wouldn't say I disliked it, but I wouldn't say I loved it, either. It was a story, it was interesting, it kept me entertained, guessing, and - most importantly - wanting more. Now that Katniss has surpassed even her own expectations, what could possibly be around the corner?
We'll find out in
At it's core, The Hunger Games is a tale of survival; and knowing that belief in oneself is the only way said survival is going to happen. It's a bit dramatic for every-day life, but thank God it's not every-day life. Yet.
I was constantly surprised as I continued to read, but that didn't stop me from trying to predict where Suzanne Collins was going to take me next. I was shocked by the ending, and it left me wondering what on earth could happen in the next 2 books; a lot, apparently.
The general premise of the story confuses me. In our protest-happy nation (I was one of the few liberals adamantly against the Occupy movement), I didn't understand how the parents could stand by and just let this happen; just watch as their children died violent deaths hundreds of miles from their home. I had to keep telling myself it was fantasy. All of the characters' names are weird, so it has to be fantasy.
Only my friend, Mer, brought up an interesting point: things like this aren't new. Gladiators would fight to the death, and I'm pretty sure some people participate in ultimate cage fighting in some part of the world. We subject animals to it for our entertainment so this "fantasy" idea isn't that far of a stretch.
I wouldn't say I disliked it, but I wouldn't say I loved it, either. It was a story, it was interesting, it kept me entertained, guessing, and - most importantly - wanting more. Now that Katniss has surpassed even her own expectations, what could possibly be around the corner?
We'll find out in
Monday, February 20, 2012
Books For Free(ish)!!
Like any book-junkie, I have a lot of books. While I appreciate and like every book I read for what it is (minus that one I left in the airplane front pocket), I generally have no interest in re-reading anything besides The Catcher in the Rye and that is just so I'll get the Family Guy jokes. I love my collection but I realized that if I'm not going to read them, why should I prevent someone who hasn't?
I'm not charging for them, but ask that you send money for shipping; I'm no Rockefeller. I'm planning to also present the collection to my book club, then ultimately sell whatever is left at our garage sale this spring/summer. Just send me an e-mail at thelargetotelady@gmail.com
The Secret Life of Bees, The Girl Who Played With Fire, Chelsea, Chelsea, Bang, Bang, Half Broke Horses, The Hour I First Believed, Sea Glass, Princess of the Midnight Ball, Cane River, The Pilot's Wife, Strange But True
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Left Behind, The Partner, The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mirror Image, Charming Lily
The Devil Wears Prada (totally better than the movie), Dog Handling (sorry it's upside down), Sex and the City, Monkey Business, The Dominant Blonde, White Oleander, Bergdorf Blondes
Danielle Steel's Crossings, Something about Irish Catholic Priests, A Streetcar Named Desire, Lovers & Dreamers (a complete trilogy of Nora Roberts novels), The Journal of Mortifying Moments, Faking It, The Bachelorette Party, Star, Notting Hell, Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber, The Washingtonienne
sTori Telling, Columbine, Marley and Me (sorry, my "Marley" got to it), Bergdorf Blondes (another, slightly more mangled, yet still readable, copy), Memories of a Geisha, Something else by Danielle Steel, The Shining, American Vertigo
Confessions of an Ex-Girlfriend, LA Woman, In Her Shoes, The Givenche Code, The Sweetest Taboo, Slave to Fashion, Eat, Pray, Love, Confessions of a Drama Queen, The Weight of Water, Ralph's Party, The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night Time, Live! From New York, It's Lena Sharp!, Lisa Marie's Guide for the Perplexed, Running in Heels, The Thin Pink Line, The DaVinci Code, Dating Can be Deadly, Babyville
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Jemima J
I haven't read a chick-lit since I entered what Cher's BFF so eloquently called my "post-adolescent, idealistic phase." They gave me hope that my life would become what I felt it was supposed to, thus I could relate to them. But once you've read one you've read them all. Jemima J, however, is the one that broke the mold.
Many chick-lit novels try too hard to be clever, quippy, and ironic, whereas Jane Green plays it cool and refined in Jemima J. A Brit who admittedly weighs about 100 pounds more than she should, Jemima is quiet, reserved, and has generally accepted that her body will stick with her forever. With a hopeless crush on her male colleague, and a general longing to become her female coworker, Jemima constantly finds herself turning to the only thing that's ever really committed to a relationship with her - food. Then - low and behold - Jemima discovers the answer to everything: the internet.
You never really consider the time in which a book was written until something as monumental and pivotal as the internet creeps into the story. Perhaps Ms. Green saw it coming, but the majority of laughs in the beginning came from Jemima, Ben, and Geraldine's first experience with the world wide web. Interestingly enough, it hadn't been around for very long and naked pictures could still be found. The only difference today is that most of the naked pictures are of our current politicians. But I digress....Written in 1999, I vaguely remember being in high school, learning of the internet, and finding internet chat rooms to be the only real interest, and apparently Jemima - or JJ, as she would now be called - felt the same way.
Deciding not to pass up the opportunity, JJ begins corresponding with Brad, the epitome of American-made, bleach-blond, buff California hunk. Of course his name would be Brad. She passes herself off as London's answer to the glamour girl without missing a beat since he does live across the pond, after all. Naturally, he wants to meet, so JJ heads for LaLa Land, (SPOILER!) only after becoming the gym-addicted, food-conservative American the rest of the world envisions us to be.
Besides grossly entertaining, funny, and charming, Jemima J teaches us how to be humble, accepting of ourselves, and accepting of others. And we realize that if we forget our own troubles for just a minute, we'd see everyone is busy battling their own desires, emotions, and conflicts. The back cover boasts an ending you won't see coming, and boy it's wasn't kidding; I was hooked until the absolute final page.
The only difficulty I found while reading this homage to the ugly ducklings of the world (which is everyone in some way or another) was the author's tendency to interject as a sort-of narrator instructing us how to feel about Jemima's situation. We find ourselves hopeful only to have our balloon busted by the author who feels the need to tell us fate is not working in JJ's favor. In fact, fate doesn't work in JJ's favor until the final page, and even then we learn fate only interjects when we're ready and have become the people we're supposed to be. It's a roller-coaster of a ride that teaches us life will always be a roller-coaster, no matter if you fix everything you've decided is "broken". As a quote from a classmate in my yearbook reads, "Even if the grass is greener on the other side, it is, essentially, just grass."
I borrowed Jemima J from my friend who pulled it from her book shelf, thrust it at me and said, "You HAVE to read this book." I love most books, but she was definitely right. You'll scarf this down in a weekend (it took me a week thanks to no lunch breaks at work and spending all of my time with a toddler), so make sure it is on your to-read list/in your tote/available at your local library as the one chick-lit you must read (Jennifer Weiner's Good In Bed is the other).
You never really consider the time in which a book was written until something as monumental and pivotal as the internet creeps into the story. Perhaps Ms. Green saw it coming, but the majority of laughs in the beginning came from Jemima, Ben, and Geraldine's first experience with the world wide web. Interestingly enough, it hadn't been around for very long and naked pictures could still be found. The only difference today is that most of the naked pictures are of our current politicians. But I digress....Written in 1999, I vaguely remember being in high school, learning of the internet, and finding internet chat rooms to be the only real interest, and apparently Jemima - or JJ, as she would now be called - felt the same way.
Deciding not to pass up the opportunity, JJ begins corresponding with Brad, the epitome of American-made, bleach-blond, buff California hunk. Of course his name would be Brad. She passes herself off as London's answer to the glamour girl without missing a beat since he does live across the pond, after all. Naturally, he wants to meet, so JJ heads for LaLa Land, (SPOILER!) only after becoming the gym-addicted, food-conservative American the rest of the world envisions us to be.
Besides grossly entertaining, funny, and charming, Jemima J teaches us how to be humble, accepting of ourselves, and accepting of others. And we realize that if we forget our own troubles for just a minute, we'd see everyone is busy battling their own desires, emotions, and conflicts. The back cover boasts an ending you won't see coming, and boy it's wasn't kidding; I was hooked until the absolute final page.
The only difficulty I found while reading this homage to the ugly ducklings of the world (which is everyone in some way or another) was the author's tendency to interject as a sort-of narrator instructing us how to feel about Jemima's situation. We find ourselves hopeful only to have our balloon busted by the author who feels the need to tell us fate is not working in JJ's favor. In fact, fate doesn't work in JJ's favor until the final page, and even then we learn fate only interjects when we're ready and have become the people we're supposed to be. It's a roller-coaster of a ride that teaches us life will always be a roller-coaster, no matter if you fix everything you've decided is "broken". As a quote from a classmate in my yearbook reads, "Even if the grass is greener on the other side, it is, essentially, just grass."
I borrowed Jemima J from my friend who pulled it from her book shelf, thrust it at me and said, "You HAVE to read this book." I love most books, but she was definitely right. You'll scarf this down in a weekend (it took me a week thanks to no lunch breaks at work and spending all of my time with a toddler), so make sure it is on your to-read list/in your tote/available at your local library as the one chick-lit you must read (Jennifer Weiner's Good In Bed is the other).
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Princess of the Midnight Ball
General consensus around the book club was that we had reached our depressing literature quota. Like movies, I don't understand why everything produced for an audience needs to highly dramatize real-world events, like we need any more reminders of the dispicability of the human race. But off my soapbox I go because we broke from reading the next critically acclaimed novel to dig through the trenches of young-adult fantasy with Princess of the Midnight Ball. And I'll bet you thought Twilight and those Spooky Snackhouse books were the only young-adult fantasy novels.
It was a welcomed foray into fantasy that I don't always accept because the imagery can get a bit confusing; it's not a genre I read much of or even gravitate towards. Although I did find scenes hard to picture in my largely unimaginative brain, it was overall a lovely story that I think would translate beautifully on the big screen. At least then I wouldn't have to spend energy trying my damnest to picture everything.
Queen Maude died long ago but her legacy and - most importantly - her debts live on. She left behind the world's most beautiful garden with a team hired specifically to maintain it's flourish year-'round. She also left behind a dozen beautiful daughters responsible for paying the debt she was not able to clear.
Unable to bear children of natural means with the King, Queen Maude visits the King of the underworld, King Under Stone, to make him a deal. In return, she is blessed with 12 daughters in a dozen years, but they must dance for him and his courts' entertainment until dawn, never excused even for sickness or fatigue. The original deal has an end-date and, of course, a dark King of the underworld can always be counted on to keep his word.
Naturally, the 12 princess are sworn to secrecy, and enchantments throughout the castle keep anyone from finding out just why the princess' dancing slippers are worn through night after night. That is until a soldier-turned-gardener, seemingly unextraordinary, becomes extraordinary, and finds special ways to find out special secrets.
Aside from being a beautiful tale with equally beautiful imagery, Princess of the Midnight Ball also offers lessons in humanity and the benefit of being humble, nonjudgmental, and tolerant. It's a good lesson in Karma, and how a simple act of subconscious kindness might just save the lives of 12 princess. If I had one critique it is that it's a bit Harry-Potter-ish, which I don't necessarily mind since I'm sleazy for Ron Weasley.
It's a short read and something I wouldn't have minded reading aloud to my toddler. Totally worth hauling around in your tote. Or diaper bag if you just don't want to deal with both.
It was a welcomed foray into fantasy that I don't always accept because the imagery can get a bit confusing; it's not a genre I read much of or even gravitate towards. Although I did find scenes hard to picture in my largely unimaginative brain, it was overall a lovely story that I think would translate beautifully on the big screen. At least then I wouldn't have to spend energy trying my damnest to picture everything.
Queen Maude died long ago but her legacy and - most importantly - her debts live on. She left behind the world's most beautiful garden with a team hired specifically to maintain it's flourish year-'round. She also left behind a dozen beautiful daughters responsible for paying the debt she was not able to clear.
Unable to bear children of natural means with the King, Queen Maude visits the King of the underworld, King Under Stone, to make him a deal. In return, she is blessed with 12 daughters in a dozen years, but they must dance for him and his courts' entertainment until dawn, never excused even for sickness or fatigue. The original deal has an end-date and, of course, a dark King of the underworld can always be counted on to keep his word.
Naturally, the 12 princess are sworn to secrecy, and enchantments throughout the castle keep anyone from finding out just why the princess' dancing slippers are worn through night after night. That is until a soldier-turned-gardener, seemingly unextraordinary, becomes extraordinary, and finds special ways to find out special secrets.
Aside from being a beautiful tale with equally beautiful imagery, Princess of the Midnight Ball also offers lessons in humanity and the benefit of being humble, nonjudgmental, and tolerant. It's a good lesson in Karma, and how a simple act of subconscious kindness might just save the lives of 12 princess. If I had one critique it is that it's a bit Harry-Potter-ish, which I don't necessarily mind since I'm sleazy for Ron Weasley.
It's a short read and something I wouldn't have minded reading aloud to my toddler. Totally worth hauling around in your tote. Or diaper bag if you just don't want to deal with both.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Room
Emma Donoghue's Room is not a book I would willingly pick up myself and read. There was a pit of dread in my stomach as my book club unanimously agreed to make that our December book, and yet, as we near closer to discussing it next week, I find myself not being able to wait. From the first two sentences of the back-of-the-book synopsis, I knew right off the bat that I absolutely did not want to read this book:
"To five-year-old Jack, Room is the world....It's where he was born, it's where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits."
Talk about a bad week to be off my antidepressants! But since I flaked on our last book (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet), I put my big girl pants on, sucked it up, and read my chapter book like a good girl. If you call putting my big girl pants on making a rule that I would only read the book in the daylight, when I wasn't alone, and I'd round out the evening with a Christmas movie.
Having it be written from the perspective of 5-year old Jack is a little off-putting, yet also comforting. You know something awful had to have happened, and since he's five, he's able to better understand the world - or lack thereof - around him, including the circumstances in which he wound up in Room. But you're left to fill in certain pieces of the puzzle yourself which is where I think the book wanders into dangerously depressing territory. It's especially easy for readers - parents or not - to take pause and wonder what on earth they would do if forced in to such a situation.
Although the story is told from the most innocent of perspectives, the twists and turns the story takes are still somewhat surprising. I'll be honest, the entirety of this novel is a heart-pumper! I found myself on the metaphorical edge of my seat right up until the very last page.
There are parts - my friend and I agreed - that are a bit far-fetched. But I just keep reminding myself that I'm reading a book, a land where vampires and humans can spawn, so I try not to get caught up in the semantics.
By far the most compelling part of Room is not the story itself, but the way this fictional child is able to spark within us basic questions of humanity. In a flash of a three-word sentence, the reader can find themselves in contemplative thought over their own life and how they are contributing to society: "Everything just repeats;" or, "in Outside everyone is always stressed." And if only it were still as easy as counting our teeth in order to feel calm and secure.
Room makes us look at the world - "Outside" - a little differently than we have before, if only for just a moment. For that, it is a definitely worth a carry in your tote.
"To five-year-old Jack, Room is the world....It's where he was born, it's where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits."
Talk about a bad week to be off my antidepressants! But since I flaked on our last book (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet), I put my big girl pants on, sucked it up, and read my chapter book like a good girl. If you call putting my big girl pants on making a rule that I would only read the book in the daylight, when I wasn't alone, and I'd round out the evening with a Christmas movie.
Having it be written from the perspective of 5-year old Jack is a little off-putting, yet also comforting. You know something awful had to have happened, and since he's five, he's able to better understand the world - or lack thereof - around him, including the circumstances in which he wound up in Room. But you're left to fill in certain pieces of the puzzle yourself which is where I think the book wanders into dangerously depressing territory. It's especially easy for readers - parents or not - to take pause and wonder what on earth they would do if forced in to such a situation.
Although the story is told from the most innocent of perspectives, the twists and turns the story takes are still somewhat surprising. I'll be honest, the entirety of this novel is a heart-pumper! I found myself on the metaphorical edge of my seat right up until the very last page.
There are parts - my friend and I agreed - that are a bit far-fetched. But I just keep reminding myself that I'm reading a book, a land where vampires and humans can spawn, so I try not to get caught up in the semantics.
By far the most compelling part of Room is not the story itself, but the way this fictional child is able to spark within us basic questions of humanity. In a flash of a three-word sentence, the reader can find themselves in contemplative thought over their own life and how they are contributing to society: "Everything just repeats;" or, "in Outside everyone is always stressed." And if only it were still as easy as counting our teeth in order to feel calm and secure.
Room makes us look at the world - "Outside" - a little differently than we have before, if only for just a moment. For that, it is a definitely worth a carry in your tote.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Plain Truth
I had never read a Jodi Picoult novel until Plain Truth, even though they dominate the fiction section of the bookstore. I was under the impression her books are often turned into Lifetime movies, but I might be thinking of Nora Roberts. The new virtual member of our book club (this was a chosen read) predicted it would be a tear-fest and she wasn't wrong; even a lack of antidepressant withdrawal couldn't stop me from crying.
It was easy to get sucked into the book early on, but the main character, Ellie's, constant irritation, and general rudeness was a bit off-putting. She seemed to melt as the book went on, but often found it too easy to revert back to the ice-queen defense attorney with a pixy haircut and slender features. She suffers from the usual past relationship baggage we all insist on carrying around, only we never really learn what her issue is, just that she is a commitment-phobe, afraid love will mean certain strangulation. Ellie meets, and is forced to live with, someone who wants the complete opposite, love from everyone she encounters, even if that means putting herself on the line.
See, Katie has a problem. She doesn't know it, but she needs Ellie's help in keeping her - a sweet, young, Amish girl - out of serving a lifetime prison sentence for murdering her infant son moments after his birth. The evidence is astounding, making it impossible for the reader to think that anything else could have happened other than......that. But you find yourself thinking that there just might be another possibility because, shit, you've read about pubescent wizards, and glittery vampires, so who the heck know what could have happened.
Like most books, you find yourself rooting for the main character, but this took on a different turn with Ellie being a defense attorney, the epitome of evil, soul-sucking lawyers. She even begins by verbalizing a nightmare staring a child molester whom she'd gotten acquitted. Dabbling in the legal field myself, Picoult's tale rings familiar in terms of legal jargon and pomp and circumstance. Ellie splits herself between the eats-nails-for-breakfast attorney, and the helpful long-lost family member, which can sometimes get confusing; one minute she's hostilely interrogating Katie, the next she's comforting her in a mother's embrace. With such a wide array of emotions, its no wonder the reader is in tears by the end. Like Ellie, we aren't sure what to believe. We just want to know the truth but are forced to learn life-lessons a long the way, like the truth is our reward for time and energy spent on self discovery and revelations. (Does it sort of feel like every author is playing God?)
By the end, Ellie and I (the reader) have learned our lessons and are intent on choosing the path of self-improvement over what feels comfortable - hiding in the past. Katie, on the other hand, has been the teacher in her own child-like, sheltered Amish way. Picoult's wide range of knowledge from the legal system, police investigations, and both prosecution and defense attorneys really brings the book alive and makes you recognize that even though it is a work of fiction, it really isn't. We can all relate to it in some way.
There was a point as I neared the end where I was actually afraid we would never know what happened to Baby Fisher. Katie's defense is entirely plausible, and with so many variables, how could anyone be certain of what really happened that early morning? But one person knows. I got the feeling of how things would end, but it wasn't completely predictable. And I will admit, there was a portion of the ending that really disappointed me.
There is a lot to the story, so it's hard to read it over a weekend. Then again, you can't let it sit for too long or you might miss some crucial details. But, believe me, you won't want to. (So get with it, Virtual Member! I know you'll love it! ;-))
It was easy to get sucked into the book early on, but the main character, Ellie's, constant irritation, and general rudeness was a bit off-putting. She seemed to melt as the book went on, but often found it too easy to revert back to the ice-queen defense attorney with a pixy haircut and slender features. She suffers from the usual past relationship baggage we all insist on carrying around, only we never really learn what her issue is, just that she is a commitment-phobe, afraid love will mean certain strangulation. Ellie meets, and is forced to live with, someone who wants the complete opposite, love from everyone she encounters, even if that means putting herself on the line.
See, Katie has a problem. She doesn't know it, but she needs Ellie's help in keeping her - a sweet, young, Amish girl - out of serving a lifetime prison sentence for murdering her infant son moments after his birth. The evidence is astounding, making it impossible for the reader to think that anything else could have happened other than......that. But you find yourself thinking that there just might be another possibility because, shit, you've read about pubescent wizards, and glittery vampires, so who the heck know what could have happened.
Like most books, you find yourself rooting for the main character, but this took on a different turn with Ellie being a defense attorney, the epitome of evil, soul-sucking lawyers. She even begins by verbalizing a nightmare staring a child molester whom she'd gotten acquitted. Dabbling in the legal field myself, Picoult's tale rings familiar in terms of legal jargon and pomp and circumstance. Ellie splits herself between the eats-nails-for-breakfast attorney, and the helpful long-lost family member, which can sometimes get confusing; one minute she's hostilely interrogating Katie, the next she's comforting her in a mother's embrace. With such a wide array of emotions, its no wonder the reader is in tears by the end. Like Ellie, we aren't sure what to believe. We just want to know the truth but are forced to learn life-lessons a long the way, like the truth is our reward for time and energy spent on self discovery and revelations. (Does it sort of feel like every author is playing God?)
By the end, Ellie and I (the reader) have learned our lessons and are intent on choosing the path of self-improvement over what feels comfortable - hiding in the past. Katie, on the other hand, has been the teacher in her own child-like, sheltered Amish way. Picoult's wide range of knowledge from the legal system, police investigations, and both prosecution and defense attorneys really brings the book alive and makes you recognize that even though it is a work of fiction, it really isn't. We can all relate to it in some way.
There was a point as I neared the end where I was actually afraid we would never know what happened to Baby Fisher. Katie's defense is entirely plausible, and with so many variables, how could anyone be certain of what really happened that early morning? But one person knows. I got the feeling of how things would end, but it wasn't completely predictable. And I will admit, there was a portion of the ending that really disappointed me.
There is a lot to the story, so it's hard to read it over a weekend. Then again, you can't let it sit for too long or you might miss some crucial details. But, believe me, you won't want to. (So get with it, Virtual Member! I know you'll love it! ;-))
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