Change of Heart: A Novel
Atria - Atria
Release date: 2008-03-04
Hardcover
Author: Jodi Picoult
Fiction, Fiction - General, Fiction / General, Fiction / Literary, Literary, Murderers, Repentance, Transplantation of organs, tissues, etc., Psychological
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Change of Heart: A Novel
Date undefinedI loved this book, and to be honest I didn't think that I would. I had a friend of mine years ago get me hooked on Jodi's books, and I have not been able to put them down since. I have also got my own group of friends who are hooked as well.
I loved the complexity of this story, and the internal and external battles with the death penalty and what we see as right and wrong. It had a twist that I would have never thought possible.
Thanks again for a great book Jodi and keep up the good work.
Change of Heart: A Novel
Date undefinedIf you've read earlier reviews, you know the storyline: June's first husband died in a car accident leaving her with a small daughter. The police officer who brought the bad news becomes the knight on the white steed, wooing and winning her and her daughter's affections. Then, just as in old fairy tales, when June is married to the policeman, pregnant and renovating their home, the idyll is disrupted by the evil one, who appears in the guise of a young carpenter. Picoult has carved out a literary niche by her use of simple prose to present themes that disturb and challenge the reader. Few writers are as adept at telling such a story without setting up a complex plot with ten-syllable words. In this book, the naturally spoken conversations among the characters contrast with great effect to the sublime subjects of sin and atonement. It may well test what we say are our religious beliefs and how justice and retribution fit into them. Shay Bourne is a murderer. Or is he? He has messianic powers? Or does he? Early on, the truth of the crime is obvious to some readers. It's the getting to the revelation that provokes an examination of the protagonists' (and the reader's) conscience that continues after the last page is turned. Although this reader suspended disbelief at certain points, this may be the writer's tactic in reinforcing that things (especially those that are driven by faith) are not always explainable. There is one contradiction in describing Shay Bourne: The accused and convicted murderer is introduced as socially and verbally inept. In the middle of the book, his lawyer says he "could barely string together a coherent sentence." This is after he has held several very coherent conversations with his lawyer and Father Michael, his spiritual advisor. But, this is a small matter. What makes this an exceptional read is that Picoult doesn't tie up all the loose ends so that everyone lives happily ever after. The reader has to accept that some of the characters get what they deserve, some get what they want, and most of them get what they need.
Change of Heart: A Novel
Date undefinedChange of Heart was the first novel of Jodi Picoult's that I'd ever read. I really didn't know what to expect when I first picked it up, but what I discovered was a story that literally gave me chills.
I am generally against capital punishment, but what made me so uncomfortable about this novel is the fact that I found myself actually wondering if I'd feel differently about the death penalty if I knew that every excecuted inmate would be donating his/her organs to those who need them. It was a really eerie feeling.
That, combined with the fact that all of the characters - even the convicted murderer - were written in a way that made them completely sympathetic to the reader made this book impossible for me to put down. I read it in nearly one sitting during a road trip I took with my husband this summer and since then I've done my best to read most of Ms. Picoult's other works.
Now, I don't know if I would feel differently about this story if I had read some of her other novels first. I don't have a frame of reference for previous books because of how and when I found this one. All I can say is this - This is a story that will really make you think. It will make you uncomfortable at times. It might scare you. It will certainly make you sad. But, at the same time, I believe that it will make you infinitely glad that you read it at all.
