Plain Truth [Paperback]

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Plain Truth [Paperback]

Product Details

Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Washington Square Press; First Edition edition (August 7, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416547819
ISBN-13: 978-1416547815
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

By : Jodi Picoult
List Price : ~~$16.00~~
Price : $10.88
You Save : $5.12 (32%)

Customer Reviews

My very first novel by Jodi Picoult has lived up to all the hype I've been hearing about for so many months. I don't know what's taken me so long to finally read one! Having closed the last page in Plain Truth just a few moments ago, my mind is now reeling from all that I've read this past week. I have a feeling this story will be with me for quite awhile.
Plain Truth tells the story of an 18-year-old Amish girl, Katie Fisher, who secretly gives birth to a child out of wedlock. Mysteriously the baby disappears and a few hours later is found dead in the barn located on the Fisher farm. After an initial investigation, Katie is charged with murder and a Philadelphia attorney, Ellie Hathaway, is set to defend her case. Adding to the fascination of this particular murder trial is the fact that Katie Fisher is Amish, and the Amish convictions are very different from others in the English world. The fact that an Amishman, who by nature does not believe in confrontation and violence, would kill another is entirely unheard of.
Plain Truth is a very intricate and richly detailed tapestry of Amish life and a court case that shocked the small town of East Paradise Township. Each page turned revealed a little more of the mystery and added to the bewilderment and beauty of the story. There is much to be said about this novel because it is so much more than just what is written on the back of the book. It is truly a three dimensional piece of work that kept me in awe and rapt attention until the surprising (and completely unalluded to) ending. A novel of true page-turner status that will reveal bits and pieces, layer by layer, until the very end.

After reading five of her novels, I have become a fan of Jodi Picoult. I will admit (and this probably proves that I am a sucker for marketing rather than letting the literature speak for itself) that I've deliberately read all of her best sellers before reading the books that didn't make it on the list.
Initially I liked the book and it kept me reading, though maybe just out of habit. I enjoyed reading about the Amish way of life and the Amish traditions - though it did make me think of that Harrison Ford movie, Witness (circa 1989 or something). I like that she used one first person voice as well as the third person narrative in a well crafted and varied way.
I like that her main character has a powerful job that challenges gender stereotypes by being the morally questionable lawyer. That being said, she doesn't explore this as well as she could. We sort of forget that Ellie has blatantly suppressed evidence and watched as little girls saw their rapist acquitted. Rape, she can defend, but infanticide creates some problems for the notorious defense attorney.
Something about the book bothered me. Maybe I am reading too many of her books too fast but I am seeing a formula here.
- Many of her plots include a court room drama.
- All of her plots feature romance or end with the obvious potential for one.
- Mothers and their powerful (all encompassing, self-sacrificing) love for their children are a theme in all of her books I've read.
- There is usually a "twist" at the end. She's becoming Koontz like in her formulaic predictability and I stopped reading his novels as a teenager.
Most of her books left me content, like I'd eaten a good, hearty meal. However, this book left me hungry and searching for critical reviews to see if others shared my dissatisfaction.
So:
- I was unimpressed with the "twist" at the end of this one - I knew "whodunit" about 1/2 of the way through. I was getting bored with that part of the story. The red herrings are too obvious and her suggestions that Katie didn't do it were there from the beginning. She should've stopped the heavy handed attempt to make us question that and just made it known through the 3 person narrative exactly who did the killing or hiding. Then she could have explored that character in depth instead of hiding her and others she wanted you to be suspicious about. Just because we, the readers knew, didn't mean that Ellie had to know - or anyone else for that matter.
- The characters in this novel were a tad generic. I am sorry, I like her, but they were boring.
For instance, I was bored with Ellie's dilemma over Coop - to the point where I often skipped the interaction they had when they discussed their potential future together. Duh, I knew they were going to get together after a little drama from Ellie through which Coop - being the quintessential "sensitive ponytail guy" - would wait, albeit in pain. It was just too predictable.
Hannah's ghost; she has a ghost hunter in a later novel and I was a disappointed to see another one. But other than that, Hannah's ghost seems a bizarre and meaningless addition. Is it to suggest that she, Katie, might be crazy and a murderer? Is it to explain why she was so drawn to Adam? Katie being the good Amish girl could only fall for someone who could share her secret ability to see her sister... In a book that is so Amishly pragmatic and logical in every other way makes it so the supernatural element clashes with the rest of the novel. Maybe Hannah's ghost killed Katie's baby or hid it.
I liked the details. The Amish and their daily lives, those who assimilate and those who don't, and how the religion and way of life affect one's thinking offers a neat, un-scholarly insight into a different culture. I liked the culture clashes and I wondered how they would be resolved. But what I did like, doesn't measure against my dissatisfaction.
My most recent book purchase included three works of fiction; two by Picoult and one by Atwood. I think I'll shelve the unread Picoult for a while. I'll have some time to forget her modus operandi. I'll read the Atwood and then I'll buy a book by a different author.