Can Our Memories Really Be Trusted? (Vanishing Acts - Jodi Picoult)

Member Name: Brown_eyes1984

Product:	Vanishing Acts - Jodi Picoult
Date:	21/07/06 (307 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: unputdownable, excellent characters,outstanding plot

Disadvantages: none

Released in March 2005, ‘Vanishing Acts’ is Jodi Picoult’s twelfth novel. Turning out usually one novel a year, Picoult tackles all kinds of moral dilemmas and human emotions, usually in the form of a courtroom drama.

Most famous in the UK for the book ‘My Sister’s Keeper’, Picoult has discussed issues such as murder, suicide, babies born just to keep their siblings alive and, in the book I will be reviewing today, ‘Kidnapping’. I personally haven’t found another author who captures the raw emotions involved in such extreme circumstances, as Picoult does.

I have been a huge fan of Picoult’s, ever since I read ‘My Sisters Keeper’, and I now have four of her thirteen books. I didn’t really go into the book with any expectations as each of her books that I have read, have all been different in some way. Some I enjoyed more than others. However, now after completing the book, I can safely say it was one of the best that I have read from her.

*** The Plot ***

Delia Hopkins can’t imagine having a better life than the one she has had. Raised by her widowed father in New Hampshire, she now has a great job finding missing people with her trusted companion ‘Greta’, a faithful bloodhound, and a beautiful daughter named Sophie, whom was fathered by Delia’s first love ‘Eric’.

However, as she plans her dream wedding to Eric, she starts to have flashbacks that she does not recognise. These flashbacks are of a life she has no knowledge of, and as she struggles to find the answers that she so desperately wants, the police knock on her door to bring devastating news that will change her world forever.

*** What I think ***

As an avid Picoult fan, I was really pleased with this book. Once again it tackles a really difficult subject and shows the reader the raw emotions involved, in such a complicated, yet realistic situation.

Told from the viewpoints of each different character, this book shows the emotions of everyone involved, from Delia to her father, and her fiancé Eric and their mutual childhood friend ‘Fitz’ as well as some new characters along the way. Each chapter is dedicated to one of them. This really allows you to get the full story compared to just hearing it from Delia, as there is always more than one side to every situation.

The story gripped me from the very beginning. A lot of the time I really don’t get into what is happening until a few pages into the book, but in this one I was right there with Delia as soon as the story began. The characters also always usually take a while to build up and to get into, but again this wasn’t the case – each character felt real and familiar, right from page one.
As with a lot of the subjects within her books, this one had the potential to become a little tedious. However, there were enough twists and turns within the plot, that it was hard to find anything boring within the whole book. At times it had me gasping ‘Oh My God’ while at others I felt really confused, an emotion Delia had throughout the whole plot.

Something I always find fascinating, is the fact that as well as the main, complicated story, Picoult always manages to squeeze in other sub plots, equally as complicated as the main plot. This book dealt with relationship issues, alcoholism, life in prison, the strength of a mother/daughter relationship, as well as the issue of what memories we can trust and whether or not they are correct.

I saw the book unravelling, as well as reading it. Everything is described perfectly and Picoult really does have a way with creating believable, realistic characters. When it got to the courtroom drama, it wasn’t boring to read, it was like I was actually there. New information came about from witnesses and it made me imagine what it would be like in an actual American courtroom. That is another point to make, Picoult is American and therefore her books are written in American English, so there may be some words or places that you are unfamiliar with. I personally haven’t found this to be a problem but it could affect some people so it is worth mentioning.

It took me around two weeks to finish this book but I could have easily sat and finished it in two sittings. I found it compelling and I always wanted to know what was going to happen. I even found myself taking it in the bath (something I have never done previously).

I was watching a program called ‘Prison Break’ which has recently been re-shown on the UKGold channel on digital. Parts of the book reminded me of this program and were really well described. I found the part of the book that was dedicated to life in prison, really fascinating and I could imagine being in there, and that was a little disturbing I have to admit. I tried telling my boyfriend all about the book because I was so excited by what was happening, and even he got interested.

Overall I would definitely recommend this book, even if you haven’t read any of Picoult’s earlier books. I will definitely be getting her newest book ‘The Tenth Circle’ and hopefully there will be many more books to come. I can reveal that she is working on her next book called ‘19’. I eagerly await that and in the meantime, I highly recommend this one.

You can buy the book from most book shops including Borders, WHSmiths and Waterstones. I bought mine from Asda for only £3.99 so it is possible to find it quite cheap if you shop around.

Summary: an excellent book as always from the bestselling author,jodi picoult