josegadea

Jodi Picoult is a fabulous story teller. She has a gift for sharing compelling stories, and for weaving intricate plot lines and interesting characters into a rich literary tapestry. In Second Glance Ms. Picoult has reached new highs. She introduces us to many different characters and story lines; she intertwines those characters to tell one fascinating fictional story; and she throws in a lesson about American history that is quite disturbing and educational. In Second Glance Picoult writes with a magical descriptive quality that is reminiscent of Alice Hoffman, but undeniably Picoult in its detail, compassion, and intricacy. She talks of love and romance; reality and truth; guilt and responsibility; and science and the supernatural. Second Glance is, on one level, a ghost story. When a developer tries to build on a piece of land in Comtosook, Vermont, strange things begin to happen. The ground freezes in August; the sky rains down rose petals; and the home that is being demolished somehow rebuilds itself at night. Ross Wakeman, a retired “ghost-hunter”, haunted by the death of his own fianc�, agrees to study the construction site for proof of ghosts. His work not only forces the locals to consider the existence of ghosts, but leads to the re-opening of a 70 year old murder case. More than just a ghost story, Second Glance also teaches us about the horrors of the 1920s-1930s Vermont Eugenics project. In the 20s and 30s, some “learned” men in Vermont wanted to “preserve the state’s rural charm” by systematically eliminating “bad” genes from the reproductive gene pool. Violent tendencies, simple-mindedness, loose morals, etc, were believed to be the result of a poor genetic makeup, and Vermont’s population could be “cleansed” by eliminating these bad genes through forced sterilization. The local Abenaki Indians, having their own language and lifestyle, were victimized by the Eugenics laws, and often committed to mental hospitals and jails, and forced to undergo sterilization. Beyond these two stories, Picoult shares several love stories. Ross is consumed by his love for Aimee, his fianc�, and is over-ridden by guilt that he could not save her from death. He flirts with death as a way of re-connecting with Aimee, and feels trapped on earth until he is smitten by a new mystery lady. Shelby loves her brother Ross, is completely devoted to her son Ethan, but longs for romantic love. Meredith loves her daughter Lucy and her grandmother Ruby, but is too absorbed in her work to find time for romantic love. Cissy loves her husband and her unborn child, but has difficulty in loving herself. While I strongly recommend this novel, I find myself unable to summarize the plot. The story has twists and turns, rich detail, and interwoven story lines; and I fear that in attempting to summarize it, I would do a great disservice to the novel and to Jodi Picoult. Second Glance is at once a ghost story, a love story, and a murder mystery. It questions truth and reality, and opens the door to an acceptance of the supernatural. Second Glance also is a historical novel, sharing the sad truth of the Vermont Eugenics project and how that project effected the Abenaki. In the end, Second Glance is a compelling novel that should attract many readers and keep them up at night turning pages.

2020-02-01 05:49