Book Review of the Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Media Reviews
BookBrowse Review
"Jodi Picoult's The Storyteller is particularly riveting. Picoult brings together a fine cast. As well the two main characters - a ninety+ year onetime man who, we know early on, has worn an SS compatible and a immature woman badly scarred from an accident - we meet the adult female'south grandmother, a survivor of Auschwitz, a young man working to track down former Nazis, and many characters from the years of the state of war. Not simply do we hear the story the old man tells simply besides the grandmother'due south story and, remarkably, a story the and then young grandmother is writing herself. I did not find it "verbose" (Publishers Weekly) or filled with "unwieldy plot contrivances" (Kirkus) merely, rather, a story that needs the complex narration to delve into the tangled lives of the characters." - Bob Sauerbrey
Other Reviews
"A powerful and riveting, sometimes gut-wrenching, read, in which the ever compelling Picoult brings a fresh perspective to an oft-explored topic." - Booklist
"Picoult'southward formulaic arroyo to Minka's accounts of the Holocaust is a cheap shot, but the author appreciates Sage'south moral bind. Nearly half of the book is devoted to a verbose, sad recounting of Minka'south time during the war, merely the real conflict lies within Sage. That conflict, and the complexity of a character who discovers herself through the trials of Josef and Minka, is the volume's saving grace." - Publishers Weekly
"Readers volition see the final twist coming far in accelerate due to unwieldy plot contrivances which merely serve to emphasize what they are intended to conceal. Still, a fictional testament every bit horrifying as it is suspenseful." - Kirkus
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Reader Reviews
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Glia
Beautifully written; heartbreaking.
The Storyteller tells the stories of Sage, Minka, and Josef and how their lives are intertwined in this greatly written novel. The volume has ii timelines - the present and the time of the Holocaust. Sage, a bakery whose grandmother was a survivor, got befriended by a onetime SS officer in hopes that she could forgive him and assist him to die (considering she is the closest thing to a Jew around the area). I enjoy reading this 460p novel. Information technology comes in three parts. If you want to read what happened to the Jews, how they were treated during the state of war, their lives before the state of war til the day of the liberation, go to Part Two. It is heartbreaking til the last page of the whole novel. It is beautifully written, I couldn't say anything more.
Beckyh
Who can you lot forgive? Will you?
A story within a story within a story is the only way to apace describe THE STORYTELLER. At that place are iii storytellers -- Sage, a baker, who carries guilt and grief that consumes her; Josef, a beloved elderly man, who confesses to Sage and wants her to forgive so impale him; and finally, Minka, a Polish Jew and resident of a concentration camp during WWII. I found Minka's story compelling. Forgiveness is the overriding theme of the volume. A sentence on page 450 states that yous tin only forgive someone the wrong they have done to you personally. Sage, Josef and, even Minka, need forgiveness, just who can forgive them and will they – that is the question.
I found this to be one of Picoult'south more than challenging and thought provoking books. She is known for addressing timely topics with a twist ending. THE STORYTELLER addresses forgiveness in way that will give you break for thought, especially the ending. Book groups will have a lively discussion of guilt and forgiveness.
5 of 5 stars
Cloggie Downunder
bright and inspired
The Storyteller is the twenty-showtime novel by award-winning American author, Jodi Picoult. In this idea-provoking novel, Picoult follows her usual format of narration by unlike voices, only adds an allegorical story written by one of her characters. Reclusive bakery, Sage Vocalist is a young woman scarred by her past and the guilt she carries. Josef Weber is a well-respected onetime man, a favourite teacher with a shocking secret and a unique request for Sage. Leo Stein is a lawyer with the Section of Justice who hunts war criminals. Minka Singer is Sage's grandmother and a holocaust survivor. With this bandage of characters, Picoult crafts a superb tale that will accept the reader engrossed to the very last line. She brings her story to a scenic climax that leaves the reader wondering what they themselves might exist capable of. Minka summarises it well when she says: "…..at that place is good and evil in all of us. A monster is merely someone for whom the evil has tipped the residue." As always, Picoult'southward research is thorough, wide-ranging and apparent in every paragraph and includes holocaust survivors, concentration camps, mustard gas, baking, death marches, Jewish customs, Polish ghettoes, vampire myths, constitute poisons, Nazi hunters, war crimes and gas chambers. Her portrayal of the creation of an SS officeholder is illuminating. Picoult always presents the reader with at least one dilemma and is an expert at sparking consideration of all sides of an issue. This novel volition accept the reader thinking almost war crimes, vengeance, justice, cant, repentance, what acts can (or cannot) be forgiven and who has the correct to forgive. The well-nigh mutual dilemma with a Picoult novel, however, is this: read fast to know what happens adjacent; or read slowly to prolong the enjoyment. While there is plenty of horror and heartbreak in this story, in that location is also incredible compassion and kindness, a scrap of Haiku and some humour. The Storyteller provides undiluted reading pleasure. Picoult is brilliant and inspired, equally always.
Source: https://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/index.cfm/ezine_preview_number/8127/the-storyteller
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