The Storyteller (migrated from Bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

So I have to share that this book was made all the more special to me because my daughter and I actually attended a reading of this book by Jodi Picoult herself!  I was of course expecting the worst (cynic that I am) — that it would be a mob scene and we’d wait and wait only to be at the back of a huge room at the Barnes and Nobles at Union Square where we’d only catch a glimpse.  But I was instead so pleasantly surprised!  It was so well-organized and easy and utterly enjoyable.  Ms. Picoult  is the ultimate storyteller!   She read from her book with the expression of a closet actress, she told us stories about the Holocaust survivors she interviewed during her research, and she so gracefully and with such humor answered many questions from the audience about herself and her writing.  She is a gracious presence — she is smart and funny and warm and the kind of person you just want to go out and have a drink with.  I could have listened to her for hours! After she signed our book and chatted with us for a minute or two, we walked away and my daughter turned to me and exclaimed, “Mom, I’m so star-struck!”  I have to admit:  I was too!

BUT on to the the book…  The book has an outrageously “Picoultian”premise.  A young, reclusive woman named Sage who has lost her mother, attends a grief support group where she befriends an old man in his 90’s.  This man, Josef, admits to her that he is a former SS guard at Auschwitz and asks her to help him die and to forgive him of his sins.  What he doesn’t know is that Sage’s grandmother is a Holocaust survivor.  In fact, Sage doesn’t really even know much about her grandmother’s history as her grandmother has kept the details to herself all these years.  This book is the resultant telling of stories — the recounting of history — by the two characters who lived it.  It is also the process of sorting out the ideas of evil and good as well as forgiveness and revenge.  Can someone who has committed  hideous deeds ever be forgiven?  And by whom?  Can a good person do bad things and get beyond that and/or compensate for it?  What is forgiveness?

As usual, Jodi Picoult gives the various perspectives on the story in her brilliant way and has the reader pondering yet another enormous, controversial issue.  This is why I love her writing and am already looking forward to her next book!

The Confidant (migrated from bookblogger)

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The Confidant by Helene Gremillon

When Camille, an editor in Paris whose mother has just died, opens what she anticipates is another condolence letter and instead finds the beginning of a story of romance and intrigue.  Each week she receives another installment, each with a new hint that suggests this story is not fiction but rather a message linking her to the main characters.  And with each installment comes a new perspective on the events that occur, enlightening both Camille and the reader to a different layer of the story.

Mainly, the story is about a lie that leads to another and another.  And each character has to fabricate his or her own version in order to survive what becomes a tangle of lies.

The book is a quick read that is very hard to put down.  It’s the kind of book that you can’t get your head out of until you reach the end.  Even when you are not reading, you are still thinking about the characters and feeling their struggles and their pain and trying to understand what is, indeed, the truth.  For each of the characters lives their own truth.  It is heartbreaking and tragic and there are many casualties of the lies.   But there is hope, too, in the untangling.

I’d love to hear what others think of this book.  It would be a great book club book!

Accelerated (migrated from Bookblogger)

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Accelerated by Bronwen Hruska

Wow, this one shoots right through the hearts of all of us parents who struggle with children with ADHD.  It doesn’t necessarily outright bash medication for the treatment of this disorder, but it sure calls into question the legitimacy of treating this very real medical/educational issue.

The story is about a father, Sean, whose son is enrolled in an elite Manhattan private elementary school.  As it turns out, Sean, a recently separated father of this 3rd grader, is pressured by the authorities in his son’s school to have his son evaluated for learning issues, and specifically for ADHD. Under duress, he follows through and the results are nearly disastrous.  In the process, the father discovers that he is not the first to be pressured by the school and learns more about the devious practices of the school as well.

It’s a good book — solid characters that the reader can easily like and relate to, and a plot that works its way into your heart.  It’s actually hard to put down.

But its message, while ringing a bit true, can put even more pressure on parents who are struggling to make decisions about the welfare of their children.  Without giving too much away, there is a lot of bias in this book against medications that treat ADHD.  True, these medications are not benign and are probably now the most abused drugs on the market.  But they are also a godsend to those who truly struggle to remain attentive in school and can give back self esteem to children when its fallen through its foundation.  In truth, the onus is upon the diagnosing physician/psychologist/psychiatrist to abide by the diagnostic criteria and do a proper analysis of all the information available (including formalized testing).  Once this is established, the many treatment options must be considered, medication being only one of them.  But if medication is deemed appropriate in this ideal scenario, and is carefully monitored and evaluated, it can be a gift to the child who truly suffers.  This must be remembered while reading this book…

Safe Haven (migrated from Bookblogger)

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Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

I believe I saw a trailer for this upcoming movie, which got me interested in reading this book.  It is very. very suspenseful and I can see it being a suspenseful movie as well.

Katie is a mysterious woman who comes to a small town in South Carolina, setting herself up in a small cottage and working at a local restaurant.  She quickly develops a friendship (and then of course, more than a friendship) with a man who owns the local general store.  He is a widow with 2 young children and gracefully accepts that she has a past she is running from.

The past becomes clear as she gradually sheds her terror of her past coming back to haunt her, in the form of her abusive husband from whom she has escaped.  The story flashes back and forth from her perspective to her husband’s as it builds into a very nail-bitingly scary crescendo.  Even while you can guess at some of the story, there are twists and turns and the writing really does have you on the edge of your seat all the way up to the end.  And while some of the details are somewhat gruesome, I imagine that this is the tragic reality of those who really do experience domestic violence.

Now the question is:  do I see the movie or not??

The False Prince (migrated from bookblogger)

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The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

I love it when my kids ask me to read books that they’ve read.  I love sharing in the experience with them, discussing it with them, and hearing their reactions to special parts.  This was one book that my youngest son, who is not a huge reader, has been SO excited about — so I had to read it also.  The False Prince is an extremely well-written middle grade children’s book about Sage, a clever and brave orphan with an attitude.  Sage learns, after being bought by a wealthy noble named Connor, that he must compete with 3 other orphans for the position of prince, to replace the lost prince of (fictitious) Corythia.  Connor, who has the secret knowledge that the king, queen and older brother of the lost prince have been murdered, claims that if the lost prince and next heir to the throne is “found,” it will save Corythia from civil war.   Sage rebels against Connor and disdains his plan, but he realizes that he must vie for the position in order to save both himself and his country.

The tale is somewhat reminiscent of The Hunger Games, in its competition to the death theme and in some of its gruesomeness, but it is not nearly as violent or as disturbing.  It does have a torture scene, which was surprising to me for this reading level, but throughout the book there is more the threat of danger than actual danger.  The story takes unexpected twists and turns and was really suspenseful till the end.

There will be a sequel, so expect to see it later in this blog!

Once We Were Brothers (migrated from bookblogger)

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Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson

When Ben Solomon begins his tale of how Otto Piatek, taken in and cared for by Ben’s family, turned against all of them and became a Nazi war criminal, you have the sense of this being just another Holocaust tale.  However, as his tale unwinds, you also begin to get sucked in to the charges that he stole from Ben’s family and how a civil suit is the means by which Ben might expose his true identity.  Otto Piatek, alias Elliot Rozenzweig, has created a persona for himself, however, enmeshed in the highest society of Chicago and known for his generous philanthropy.  It takes the team of a gutsy PI named Liam and an attorney with high ethics and strong drive, named Catherine, to help Ben pursue his challenge.

Essentially there are 2 stories that intertwine, with the telling of Ben’s story that took place in Poland and the tale of the legal procedures.  While the beginning of the book focuses on Poland, the latter part focuses on the lawsuit and the suspense of the legal proceedings builds and builds and makes the book very hard to put down.  The author definitely draws you in to feeling such affection for Ben and wanting to see him win in his cause.  You are also drawn in to feeling sympathy for Catherine who is fighting a whole team of expensive lawyers singlehandedly.   Catherine is quoted as saying that this made “David and Goliath seem like a fair fight.”  While it is only fiction, when you are reading it, it feels very real and very true, I think because of how well you’ve come to know the characters.  By the end, you just can’t help cheering them on or booing the “bad guys.”

An essential read for anyone who is interested not only in the Holocaust, but in anything related to human rights and in justice being served.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats (migrated from bookblogger)

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The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Phillip Sendker

The Art of Heating Heartbeats is an absolutely beautiful story about a young lawyer, Julia, who takes a leave from her job to investigate her father’s disappearance.  Her father, Tin Win, had mysteriously left for a business trip and never returned and the only hint of his whereabouts was a love letter that had been found from him to a woman in Burma, in his home town.  When Julia arrives in this tiny town, she is met by a stranger who begins to tell her the story of her father and his upbringing and about the heart-wrenching love story he had been embroiled in during his youth.

The story is poetically woven, capturing the reader’s attention at the first page and never letting go.  The characters are as unique as the story itself and the reader cannot help but be drawn in to their story.  Tin Win’s teacher when he was a young boy, for example, became a tender father figure to him and was patient and kind and shared with Tin Win (and the reader) much wisdom.  Even Julia, who starts out as a daughter who feels hurt and angry and abandoned, develops a compassion for her father that she did not know she was capable of.

This is a powerful “love conquers all” story that wins your heart with every beat.

Defending Jacob (migrated from bookblogger)

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Defending Jacob by William Landay

This book is a definite page turner!  In this book, a district attorney named Andy Barber, is shocked by the fact that his son is the one accused of murdering a fellow student and recounts the story of his trial.  Andy is persistent in proclaiming his son’s innocence and is seemingly blind to the defects in his son’s character that create the possibility of doubt.  His wife, Laurie, however, seems to be more concerned about their son’s personality issues and this difference in perspective seems to slice a wedge into the family dynamics.  As the novel progresses, it becomes evident that there are actually two criminal investigations going on and the ending is a great twist of events.

Even while a bit disturbing and depressing, the suspense is continuous and it is very hard to put this book down.  It will not go down as America’s greatest classic, but it sure is a suspenseful, fun book to read!  Enjoy!

Midwives (migrated from bookblogger)

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Midwives:  A Novel by Chris Bohjalian

This novel, which feels like an autobiography (but isn’t), is a story about a teenage girl whose mother is a midwife brought to trial, accused of killing a patient while assisting her during a home delivery.   This story articulates well the debate between delivery in the home vs. in a hospital/birthing center.  It also speaks to the lay midwives vs. nurse midwives (are there any lay midwives anymore, in our culture of lawsuits and malpractice??).

As a physician, it was interesting for me to read this book, as I am not a fan of the home delivery.  Having seen first hand devastating outcomes from this, I feel one has to be out of her mind to be that far away from potentially life-saving procedures.  In a situation, where minutes, even seconds, count, you want to have everything close by.  The perspective of the author is much more sympathetic, however.  In spite of the bad outcome, the sympathy lies with the midwife in this account (or does it?) and it is a fascinating trial that the book leads up to.

Throughout the book, the author does not give the decision of the trial until the end, which maintains the suspense during the book.  It is a very interesting read.  I’d love to hear what others, especially non-physicians, think!

Gone Girl

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Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

This is truly the perfect summer/beach read.   The story is about a couple who are about to celebrate their 5th anniversary and suddenly the wife, Amy,  goes missing.  There are, of course, shady circumstances surrounding her disappearance and the story takes many, many very unexpected twists and turns.  This is the kind of book that when you read, your own spouse gets annoyed because every so often you’re yelling at the book (“Oh, no!” or “Seriously??”) like a bit of a fool.  But you won’t be able to stop yourself because it’s that crazy!

I had fun with this one.  The characters are very complicated and while the husband is certainly the protagonist, he’s not exactly a hero in my mind.  And until the very end, the author is relentless with the surprises!

I will admit, I did quite a bit of yelling at the book at the end.  It felt initially as if it stopped short.  But after digesting it for awhile, I realized that it was the way it had to end.

I would love for others to read this one to see if you agree!