Jodi Picoult

What an overwritten piece of dreck. It’s basically a (bad, shallow, preachy) textbook dressed up as a morality play. If you’re interested in the actual issues that Jodi Picoult wants to club you over the head with, there are numerous more interesting books about them. (I recommend [b:The New Jim Crow|6792458|The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness|Michelle show more Alexander|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328751532l/6792458._SX50_.jpg|6996712] or [b:The Warmth of Other Suns|8171378|The Warmth of Other Suns The Epic Story of America's Great Migration|Isabel Wilkerson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433354252l/8171378._SY75_.jpg|13341052] as good ones to begin with.) If you’re interested in a novel about bad things happening to good people, well, anyone could recommend a dozen of those. But unless you deeply, truly want a white author to give you a crash course on the history of race in America in the form of a badly written novel from the co-opted eyes of a woman of color, with unbearable dialogue, uninteresting characters, and unsurprising plot twists, you should avoid this particular book. show less

I loved this book – I loved it so much that I didn’t mind being beaten about the head and shoulders by Ms. Picoult’s theory of Shakespeare and whether he is deserving of the all the literary accolades passed down through the centuries. Picoult has researched, quoted, contradicted and plotted as she puts forth a very convincing argument. Whether it has traction or not does not take away from this superb book. Clever, well written, witty dialog, quips and a potential resurrection of an show more historical erasure are well contained, hidden and at the forefront throughout the many pages of this book.
Picoult’s use of a dual timeline was effective historically but less so emotionally. I was totally involved in the past with Emilia Bassano, her trials, tribulations and all the unfairness of a woman’s life in 16th Century England. The stumbles and problems of would-be playwright Melina Green in the current timeline were aggravating, annoying and had me thinking that someone should give her a spine, a little logic and compassion – it might have gone a long way in making her more sympathetic. This was not enough of a detraction to change my mind about the ultimate quality and significance of this book.
Many thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a copy. show less

Oh my! This was such an informative and provocative tale exploring the age old debate, "Did William Shakespeare truly write everything attributed to him? If not, then who was writing under his name?" This dual time-line speaks to the challenges and frustrations of 16th century female writers and the ongoing struggles for the female and marginalized writers of today. Through extensive research, Ms. Picoult has crafted a most plausible story of the life of historically known Emilia Bassano, show more England's first published poetess. She juxtaposes against that the life of Melina Green, the fictional descendant of Emilia and who is a present-day playwright experiencing many of the same challenges. Both of these women are bright, ambitious, and courageous as they yearn to be heard at a time when no one appears to be listening.

Author Jodi Picoult is a highly regarded writer and justly so. Her prose is exquisitely crafted, the characters are well developed, and the mise en scène -richly and beautifully delivered. Her female characters are strong yet their stories draw on the reader's own empathic feelings. Through the writing, one is easily transported to the streets of London during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and to the noisy streets of a highly active New York City, which never sleeps. A few of the 16th century literary greats are richly brought to life in this story as Ms. Picoult brings a plausible explanation of who's who and who's doing what in the literary circles of 16th century London. All in all, this was one of the best stories I have read this year and I highly recommend it to those readers generally interested in literature and especially interested in the theatrical worlds of then and now.

[Triggers worth noting: Although tastefully presented, there are scenes of abuse against women and children, among other adult themes.]

I am grateful to Ballantine Books for having provided a complimentary uncorrected proof of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: ‎ August 20, 2024
Number of Pages: 544
ISBN: 978-0593497210 show less

The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult is an issue novel about rape. Except it's so heavy handed that the book is laughable and groan-worthy instead of being insightful.

Trixie Stone is fourteen and the perfect daughter of the perfect man, a comic book artist raised in Alaska on Inuit reservation (meaning he's extra-special spiritual™). Before anything goes wrong, though, this perfect family is on the rocks, because the wife is carrying on an affair.

And that's where the problem starts, I suppose. show more It appears that both mother and daughter are attracted to the bad boys. Trixie, being too young, doesn't know how to handle herself or boys yet. But she's a teenager and full of RAGING hormones and she can't wait any longer.

The set up for the book is this: Trixie lies to her parents, saying she's going to be staying over at her friend's house. Instead they go to a big party where Trixie purposely gets drunk to the point where her inhibitions are gone so that she can have sex without regret. Except that midway through she changes her mind and her bad boy potential boyfriend doesn't stop when she asks him to.

So at first glance we have a straight up novel about the consequences of underage drinking, changing minds, and date rape. No problem. The book should be relevant.

But the plot gets lost in a heap of unnecessary literary window dressing. First there is the mother's scholarship on Dante's Inferno (hence the title). Rape of her daughter is a worse hell than anything thing Dante envisioned. Then there is the father returning to his Inuit upbringing (while still being a privileged white dude because I guess it would be too much to make him an actual Inuit). And finally there is the father working through his pain through his comics, which are included at the end of certain chapters (they aren't very good).

If that combination wasn't enough, the accused rapist is found dead about midway through the book, thus spinning this already unbelievable book into pure crazy land. If I were reading this book as a rape survivor or as a parent of one, I'd be furious after reading this shlock. show less