I'm not a likely candidate to read a Jodi Picoult book. I have to admit that I've always been a bit of a snob when it comes to the books that my Mom read.She was a big fan of mysteries, but nothing classic (no Christie or Doyle), very little new or challenging (no Steinhauer or Rankin), and practically nothing genuinely pulpy (no Leonard or Chandler). She always preferred the uber-popular stuff and was a massive fan of James Patterson (and his peers), having to go out and buy the books from his mystery-mill in hardcover they day they were released.And that's where the snobbery comes in. I tried a couple Patterson books early on, but his work is basically crap, so when my Mom discovered Jodi Picoult, adding Picoult to her list of favourite authors and telling me I should read her, I mocked my Mom's taste and avoided Picoult with an internal snicker. But then my Mom died last month and my Dad asked me to go through her bookshelves and take anything I wanted. And there was Jodi Picoult. Now this probably wouldn't have been enough to make me grab a stack of my Mom's Jodi Picoult books, but two other moments pushed me over the edge. First, I bought my Mom Jodi Picoult's Wonder Woman: Love Murder for Christmas. I found it during a random book store browse and thought it would be a good way to introduce my Mom to graphic novels; second, I read a recent article by Stephen King that was talking about the merits of some of our most popular novelists, praising both Rowling and Picoult while damning Stephanie Meyer (raise a cheer!) and Patterson. I am not a big fan of King's fiction, but I do enjoy his essays on popular culture and literature, so his opinions are close enough to mine to take as advice.So I added the Jodi Picoult books grudgingly to my haul and put Salem Falls -- a random selection -- straight onto my to-read soon stack.I finished Salem Falls last night and I can say that I was completely surprised by how good it actually was and disappointed by how good it wasn't. Picoult is a good writer. She has serious chops. She balances multiple characters with the speed and grace of an excellent screen writer (I'm not talking about screen hacks here), giving us vivid scenes that tell the tale quickly and move on to the next important scene with no meaningless lingering. Her dialogue, though occasionally cliche, is believable and serves to make every character an individual. And her use of flashback to tell us bits and pieces about her people is superb. I was sold on Salem Falls by page ten, and she held my attention right to the end. I didn't expect that. Even with Stephen King's praise, I was ready to scoff at Picoult's work, but she really impressed me. Until Salem Falls shifted from an interesting story about interesting people to a boring Law and Order style courtroom drama.And it didn't have to do that. By the third act, Picoult gave up the creativity that was making Salem Falls a compelling read and took the conventional way out, which is a shame because the unconventional would have been so much better and realistic. You see, Picoult gave us all the information we needed to know the ending (which was a good one) early in her novel. A good reader, paying close attention, knows exactly what's going on. The problem is that her characters, smart people all (and brilliant in some cases), have the same information and never see what's happening. So we find ourselves waiting to see how the "truth" is going to come out and save Jack St. Bride, how it's going to make the trial meaningless, how it's going to save people's spirits and the bodies of some young women, but we are let down because, apparently, the smart folks in Salem Falls aren't as brilliant as the folks reading about them.Usually I would be a fan of people not being saved because in real life, more often than not, that is the case. People aren't saved. People go on in pain. People live with abuse that doesn't end. People hurt. And when authors are brave enough to let that happen I am generally full of praise. I would have been in this case too, had Picoult employed dramatic irony. But she didn't. There was no pertinent information we had that was withheld from the characters. They had the same access to information that we did, and they were oblivious. And I was left disappointed. I wanted more from Picoult, and she promised more in the first two acts only to fail us in the third; still, she did enough to win me as a fan (albeit it a mildly skeptical one). I will definitely read her again. I just hope she doesn't continue to exceed my expectations only to dash my hopes. There is only so much of that I can take.
Salem Falls is not exactly what I initially thought the book would be about from reading the synopsis on the back cover; however, it was a very interesting and mostly enjoyable read. Jack St. Bride was a history teacher at a private school who was falsely accused of statutory rape. Jack accepted a plea bargain when his lawyer advised him of all the circumstantial evidence against him and spent eight months in prison for a crime he did not commit. Upon his release, Jack knows that he cannot return to the town where he once lived and randomly chooses a new town when he sees a 'help needed' sign in a local diner. The owner, Addie Peabody, has a broken past of her own and has shut out every man who has dared to try to crack the tough exterior wall that protects her heart... that is until Jack walks into her life. The secret of Jack's former imprisonment doesn't stay a secret for long, however, and before Jack can fully realize what is happening, a modern day witch hunt has bloomed in Salem Falls with Jack the center of everyone's suspicion. When the daughter of a local wealthy business owner accuses Jack of rape, the townspeople immediately assume he is guilty, but Jack is determined to not once again take the fall for something he claims he did not do. Pros:• Jodi Picoult is an amazing storyteller who is able to spin tales that keep me wanting to turn the page to see what happens. This is my fourth read from her, and she has never disappointed me.• The story is told from multiple characters which allows the reader to see how different perceptions are and why people can see the same story in so many different ways.• Jodi Picoult did a very good job of showing the hurt rape causes while at the same time showing that everyone who is accused isn't always guilty and how those lives can be destroyed as well.• In typical Picoult style, there is a twist at the end that you don't see coming but makes perfect sense when you think about all the hints she drops along the way.Cons:• I really wasn't a fan of all the witchcraft in the book. This was the detail the cover synopsis was missing; however, I should have assumed it from the title of the book. Witchcraft was portrayed as something that is more or less harmless and is a simple connecting of oneself with nature (even though the characters keep referring to gods and goddesses).• The 'g-d' word is used a lot in this book from just about every character.(view spoiler)[• When Jack and Addie are in the graveyard looking at Addie's daughter's headstone, it reads with the dates 1979 - 1989. When Addie is testifying at Jack's trial in 2000, Addie states that her daughter died seven years ago. I'm not sure if this editorial mishap was ever corrected in later editions. (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about Salem Falls (2002)?
Salem Falls is easily one of my favorite Jodi Picoult book - one part romance, one part courtroom thriller, two parts social commentary, to quote The Dallas Morning News. This time she tackles Megan’s Law - law enforcement is required to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders - and how people are presumed guilty until proven innocent, instead of the other way around. “When I was lying, they hung on every word. And when I told the truth, no one listened.” {pg. 290}She also confronts how quickly people favoring the woman’s perspective of “what really happened,” and I think it was very admirable of her to show us what life might be like for someone who truly did not commit the crime. “You had to pay your dues in jail. If you wanted a candy bar, it meant behaving well enough to be granted the commissary form. If you wanted the freedom of medium security, where you could wander through the common room during any hours except lockdown, you had to prove that you could conduct yourself well in maximum security. If you wanted to run in the courtyard, you had yo earn the privilege. Everything was a step, a reckoning, an inch given in the hopes of receiving one in return.” {pg. 202-203}Picoult originally started out rewriting The Crucible {Arthur Miller}, but instead wrote a novel that highlights how situations like the Salem Witch Trials can and do happen in modern days. As with most Picoult books, Salem Falls immediately catches your attention and holds it until the very end. Full of emotion, it’s one twist after other because those who are guilty aren’t and those who are, aren’t.
—Christina
I don't know what I would really rate this book. I felt that it was well-written (I would expect nothing less from Jodi Picoult) and well-planned, but the subject matter was something I struggled with. I think that's why it took me a lot longer to read this one than some of Picoult's others.I was mostly bothered by the fact that Picoult perpetuated the idea of blaming the victim. The whole trial was basically a way for the defense to discredit Gillian. Regardless of whether or not she was telling the truth, the fact that they raked her name through the mud is the reason why actual rape victims don't come forward. Gillian was made out to be a slut who was on drugs, and regardless of whether or not she was, that doesn't mean she couldn't be raped. Picoult added to the stereotype that women are vindictive and will accuse men of such things when they do something bad to them, and seeing as Picoult is a woman herself, I had a major problem with that. I know this is just a work of fiction, but it still really bothered me.I felt like Jack was supposed to be a sympathetic character, however that didn't really translate well to me. I thought he was a priviledged white kid who went to a good school and wasn't that great of a guy (I wasn't a fan of what his soccer team did in college--which he participated in--and he should have known his relationship with Catherine Marsh was inappropriate, if not sexual. I had a teacher in high school once say that if another teacher was doing anything that even remotely could come across as inappropriate, he had crossed a line, which I think is a good rule of thumb for high school teachers). I didn't like how everyone in town seemed to disregard the fact that Jack's first sexual assualt conviction had nothing to do with a violent rape. It didn't really make sense to me the witch hunt that ensued regarding him; shouldn't they be more worried that he'd start a relationship with their daughters, not randomly and violently rape them? But, clearly the townspeople weren't really thinking, they were just doing whatever Amos told them to do, which is ironic in itself. I was really bothered by Amos' character (for obvious reason when you've read the whole book), but also by Charlie's character as well. Seeing as how they had both committed the same crime, I thought they shouldn't be so quick to judge (and say things like they thought his penis should be cut off, or when Charlie made him take out 30 pubic hairs for testing) when they should really be saying those things to themselves, especially since they never had to pay for their crime.As others have said, the "surprise" twist at the end wasn't that big of a surprise. There were definitely hints throughout the book. It did succeed, however, in making Amos out to be an even bigger hypocrite than I had originally thought.
—Shea
A most frustrating book. It is written on a formula perfect for Lifetime TV for women. It is clearly intended to be an issue oriented novel on the subject of the abuse of Megan's law and false accusations. The subject is not an easy one to deal with. I didn't like the graphic sex or the bad language. I didn't like the choppy style of jumping from one point of view to another without a transition. It was difficult to follow. Although the author apparently wanted a sensational surprise at the ending it was totally predictable. I was only surprised by the revelation of who the guilty party was in the unreported rape of one of the main characters. I was disappointed that when this revelation came the author and the character were content with an apology. The guilty party should have taken responsibility by turning himself in to the law and accepting the punishment he deserved. The real continuing perpetrator in the small town of Salem Falls should have been exposed in a way that his criminal behavior ended. That was the surprised that everyone the innocent as well as the guilty somehow avoided the consequences of their actions. On the other hand I did read the whole thing because I wanted to see how it all turned out.
—Yvonne
