I kept picturing Dakota Fanning whispering "I see dead people"

books:


	• Second Glance: A Novel Jodi Picoult Washington Square Press, 2004 - 448 pages average customer review:based on 88 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

I kept picturing Dakota Fanning whispering "I see dead people"

Unlike other Picoult novels I have read, this one does not grab you and have you hooked by page 10. Rather the beginning is a series of disconcertingly short and seemingly unrelated scenes, in which many characters are introduced. However, as the story unfolds and the connections begin to reveal themselves, it just keeps getting better and better. So hang in there and you will be rewarded.

This is truly a rich and complex novel with a bit of everything. Families, ghosts, relationships, tragedy and love all come together to make up one powerful and highly enjoyable story. I was a little leery of reading a "ghost story" by an author who does not typically write such, but as the story unfolded I was pleasantly surprised again and again. One reviewer described the supernatural elements as "Stephen Kingish" but I think they are more Alice Hoffman than Stephen King. But in my opinion, Picoult is much more convincing than Hoffman, integrating these elements more smoothly and without hurting the believability of the story.

The plot twists and turns are amazing. Three quarters of the way through you will find yourself thinking "how the heck is she going to end this?" I never knew where it was going and I really respect an author who can keep me baffled for so long.

The bit about eugenics was also fascinating and thought-provoking.

The only downside was that there are too many characters to keep track of. True, the web of connections woven between them is nothing short of stunning, but I wasn't sure that Lucy was even necessary to the story. Maybe she should have met Ethan sooner, or maybe she was just a little too "Sixth Sense" for me. I know she's supposed to have dark hair, but I kept picturing Dakota Fanning whispering "I see dead people".

Bottom line: highly recommended.

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Do we love across Time....or in spite of it?

As someone who finds the supernatural absolutely fascinating, I have always found Picoult's novels intriguing. However, unlike some of her other works, this novel is a slow starter. No less than 20 characters are introduced in the first few chapters of the book and it is sometimes tedious to remember who is who. That being said, the characters finally begin to mesh and flow...the dross drains away and the pure gold of Picoult's writing talent emerges.

As a hopeful romantic, I am drawn to the main character, Ross Wakeman, who has experienced love so profound it permeates to the bone. Once love on that level is experienced, and then lost, life's orchestral crescendo fades into a single note of woeful desperation and despondency. A suicide attempt seems the only answer...not once, not twice, but thrice. The enthralling encounter that enables Ross to knit together the broken pieces of his life is central to the plot of the book, and every bit as exciting as the ghosts who also haunt the pages. Ultimately, Ross learns the enigmatic truth that life isn't defined by the moment one dies, but by all the moments one truly lives.

"True love is like ghosts, which everybody talks about and few have ever seen."

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Exciting, gripping read!

This is one book in which the book jacket does NOT do it justice. I thought I was in for a gentle novel about learning to value life, with a little hint of something spooky-- to be honest, the kind of thing I don't usually enjoy, but the writer had been praised in a book group so I thought I'd try it out.

But what I got instead was an exciting, gripping tale of love across time, a ghost story, a historical novel dealing with a little-known eugenics program in Vermont (who knew that Nazis claimed to get their inspiration from American eugenics bills! not me!) and well-- yes, life and love, but told with so much humor, clarity and vivid language that I truly could not put the book down. I stayed up until 5 AM to read it.

Examples: when the little town of Comstook becomes haunted, odd things happen like coffeemakers will only brew lemonade, rose petals fall from the air, photographs float off of development paper. These are tiny details but the author's invention is so generous that they stand out.

The first couple of chapters are a little confusing, as there are multiple points of view, but stick with it: all becomes clear. In fact this is one of those books that when you get to the end you want to go back to the beginning, because now that the clues are filled in the early parts and the connections have even more interest.

On top of all THAT, this is a great murder mystery, complete with forensic detail and investigation worthy of any in the L&O universe. The supernatural stuff is both funny and elegant. In short this is one of the best books I've read in a long time-- as much plot and excitement as any lightweight read, but written elegantly, sparely and with a lot to chew on afterwards. This is the kind of book that reminds you again why you like to read-- it has as much invention and wit as any good YA novel but as much depth and insight as any serious adult novel. This is the first Picoult I've read but definitely will NOT be the last!

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Best Picoult book so far

This was the third book I have read by Jodi Picoult. I first read Plain Truth and then My Sister's Keeper. By far, Second Glance is definitely my favorite. The entire story keeps you guessing, even when you think you have everything figured out. The characters are so real you can see them in your mind's eye, detail for detail, emotion for emotion. In the beginning of the book, way too many characters are introduced, sending your head spinning. Be patient though; Picoult more than adequately gives you time to get to know each character in depth and connects the lives of the characters so well in the end of the book that you can not imagine not being introduced to so many in the beginning. I could not put this book down and still think about the serious issues discussed in this book. Definitely a must read.

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From a Fan

I have been a big fan of Jodi Picoult since reading THE PACT. In her books the characters are so rich and well developed and she writes so well about such touchy subjects and the complexity of human relationships that you can't put her books down and are left wanting more.

For me this book was not a "spell-binding suspense novel" as touted on the cover, rather a story of family and relationships and inner deamons. I love the fact that Jodi's characters are so multi-faceted and so real that you actually care what happens to them long after you finish the book.

If you are just discovering Ms. Picoult, I envy you, if you've been a fan and have read several of her books, you know that every time you crack the cover on a new one, you can count on a satisfying, substantive read.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, page 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

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