Mercy

Rating:
Summary: The quality of mercy leaves a lot to be desired
Review: I have read most of Jodi Picoult's books and reviewed some, and they were all outstanding. This is the first one in which I was really disappointed. After page 25, I knew a lot about one person's genealogy, another's high school reminiscences, an unknown person who had a tag sale of all her husband's stuff when he was away, and a few notes with no indication who wrote them or to whom they were written or what they had to do with anything. The story seemed to be constantly sidetracking. It took forever to cut to the action and then it would be interrupted by more distractions.

I didn't get the point of having this book set in a town inhabited by an entire Scottish clan that emigrated together two hundred years before. Maybe there actually is a town like this, but it didn't ring true. By page 100, the names of the characters were making me nuts. It reminded me of Brigadoon where there is a song that goes something like MacGregor, MacDougall, Macduff and MacCoy, McKenna MacNeil and MacRae, etc. If she had set the book in Scotland, not everyone would have names like this. It was impossible for me to take seriously anyone named Verona MacBean. There also names like Watchell Spitlick (!)

The plot seems far-fetched and unrealistic. The issue is a good one; there is a controversial case in the Florida courts right now. But smothering your wife and then pulling up in the main square to announce it to the whole town, with the dead body in tow-they didn't even do that in Brigadoon. You're kind of waiting for James to break into song at this point. Allie hiring Mia and inviting her to stay in their house when she knows nothing about her and doesn't even ask is crazy. She could be a fugitive from justice, a serial killer, an illegal immigrant with no Social Security number, who knows. The police chief and his wife never lock their doors. I've never lived in a small town, but come on, this isn't the 1930s, where anyone would invite a passing transient in to have lunch with the family. The police chief secretly pays a lawyer to get his cousin off a murder charge while he participates in the prosecution? Wouldn't the court appoint an attorney?

The book really isn't about euthanasia. It's about marital problems, flower arranging, New Age healing, people seeing ghosts, scenes that are repeated later in the story, and scenes that don't go anywhere. Verona seems like she's going to be a major character, but we hear nothing about her after chapter 1. Why didn't Picoult do some research on the real issue and treat it in depth instead of straying off into all this trivia? Anyone can write about extramarital affairs. It's as if she felt she had to fill 400 pages no matter what.

This is the first time I've had to force myself to finish a book by Jodi Picoult. Neither the plot nor the characters captured my interest, and it didn't get any better. It's too bad, because she could have done so much more with the real subject matter instead of wandering off onto topics that may have interested her, but bored a lot of readers.


Rating:
Summary: loved it
Review: I read _Keeping Faith_ and once again liked Picoult's interweaving of magic and normal home life. She's just one of those great writers - no matter what she writes about, she tells a story well.

Rating:
Summary: Second book read by Picoult is fantastic
Review: I read _Keeping Faith_ and once again liked Picoult's interweaving of magic and normal home life. She's just one of those great writers - no matter what she writes about, she tells a story well.

Rating:
Summary: Ravenous Readers 13th selection
Review: I selected this as our 13th selection and this was the first time we have repeated Authors. We read Keeping Faith last year and my group loved it.

Wish I could say they appreciated this as much but I cannot.

Discussion of the book was feisty I must admit, with everyone voting on the traits of the characters more than anything else.

Logistical things seemed to distract most of us; like the purpose of the Scotland history, the fact that you inherit the Police Chief's job just because your Father passes; you let a complete stranger walk in and take over your Florist shop? Come on this is the twenty first century and Massachusetts!

I tried to steer the group into the crux of the subject, but it was difficult to stay focused on the Euthanasia. Jamie was the most liked character...what does that tell you???

I have thoroughly enjoyed the other selections from Jodi I have read so far and will most certainly keep reading her works.

We did enjoy the parallel drawn between the two couples and how one decision cost one woman her life and the other woman the life she had always known up to that point.

Rating:
Summary: Ravenous Readers 13th selection
Review: I selected this as our 13th selection and this was the first time we have repeated Authors. We read Keeping Faith last year and my group loved it.

Wish I could say they appreciated this as much but I cannot.

Discussion of the book was feisty I must admit, with everyone voting on the traits of the characters more than anything else.

Logistical things seemed to distract most of us; like the purpose of the Scotland history, the fact that you inherit the Police Chief's job just because your Father passes; you let a complete stranger walk in and take over your Florist shop? Come on this is the twenty first century and Massachusetts!

I tried to steer the group into the crux of the subject, but it was difficult to stay focused on the Euthanasia. Jamie was the most liked character...what does that tell you???

I have thoroughly enjoyed the other selections from Jodi I have read so far and will most certainly keep reading her works.

We did enjoy the parallel drawn between the two couples and how one decision cost one woman her life and the other woman the life she had always known up to that point.

Rating:
Summary: loved it
Review: It took me 200 pages for this book to grab me (which surprised me since her other books grabbed me immediately!). Well worth waiting for! The textures in this novel were so vivid and the thematic passions that were interwoven throughout the passages had me reviewing my own life sporadically and often. How much does my husband love me? What would he do for me? Not do for me? What is the ratio of his love for me to my love for him? Jodi Picoult's grasp of emotions and mindsets are astonishing and I was sorry when the book ended and the characters were no longer part of my daily world.

Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking
Review: Jodi Picoult writes a truly thought provoking story about love and how far the human spirit will go to support that love. The subject of euthanasia is not an easy one. There were times in this book when I felt so very angry at the characters I'd have to stop reading.

Cameron and Jamie are cousins, family above all else is what they have been brought up to believe. Cameron is the Police Chief while Jamie is the confessed murderer of his own wife. How can Cameron been seen to grant his cousin any favors? Jodi takes us on an indepth look at each man's heart and the love they have for the women in their lives.

Allie is Cameron's wife who finds herself caught in a triangle that exposes her husband's infidelity. Mia, the third party, brought into the story as Allie's helper in the store, becomes the woman we all want to hate. Allie and Mia both have searched for that perfect life only to find nothing is ever perfect.

Life, death and infidelity draws the reader into this book and keeps them there. So many unanswered questions..Was Jamie right in helping his wife to die? Whose was the greater love?

A must read for Jodi Picoult fans.

Rating:
Summary: A study of human flaws
Review: Mercy is a thoroughly engrossing novel. One was right to point out that some of the characters have no desirable traits. Perhaps that is what serves this book best. We would like to believe that we could deal with what was set before us if we could distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys. But that's the point. This book paints a very blurry line--do we care about Allie when she's in this completely co-dependent relationship with Cam? And do we at all feel for Cam who is trapped in a small town not being able to fulfill his dreams because of family obligation? And Mia--can we at all sympathize with her based on her family history and watch as she hurts the one person who took care of her, no questions asked? And then there's Jamie--do we at all care of his fate when he seems so complacent and in love with a woman that others see as slightly selfish? In the end, I didn't feel any compassion for any of the characters--but I did feel for their lot in life and the events that shape our actions. And that's why I enjoyed this book so much; it's much easier to love a character and forgive them than to dislike one and understand.

Rating:
Summary: It got under my skin...
Review: Of all the books I have ever read, "Mercy" struck a chord with me like no other. The amazing thing about Jodi Piccoult is that she is able to take the lives of very normal people living in a small Mass. town and create magic with the characters. The love story between Cam and Mia could be felt , especially by the first person wriiten description in the beginning of every other chapter. It is a must for every one that wants to read a story about "the one that got away" There are no villians in this story, and it made me think differently of what love and betrayal really mean. "Mercy" made me realize that sometimes there is no black or white, and a fine line between right or wrong. Even though Allie(Cam's betrayed wife) is the real victim, I found myself rooting for Mia, fascinated by her and her psyche. I wanted Cam and Mia to meet again, even though in the end they never did. If Jodi Piccoult EVER decides to write a sequel to this one, she will have a very happy and loyal reader in me, and if I ever wanted a sequel to a novel, this one would be it. My all-time favorite and it made me buy all of Piccoult's books. The best thing I can say about it is a phrase taken from the book itself...it got under my skin. I can't reccommend this book enough. This novel is for everyone who has a lost love buried somewhere in their hearts. Mia isn't rich, she isn't beautiful, but she is the other half of Cam, and he must fight between love and loyalty, not only for himself, but also for his cousin(who mercy-killed his wife) The most un-chliche novel I have ever read. Piccoult sets herself apart from the rest with "Mercy"

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully touching novel
Review: Picoult won me over with this novel. It is a wonderful tale of several people: a husband and wife (Cam and Allie) whose lives are infiltrated with other characters: Jamie, Maggie, and Mia. I found that the people in this book were real, their thoughts, feelings and actions the same as many of us in our own lives. Throughout this book, I was finding myself feeling for Allie. I imagine many married woman feel and act this way.... however, Mia, I felt, had been an exception to the rule of "the other woman". She had too much insight into who she was, what she wanted. I enjoyed these people very much, despite the things they were doing. One of the things that I found could have been excluded was the bit about Cam being the leader of the present day Carrymuir, the small town of Wheelock. This was a bit corny, but I suppose that the author felt this helped the readers understanding of Cam. I think this book has a little bit for everyone: romance, marital affairs, legal action, murder. You will find yourself staying up late to get to the next parts.... trying to figure out what has happened next.