Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Another Jodi Picoult
I just finished Picture Perfect, one of Jodi Picoult's older books. It's about a girl married to a movie star who ends up being abusive, and her struggle to get out of the relationship. It was intense, especially the second half, but I felt like there were too many things going on at once: a movie star's career, anthropology, Native American culture, whirlwind romance, amnesia, pregnancy, abusive backgrounds. It felt a little like Picoult was trying to bring way too many things in to the story. The ending felt rushed, too--like you had just begun getting into the heart of the story and she ended it. Still, a good book, but I would say her writing has improved through the years.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I read this book a couple years ago and found it intense also, I clearly remember the the feelings of the woman in the abusive relationship.
There is a lot going on, which is sort of Picoult's thing to do. In general, I do love her books, as I love melodramatic and fast paces plots that aren't predictable that make me stay up reading. But I think Picoult's latest books are not as compelling (e.g. 19 minutes) as her older ones as now her books seem more formulaic.
In the newer books, I wonder sometimes if there are ghost writers and I've seen some poor editing. I still read and enjoy them, but am not as impressed as I was with her earlier books, and don't find any of her books worth re-reading.
This opinion about Picoult is in contrast to writers such as Pat Conroy, who has melodrama, great characters, and great plots, but I think he has extraordinary writing that is worth re-reading (plus I learn new vocabulary with him every few pages.)
It is definitely Picoult's style to throw a lot into a plot, and I do like that too. And it is sad when writers seem to hit a peak...then start cranking out books that they know will get to the best seller list simply because of their name, not because of the writing quality.
Post a Comment