I don't know if I've started to outgrow Jodi Picoult books, or whether the most recent books I've read by her just haven't been as good as some of her best ones. I really loved a few of her slightly older books (My Sister's Keeper, Nineteen Minutes, Perfect Match), but I haven't been a big fan of her oldest books (Songs of the Humpback Whale) or her newest ones (House Rules, Lone Wolf). I really wasn't a big fan of Mercy, and here's why.I couldn't really get into the Big Issue of this book. Jodi Picoult really likes tackling Big Issues - controversial topics and ethical that are usually tackled in big court cases. In this book, the Big Issue is presented by Jamie MacDonald, a bland thirty-something who really loves his wife Maggie. He loves Maggie so much, in fact, that when she gets terminal cancer and asks him to kill her, he does. Afterwards, he turns himself into police and awaits his trial. It's an interesting premise, but Picoult just doesn't carry it off. The character of Jamie is poorly developed - his main character trait seems to just be how much he loves Maggie - and unlike in other Picoult books, when most of the characters are very invested in the Big Issue, the Big Issue here sometimes felt like a boring side plot. I felt like the polarized opinions of Jamie's actions were forced. Why does Cam hate Jamie so much, for example? At one point, a random man actually tries to kill Jamie because he thinks that Jamie's actions were so horrible, and I'm sorry, I just didn't buy that. I can't imagine anyone knowing the circumstances of Maggie's death and thinking that Jamie deserves to die for what he did. It felt like Picoult was trying to squeeze extra drama out of a situation that didn't really merit it. The Jamie plotline was, at times, semi-interesting, but I didn't feel particularly riveted while waiting for the final verdict, like I have with some of Picoult's other books. I just felt kind of mehh about the whole thing.Jamie wasn't the only bland character. Graham, his defense attorney, is another shockingly weak character. All you ever really know about him is that he's very young, and that he's a lawyer. For one of the MAIN characters, there's not much to him. And now, for what I hated most: Cam/Mia/Allie. Wow, what a mess. The really unfortunate thing is that I'm pretty sure that Cam and Mia were SUPPOSED to be sympathetic characters - Picoult pretty much never writes from the point of view of characters that readers aren't supposed to like, or at least understand. But I actually felt physically repulsed by Cam and Mia. There motivations and explanations for what they were doing made very little sense, or were never really clarified at all.Cam is a professional douchebag. His life is SOOO HARD because it's his duty to be clan chief/police chief and he couldn't be a travel writer like he wanted and he's married to someone he doesn't like that much. First thing I didn't get - Cam is always whining about how he was forced into his current life, but he was never FORCED to marry Allie. That's why his behavior is so disgusting. Cam treats Allie like crap. He tunes her out when she talks, he refuses her sexual advances, he's never glad to see her when she surprises him at work, HE FORGETS VALENTINE'S DAY EVERY YEAR. He is a really terrible husband, even before the affair.And the affair. So cringeworthy. The character of Mia was never really explained enough for me to feel any sympathy for her whatsoever, and I think this is due to error on Picoult's part. I mean, okay, so Mia comes to a new town, and a stranger, Allie, completely welcomes her with open arms, giving her a job and a place to stay, and generally just is REALLY nice to her. WITHOUT HESITATION (and this is where I think the book is really weak, because Mia doesn't seem to think very hard about the morality of what she does), she sleeps with Allie's husband the SECOND that Allie leaves town. Seriously, it's almost immediately. She then begins a passionate affair with Cam WHILE CONTINUING TO SEE AND WORK WITH ALLIE EVERY DAY. Repulsive. And not properly addressed by Picoult. Is it really possible that Mia works alongside Allie and DOESN'T feel extreme guilt? Or at least extreme resentment of Allie? The way Picoult writes it, Mia doesn't really feel much of anything at all when it comes to Allie. Sometimes she is a little nervous about being found out, and sometimes she gets a little FLICKER of jealousy when she sees Cam show affection to his wife, but that's it. And we're still supposed to like and understand Mia? The fact that she doesn't really ever think about what she's doing to Allie is both disturbing and infuriating. For God's sake, Cam and Mia have sex in Allie's bed and on the couch in her flower shop! And neither of them acknowledges or thinks about how sick that is. The way Picoult writes it, they don't even think about Allie at all in those moments.I also just didn't really buy the love between Cam and Mia. I think it's supposed to be romantic, like they're soulmates who met at the wrong time. But the book doesn't pull it off. Toward the end of the book, Mia's just like, "We're soulmates and in love, but we just like the IDEA of each other, so I'm going to run away. Sorry I ruined your marriage!" It was just so stupid. Even more stupid is that Cam sees Mia as this wonderful anti-Allie who is so exotic and well-traveled, and in the end, it turns out that Mia just wants the exact same life that Cam and Allie already have. So no, they're not soulmates. If Cam had met Mia early in his life, he probably would have ended up with the EXACT same life that he already has, just with Mia instead of Allie. Ugh.Also didn't buy that the second Mia leaves town, Cam suddenly magically realizes that Allie's actually been perfect all along and that he should appreciate her more! You've been lukewarm about your wife for this entire book. A few pages ago, you were planning to leave her for another woman. And now, you suddenly see how good you've had it all along? Not plausible.And then ALLIE...don't even know what to say about Allie. She was the character I liked the most, I think, but I was so deeply frustrated by what she decides to do at the end of the book. She realizes that her husband has been lying and cheating in ADDITION to treating her like crap all the time. She (understandably) freaks out and finally stands up for herself for a little while. I was like, YES FINALLY. And then she just decides to take him back!! And Picoult writes like this is the most romantic thing in the world. NO. IT IS NOT ROMANTIC TO TAKE BACK YOUR CHEATING JERK HUSBAND, ESPECIALLY WHEN HE IS STILL IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE ELSE. Allie's just like, well now Cam appreciates me and we treat each other like equals! So it's okay! Ugh ugh ugh. I also did NOT appreciate the scene when Jamie tells Allie to take Cam back because Jamie and Cam are best buds now and completely understand what the other one is going through. I'm sorry, but I don't see the connection between killing your sick wife who you are deeply in love with and begging your wife (who you kind of like, sometimes) to take you back after you cheated on her. Not comparable situations.Another side note: I didn't like the weird Angus flashbacks to Scotland or whatever. What was that?! Weird and unnecessary, and didn't connect to anything else at all. Basically, Picoult tried to write a book about the complicated nature of love, and for the most part, she failed. I understood the romantic nature of the Jamie/Maggie plotline, but the one the Cam/Mia/Allie was so devoid of romance and true love that it made me a little sick. However, even though I am pretty sure that all three characters were SUPPOSED to be likable (and thus, I think Picoult did a poor job here), I also recalled while reading that I knew people in real life who were very similar to the three of them. In real life, the situation was just as despicable, and the people were just as despicable. But it made me realize that even if the characters of Mia and Cam were horrible and probably not what Picoult intended, they're not necessarily unrealistic. And that's why I bumped this up to 2 stars instead of 1.
This book should've been called "Selfish," or "I'm a horribly insensitive person," or, well, you get the idea. I generally enjoy the formulaic writing style of Jodi Picoult. She takes an ethical dilemma, throws in a court case and sympathetic, complicated characters, and that's the story. In "Mercy," the ethical issue should have been euthanasia. Jamie MacDonald kills his wife, who is painfully suffering from terminal cancer, because she asks him to do so. Instead, Picoult spends most of her time focused on the relationship between Cam MacDonald, the town's police chief, and his wife, Allie MacDonald. Cam is not a likable character. He is selfish and short-sighted, and I could hardly stand to read the scenes where he is unreasonably cruel to his wife. Her fault? Her world revolves solely around Cam. She treats him as if he created the sun and set the stars in an attempt to ensure herself of his affections and attention. Although I pity Allie, she is desperate, and it is unclear why the pair married in the first place. Cam's problem is that as police chief of little ol' Wheelock, a town settled by Scottish families over which Cam still is technically clan chief, he longs to experience the new and unfamiliar. Allie loves the familiar routine of Wheelock. But when Allie's world-weary new assistant comes to Wheelock, Cam is smitten. I felt physically pained by the cruel scenes between Cam and Allie's assistant, Mia, and I can't say I found either character sympathetic or well-developed. Some people might think I'm missing the point, that both relationships (between Jamie and his wife and Cam and Allie) showed the importance of mercy and forgiveness. That's true, but neither the characters or the plot are well-enough developed to profoundly impact the reader. "Mercy" could have been another great Picoult book, but instead, the story fell felt by not telling much of a story at all. The most interesting — and relatable — characters weren't given the time they deserved, and the ethical issue was sloppily "solved" in a quick court case. I was disappointed by "Mercy," and I would not recommend it for readers new to Picoult because the book is certainly not reflective of her talents.
What do You think about Mercy (2001)?
I'm on the same boat as ALOT of reviewers on this one: I adore JP's writing and the way she unfolds the story, but this particular story won't be on my Favorites list. I was very interested in the Maggie/Jamie storyline and kept the pages turning to see what the outcome of the trial would be. I found myself a little distracted by Uncle Angus and his deal with his flashbacks and such...I know these women exist, but I was a little annoyed by Allie's naivety and complete devotion to Cam, and unquestioning trust in Mia, a stranger, to step into their lives. Even the way she latches onto Jamie...this woman loves everything that crosses her path as much as Cam does. And speaking of Cam...I don't know if I hate him as much as I'd like to. What he does is low and incredibly selfish and thoughtless but here's a guy who's been held down by responsibilities and expectations as clan chief , a title that he never really wanted, and police chief an occupation handed down to him from generations. Then he finds himself stuck in a rut of a "comfortable" marriage all the time his dreams and passions and secret desires lay pressed like leaves in the pages a heavy book. Mia just happens to be the catalyst that opens his eyes to all the things he has pushed aside in order to fulfill all his obligations to others before himself. When you spend your whole life enjoying Vanilla then Heavenly Hash is presented.... who WOULDN'T wonder about what they've missed out on? All that aside though... A betrayal of trust is like pulling a nail out of a piece of wood. The nail is gone but the hole will always be there. All in all I found Mercy to be a good, entertaining read.
—Patricia
The small town of Wheelock, Massachusetts is thrown for a loop when Jamie MacDonald, cousin of local police officer chief Cameron MacDonald, commits a mercy killing - the victim being his own wife. His wife, Maggie, had been suffering from various afflictions of cancer and one night asked him to take her life. He complied and smothered her with a pillow, then drove to Wheelock and confessed his crime. Cameron MacDonald then arrested his own cousin and brought him into custody where charges of murder are brought against him. The town, however, is divded into two sides. One side, the side Cameron decides he is on, believes that Jamie had no right to take a life, even if asked to. The other side, the side that Cameron's devoted wife Allie is on, is completely seduced by the idea that a man could love his wife so much to the point that he would take her life if she begged him to. The trial drives a wedge into Cam and Allie's marriage which leads to an inexplicable betrayal and terrifying consequences.Jodi Picoult has a tremendous talent in her writing that simply draws a reader into her story and never lets them go. I found myself doing the old "I'll read one more chapter, then do my homework" type assertion but then conveniently letting myself read a little more afterwards, like, "I still have tommorow until the assignment is due." Her writing is simply mesmerizing - even if at times the language was a bit "romancy" (which I don't have a problem with) she still has this quaint quality that leaves readers to her mercy.Picoult also has the abillity to make her characters come to life. Some people complain that they hated certain characters and that lead to them not having a connection with the character at all. That's like saying that someone is so boring they don't have a personality. Which is a contradiction in itself because they do have a personality, it's just a boring one. Which is why when someone says that Cameron or Mia was so annoying they just didn't have a distinct character, I find that statement completely false. Picoult just drives emotion after emotion into her characters, I found myself totally feeling Allie's heartache at times and at other times wanting to punch Cameron in the face. Totally awesome stuff, I just couldn't wait to see what happened to them next.The one thing that took away from Mercy was the two storylines (Jamie's trial, Allie and Cam's marriage) weren't connected at the end. Yes, Jamie's trial did cause a lot of stress in Allie and Cam's marriage, but there wasn't a complete connection anywhere in the book. I think Picoult alluded several times to the entire cast knowing each other in past lives (because she spent so much time describing Cam's ancestors) but nothing really came out of it. This nuance didn't take away too much from my overall enjoyment of Mercy, but by the end left me a little unsatisfied. I would still recommend this book though, although there are some sexual scenes and a fair amount of language.
—Thomas
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel for the lack of pretension, genuine character development, and ability to incorporate tough issues without preaching. Instead of being annoyed with the fact that the book moved slowly, I felt like an I had been granted an audience within the family. I enjoyed the ethnic touches so lacking in most American pieces today. This might be the first book I've read where an affair has proved beneficial to the plot. I do think that the words love and passion were confused with each other - but then again, that's real life. Not that I - and everyone else, apparently! - wasn't disgusted with Cam. But as a former people-pleaser like Allie, I can identify with the fact that we are the ones often taken for granted. When someone important in our lives decides to be selfish and hurt those important to them, one central question is, do we define ourselves, or let someone else define us? And what role does love have to do with it? When is it OK that our self-definition is wrapped in our love for another? (Which is exactly why I think the author avoided the entanglement of children for any of the central characters lol ;)I don't think that Allie was a doormat after the affair; for example, she never went back to worshipping Cam. And Picoult is eloquent in describing how, if anything, he learns to value her more, in a way he never had before. Their relationship got rewritten. He threw away Mia's gift because he decided, in the end, that he was no longer insecure with his identity as Allie's husband and town police chief. While a piece of him would always belong to the dreams he would never attain, he put it exactly where it belonged - in a distant, detachable fantasyland. His passionate but immature relationship with a very insecure Mia, ended. He realized he had been a cad. Allie was the heroine because she was the rock, and became more honest with herself about who she was and how she let others define her. The garage sale was not a sort of hissy fit. It was a physical expression of taking back her life, and throwing the ball into Cam's court - and being OK with it. That is very modern, and it seems like some readers missed "getting" that essential piece. My favorite part, of course, was Jamie and Maggie's relationship. I cried, and dreamed, and cried some more. It was sad and happy and beautiful.
—Anna
