“Oscar Wilde said that the pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple. Truth, you see is in the eye of the beholder.”
I finished reading The Pact, by Jodi Piccoult, last night. True to form, Ms. Piccoult left me with plenty of room for discussion. The story begins with a jolt, the seeming suicide of a bright young woman. But, was it suicide? Her lifelong companion, and boyfriend, survives the suicide pact, leaving a detective to with too many questions. With an attention to detail, Ms. Piccoult traces the emotional journey that both families take. The Golds deal with the death of their daughter; allegedly at the hands of a boy they considered family. The Hartes are left to deal with a son accused of murdering the only girl he’s ever loved.
Throughout the story are woven the relationships among the parents, once deep friends but now torn apart by the tragedy; the relationship between Emily and Chris, soul mates since birth and dependent upon one another; the relationships between parents and children, leaving the reader to question how well you can truly know your children. Ms. Piccoult tackles these relationships with her usual compassion and honesty.
The narrative, which jumps from the present to the past and back, allows the reader to discover Emily’s thoughts and motivations in steps, rather than by revealing everything at once. It creates suspense as the reader tries to figure out why she would want to cut her promising life short. And Ms. Piccoult does not disappoint. By the final courtroom showdown, we know. And we are left with one question: How far would you go for the person you love?
Next, I am reading Anne Rice's Merrick. It is a crossover novel that combines the world of her vampires with that of the Mayfair witches. After beginning the novel, I wish that I had re-read, or at least read summaries of, the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair novels. If you're interested, here's all of them in order.
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