Thursday 17 May 2012

Jodi Picoult is My Literary Nemesis


An admission: I hate, hate Jodi Picoult. I just thought I would repeat it and underline it in order to get my point across. Avid readers of Picoult may want to cease reading this post, as the following content will be highly offensive. 

In my highly qualified and usually correct (well at least usually correct) opinion, Picoult's works are pure literary evil. A study of ethics at school forced my reluctant self to read My Sister's Keeper; an entire day which I will never get back. Reading the novel was like weaving barbed wire tightly around my ankles while I slammed my face (at great speed) into a brick wall. Not a very pleasant experience to say the least. I will not ever subject myself to another of her works unless I am lying on my death bed and wish to hasten the experience.  

My open disdain was something that gradually developed as I progressed through the book. Initial hate emerged when I noted the variety of fonts used. Utilising five fonts to highlight the point of view for each character is disjointed and visually tacky. The continual shifts were unnecessary and the flashbacks were always pointless. Everything about this novel (and I assume Picoult's other trash) I found profoundly irritating.

While morally provocative issues like the rights of a child and extraordinary and euthanasia are fascinating, Picoult handles it poorly. The end of the novel is a let down. It was irritating that while Picoult wanted to explore ethical issues and pose ethical questions throughout the novel, she refused to draw any conclusions. A novel regarding the ethics of life should at the very least attempt to steer the moral debate in one direction or another. 

0.1/5 stars.

I tend to ramble, so let me underline it for you: Do humanity (and the world of literature) a favour and leave My Sister's Keeper  on the shelf alongside Picoult's similarly formulated uneducated literature  crap 


3 comments:

  1. Oh dear, we both seem to be easily befuddled by half stars. Otherwise, yes, yes and yes: I could not agree with you more. Great minds must think alike.

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