J-Dub’s Review of The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

This is historical fiction to present day contemporary with a gothic fairytale in between alternating chapters.  Often I could not wait to get to the next part.  In places though I cringed.  More than cringed, I was saddened to my core, dumbstruck that while a fictional account, such atrocities did occur.  I rail against the people that did nothing.  Again and again history repeats itself.  Will we ever learn?

No spoilers/specifics here just a recommended must read.  I will share a few of my favorite lines that made their way into my commonplace book:

1. How you can ricochet from a moment where you are on top of the world to one where you are crawling at rock bottom
2. But thinking doesn’t change anything does it?
3. This is just a place to keep all my thoughts.  They get away from me otherwise.
4. The person may have a scar but it also means they have a story.
5. A story will tell itself when it is ready.
6. “I never said I do not remember,” my grandmother corrects. “I said I prefer to forget”
7. Inside each of us is a monster; inside each of us is a saint.
8. But at any given moment, we are capable of doing what we least expect.
9. The only monsters I’ve ever known are men.
10. After the first two times, I stopped noticing.  It was as if death had become part of the landscape.
11. The story flowed like blood from my hand; sometimes it seemed that I was simply channeling a film that was already playing, that I was only the projector instead of the creator.  When I wrote I felt untethered, impossibly free.

All 11 above were taken from the Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

I am still on page 311 of 460 and plan to finish reading tonight.  I should have finished last week but I had a pity party for one instead.  Glad that’s in my rear view mirror though I better keep going lest those ugly feelings catch up with me again.

I will likely have more for my commonplace book before I am done.  And the final reward is lunch and book club with a dear sweet co-worker.  I am not sure if I will circle back and add to this post or keep the remainder as treasures for myself.

As always, more to come.