I'm already a Jodi Picoult fan having read and liked four of her other books -- The Pact, Keeping Faith, Plain Truth and Salem Falls -- so when I say that I didn't enjoy this book at all, I have a good basis for comparison. Never before have I read a book where I felt so detached from each and every character. The wife Allie has no backbone, the husband Cam has no loyalty, the mistress Mia has no values, the mercy killer Jamie has no fortitude, his dead wife Maggie was selfish, Cam's mother Ellen is a wacko.....I could go on and on.
The backdrop of the story is one of intense love -- so intense that your emotions take over your senses. There's a case of a mercy killing, another story of a cheating spouse and a courtroom scene where all the scenarios are played out. The events leading up to and after the killing are all impulsive -- sometimes so impulsive that they're hard to believe. There are other parts in the book where reality is suspended and mysticism takes over. I'm always at a loss when an author resorts to this.
Probably the biggest complaint I have is the intense lack of editing. I can't stand when I'm reading a book and two people are having a conversation yet the name you're reading on the typewritten page is NOT the name of the person who is actually doing the talking. This happened on three separate occasions and after awhile, it only added to my overall confusion and lack of continuity of my reading experience. I'm usually not this hard when reviewing a book and it could be the fact that I read it in the midst of our great American tragedy which could have altered my mood considerably. For that reason, I've given it three stars as opposed to the two stars which I had originally intended. Somehow though, I don't think it was my mood...the book just wasn't that enjoyable for me.
Wish I could say they appreciated this as much but I cannot.
Discussion of the book was feisty I must admit, with everyone voting on the traits of the characters more than anything else.
Logistical things seemed to distract most of us; like the purpose of the Scotland history, the fact that you inherit the Police Chief's job just because your Father passes; you let a complete stranger walk in and take over your Florist shop? Come on this is the twenty first century and Massachusetts!
I tried to steer the group into the crux of the subject, but it was difficult to stay focused on the Euthanasia. Jamie was the most liked character...what does that tell you???
I have thoroughly enjoyed the other selections from Jodi I have read so far and will most certainly keep reading her works.
We did enjoy the parallel drawn between the two couples and how one decision cost one woman her life and the other woman the life she had always known up to that point.