PLAIN TALKING (Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult)

Member Name: thingywhatsit

Product:	Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult
Date:	02/01/07 (392 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An eye opener for those wishing to learn about Amish life.

Disadvantages: Perhaps a little too swiftly ended.

I like a book that makes me think, although when I bought this book, I didn't know how much it would expect of me as a reader, let alone what I expected of the author. It sounded tempting when I read reviews on it, although I was surprised at the impact it made on me, and how it set the psychological processes into trying to make sense of the morality of the events that the book brings out. Having never read this author before, I knew that the subject matter interested me, as I have something inside that fascinates me about the Amish people, since seeing a documentary about them many years ago. I like their values, appreciate that whilst they are different from me, their society is based on humility and the appeal that this has to me is much more than society that thinks nothing of values.

The story is about a young Amish girl, called Katie Fisher, who is accused of the murder of her newborn child. Coincidentally, a lawyer (Ellie Hathaway), taking a break away from her life in the city and the corruption of city life, and staying with her aunt Leda in Lancaster County is persuaded to take up the case and in effort to procure bail for Katie, offers to live in Katie's home until the trial. It's an interesting story, and takes you through the doors of Amish life and the simplicity of it, balanced against the legal system in the United States. From the cover itself, we glean that what the story offers is a balancing act between two cultures, and it certainly lives up to its' promise. Not only does the child deny giving birth, even though all the scientific evidence says that she has, she also denies vehemently that she killed her child.

I took a week to read this story, and enjoyed every page. The characters are well developed and believeable but it was more than that to me. The story unfolded questions that a reader feels involved in, and at the end of the book, there was a section of questions poised in the story for study purposes, and I really did ask many of the questions before reading this section, because of the complexity of the story. For example, is trying an Amish person the same as trying an American since their way of life and the beliefs are so different, even from an early age. Humility is the key to the Amish life, and putting the importance of others before ones self. Over and over during the course of the story, you go through highs and lows, think you know how the story will unfold, but are surprised because it really is not a clear cut case at all.

The look that you take at Amish life is a pretty good one, and the sameness of these simple people who are known as 'Plain' makes sense, given the fact that it is not the individual that counts but the combination of individuals that make the society what it is, gives it its' strengths and perhaps through this story, its weaknesses too. I realise that this is fiction, though it is exceptionally well thought out fiction that would appeal to a wide spectrum of readers. In carrying out the exercises at the end of the book, I felt that my understanding of the differences between Amish 'right' and American 'right' was wide, and it wasn't until you understood the make up of the complex characters that make the story, that you are able to appreciate the complexity of the issues posed.

Described on the cover as a drama, I felt that the book deserved a better description, and to me it was more of an awakening than a drama, putting my thoughts about how different races of people interact, what happens when they do, and how very narrow minded people can be about other races beliefs and the way in which they react to given circumstance.

Jodi Picoult not only gave a good story in words, she conjured up scenes that I could actually imagine, and saw in pictures within my minds' eye. I loved the backdrop, the way of life, and the description of the pace of life that Ellie Hathaway discovered when she went to live with the Amish people. It actually felt quite familiar to me, as my life is slower than most UK lives, here tucked away from it all, though it doesn't mean that values are any less, or that people who chose a different mode of life have less worth or intelligence. It just means that they are different.

I was interested in the fact that Jodi Picoult chose the characters of her jury to be non Amish, and could just imagine this to be the case, and wondered if any case like this had been tried and whether in fact it was fair for a jury that knew very little of Amish ways to judge a girl whose whole life revolved around her belief. It gave a good insight into the growing up of Amish people, and how it differed from other upbringings in the same country and I really do believe that the book goes out of its way to make the picture it portrays as clear as possible, and succeeds.

The portrait of Katies family was extensive. As a reader, you could almost see her mother, and her father, and imagine the unbendable belief that her father portrayed. Giving away much more than this would ruin the book for a potential reader, though I hope I gave enough to tempt, as I certainly would recommend both the style of the writer and the content, the delicate weave of words that paint a story worthy of telling. It's one book that I shall be keeping, and I shall be reading more of this lady's work because I believe she deals with moral issues, thinks out her stories in such detail as to be capable of painting a wide screen image of the characters that make the story work.

Meeting the people that are part of Katie's everyday life is enlightening, and I liked very much the character of Samuel Stolzfus, or Katie's intended, his generosity of soul and genuine love for the girl that doesn't let circumstance sway his emotions for her, though most would bend given the same situation. He was almost like a great friend from youth that was always there, no matter what Katie did, and could be relied upon and friendships like that are rare, and perhaps since I have known that kind of friendship, could understand it and recognise that kind of love that doesn't impose conditions.

When a book makes me question my own morality, what I believe balanced against what others believe, it really is worth the read, and I would have no hesitation in recommending it as one of my favourite books to date.

Incidentally, at the back of the book are tasters for other works by the author, as well as an extract from another of her books, and I thought this was very well thought out on the part of the publishers and has tempted me to buy more of Jodi Picoult's work.

A bargain new at Amazon for 5.49 GBP, and certainly worth doing what I did, and buying two books at once, making a further saving on postal costs.



Paperback: 480 pages
Publisher: Flame (31 Oct 2004)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0340835478
ISBN-13: 978-0340835470


Rachel

Summary: A very good book with well developed characters and scenarios.