| Product: |
The Tenth Circle - Jodi Picoult |
| Date: |
11/09/06 (397 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Raises more controversial issues
Disadvantages: Guessed the ending
***Background***
I was already a fan of Jodi Picoult's novels, having already read three of them including one which won the Richard & Judy Best Read of 2005. That was of course My Sister's Keeper. When I started reading this one I was expecting a courtroom drama that would surprise me at the end, but although a crime might or might not have taken place in this story, the format is a little bit different from her other books that I have read.
***The Story***
The Tenth Circle is a very clever book that tells the story of the love that a father has for his daughter and the lengths that he will go to protect her from harm.
The story centres round what appears on the outside to be a normal, successful family of three, who are torn apart when Trixie, the fourteen year old daughter, comes home in tears one night and claims she has been raped by her boyfriend. What happens next is a whirlwind of events, as Trixie attempts to hide certain facts about the evening that the alleged rape has taken place. After all, what fourteen-year-old girl wouldn't lie in front of her father about intimate details such as her virginity and what was going on at a party?
We are taken on a journey that not only has Trixie attempting to come to terms with what has happened, but also one that sees her father coming to terms with his past and her mother trying to cope with the hurt that her recent affair has caused her family.
This story has it all, suspense, intrigue, murder and a web of lies and deceit to battle through.
***The Characters***
Daniel Stone is a comic strip writer and has come along way from the Eskimo village from where he was brought up as an outcast for being the only white kid around. He has many demons from his past that have been kept a secret for far too long and he starts to share certain aspects as he comes to terms with the fact that his own child is growing up fast and needs his support.
Laura Stone is a specialist on Dante's work, The Inferno and it is through her work as a lecturer that a relationship is formed with one of her students. It seems ironic that just as she is ending the affair, her home life becomes a hurricane of destruction as she struggles to come to terms with the fact that her daughter has been raped at the same time as her own indiscretions.
Trixie is a normal fourteen-year-old girl on the outside, but on the inside she is a very unhappy and insecure young woman. Dealing with the recent break up with her boyfriend, Jason was bad enough, but then to have him rape her too is just unbearable. We see her go through every emotion possible in this book.
Jason is the local hero of the ice hockey team and someone all the girls want to go out with. A few years older than Trixie he feels that he is doing her a favour by dropping her to go out with other girls - after all it's not as though he loves her. He appears to be devastated though by the rape claims and has his own personal struggles as one by one, everyone turns against him, including his own father.
***My Thoughts***
I have to say straight off that I didn't think that this book was as good as the other Jodi Picoult books that I have read. That being said, it is still a good story with lots of twists and controversy along the way. Just when you think you know what has happened, a new piece of evidence with appear and it spirals off on another course.
The book is centred round Dante's Inferno, which, for those of you who aren't aware of the epic work, is about the nine circles of hell. Each level contains a different type of sinner and each level gets more and more brutal as it goes on. What makes this book different is that we get to see and read the comic strip, that shares the same title as this book, that Daniel Stone is writing throughout the story and this helps him deal with his emotions and come to terms with the sinners that he encounters along the way. It also toys with the theory that there should be a tenth circle, but I won't give it away by saying what you might find here. I really enjoyed this addition to the book as it gave a special insight into Daniel's character and the pain and suffering he was dealing with.
One thing that may shock some parents out there, are the things that apparently innocent young teenagers actually get up to. Some of the games that take place at Trixie's friend's party where the alleged rape takes place, really took me by surprise and I thought I was quite broad minded. It reminded me that girls really are growing up faster these days and that it's becoming more and more difficult to protect their innocence. The worst I ever got up to at fourteen was sneaking the odd cigarette or having a sneaky sip of alcohol at New Year. This book brings to light a completely different generation of sexually aware teenagers where is seems to be acceptable to sleep around.
It is difficult at times whether to sympathise with Trixie or not, as she does seem to have brought a lot of trouble on herself between lying to her parents and the police at times and the question of whether or not she has been raped is one which isn't really answered until near the end of the book. When it then emerges that she may be guilty of murder, we are then asked as to what may have driven her to it. Of course there are other suspects too and the reader is kept guessing as to who actually committed the offence. I have to say that I actually worked it out, but my daughter, who read this book before I did, hadn't a clue and the ending took her by surprise. Maybe this is why she enjoyed it better than I did, as I love a surprise ending to a good story.
Whether you agree or not with some of the subjects that Jodi Picoult writes about, there is one thing that is certain - her stories leave you debating controversial issues. Despite the fact that I wasn't so enthralled by this one as some of her others, I have to admire her for bringing yet another difficult subject to the table. She seems to excel in writing about difficult subjects and it's obvious by the quality of the writing that she does extensive research into these matters.
One final thing to add is the bonus puzzle of the hidden letters to find within the comic strips. If you find them all, you can read a quotation and also hidden is the quotation's author.
I'm off on the lookout for more of her books to read.
***Price and Availability***
This hardback copy that we got from the library retails at £12.99, however it is available from WH Smith for only £7.79 at the moment. It is also available in large paperback format for £7.25 from Amazon, which is slightly cheaper than the recommended price of £10.99.
Hardback ISBN No. 0340835516
Paperback ISBN No. 0340839279
Summary: Not her best but still well worth the read
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