Storyteller by Jodi Picoult: Book Review

Just finished the book, Storyteller by Jodi Picoult and if I was into rating books, I’d assign 5 stars to this book. But since I don’t rate books because I think reading and relating to a subject is a very personal thing to do, so I am going to continue to elaborate what I liked about the book, the author in particular.

It is another one of those books where I wanted to start writing the reviews as soon as I started it because I fell in love with the author’s writing style. I was worried that the ending of the book will tint my final feeling about it all but I couldn’t stop until I was done. It is another one of my book club books and the girl who picked this book has a similar bent of mind as me so I knew I’d like the book but what was surprising is that it took me this long to find this author. I see myself picking up Jodi Picolut at the next available opportunity.

The book Storyteller runs in several parallels at the same time and Jodi weaved it all seamlessly even before the story is fully developed and the connections between the characters come to light. The young girl of the current times and the young girl of 1940s had many parallels along with the girl in the fantasy story creating a beautiful metaphor. Each thread kept reader’s curiosity at its peak and it was natural for one to think about one thread while reading the other. This was the first time that I was reading about the WWII in this great a detail and so it took quite a bit of emotional toll and combined with the frigid winter temperatures and short days, it was a rough ride, but in a good way. Imagine the strong words that leave a lasting impression, they are definitely worth reading.

Jodi’s style of writing is what I call, poetic. It carries hidden meaning and reflects your life experiences. As the narrator in the book conveys, words can often be limiting because they tie the experience which is often beyond comprehension, you either know it or not but the words give you an illusion that perhaps you do know it.

I will not go into the details of the characters and the storyline more than what I have already stated because I am afraid I might give away something that would potentially color your experience. If you are into reading between the lines and like the depth of characters more than the story line than this book is a must read and I’d like to know your opinion if you have already read it or end up reading it. This would be a good book club book as well, it can generate conversations on so many levels, I am so looking forward to where we take it in our book club group…