The Storyteller.
Jodi Picoult.
Publisher:Atria.Publication Date: February 26,2013.
Genre:Historical Fiction|Mystery.
Format|Pages:EBook|460.
Source:Owned|Goodreads.
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From all the Jodi books I read, which is all of them actually, The Storyteller was the most intense, inspirational book that I read by her. It was completely different from the other books that I read by her. That’s what I loved about it, because it was unlike other books and was based on pretty tough subject, Holocaust. Despite being a hard, depressing subject to read about, it kept my attention till end, I could not put it down. I found myself wondering how it was going end. If you love Picoult books or historical books, this is one book that it’s worth checking out.
GOODREADS SUMMARY
Sage Singer befriends an old man who's particularly beloved in her community. Josef Weber is everyone's favorite retired teacher and Little League coach. They strike up a friendship at the bakery where Sage works. One day he asks Sage for a favor: to kill him. Shocked, Sage refuses…and then he confesses his darkest secret - he deserves to die, because he was a Nazi SS guard. Complicating the matter? Sage's grandmother is a Holocaust survivor.
What do you do when evil lives next door? Can someone who's committed a truly heinous act ever atone for it with subsequent good behavior? Should you offer forgiveness to someone if you aren't the party who was wronged? And most of all - if Sage even considers his request - is it murder, or justice?
This is officially my new favorite Picoult novel, despite being pretty hard subject. You can’t help but love the book, the story. Though I read novels about holocaust before, back in high school, this was unlike the other books that I have read before; Picoult put a twist on it. After reading The Storyteller, I felt that I learned even more about the subject then I knew prior to reading the novel. I’m not going lie, through reading novel, especially from Minka’s point of view, I teared up multiple times. I felt scared for Minka multiple times, scared that she wasn’t going make it, even if I knew that she would. I felt angry at soldiers, how could anyone treat someone this way? Just because they are Jewish? It’s the question that I always wondered about. But I loved reading from Minka’s point of view, of her time in Poland and everything that she went through. Even if it didn’t seem like it, to me she was strong, someone who kept on going, despite what happened to her. I learned so much about her, from her story. She was my favorite.
Sage: I wasn’t sure how to feel about her at beginning of the book, she didn’t seem certain about herself. I actually liked her friendship between her and Josef, in beginning; I could tell that she enjoyed his company. Even if she wouldn’t admit it, I had feeling that she still cared for him even after she found that he was Nazi SS guard and it was one of reason she turned him in, because she couldn’t find the courage, to kill him because of her mixed feelings for him. I was glad that she actually turned him in, because it brought her to Leo, a guy who cared for her despite her past and not having to hide relationship and wanted to be with her, 100% of time. I was also glad that Leo was able to find someone too. I knew that it was them working together that brought them close together. I was glad to see Sage actually happy for a chance.
Like in her other books, I loved that book was written in different point of views, that way you get to know each character. It’s because of that, I actually found it hard to hate Josef which I knew I should have. Through reading his point of view and then finding out who he was at end, made it harder for me to hate. I loved the story in between, the story that Minka was writing, at first I wasn’t sure what it was till I figured out during Minka’s POV. It made it easier to know what they were talking about, when I read the actual story that she wrote. Honestly there wasn’t anything in this book, which I didn’t enjoy. I loved that it had stories both from Nazi SS Guard and the survivor, it made the story seem even more realistic.
The Storyteller in my opinion is book that everyone should read, you will learn a lot. You find yourself wondering what’s going happen with all the characters, especially Sage and Minka. I’m eager for next year, to see what story Picoult will come up next.