I've seen Jodi Picoult books everywhere, but this one was my first. I was originally interested because the main character (Zoe) is a music therapist, a career I was contemplating in college. Jodi Picoult and a friend of hers actually wrote a bunch of songs for a CD you're supposed to listen to while you read the book. It's supposed to set the mood and enhance the emotional connection with the characters in each chapter. The general direction of the book was predictable, but there were some surprising twists that dramatically increased my interest level. Without giving too much away, the book deals with issues of fertility, homosexuality, religious fanaticism, and forgiveness.
The one thing that disappointed me was that the music therapy part takes a back seat after the first couple chapters. I use music to relieve stress and I would have thought that Zoe would have turned to her music to deal with everything going on in her life. I was also pretty annoyed with the storyline involving the child Zoe was helping in therapy. That whole issue needed to be dealt with in more detail. In the author interview at the back of the book, Picoult says she meant to leave the story unresolved. Cop-out!
This book is currently #33 on the New York Times Paperback Trade Fiction Bestseller List
No comments:
Post a Comment