Have you ever been so frustrated by a character you don’t want to pick your book back up? Yup, that was me reading The Pact by Jodi Picoult. This book has been one of the most anticipated on my To Be Read pile for some time. It came highly recommended by a trusted coworker who has only ever given me excellent books. I want to talk to you about all the things I loved to hate in this hardheaded piece of suicide fiction.
The Pact is a story of two star-crossed teenagers, Chris and Emily. The pair grew up together and their families are close friends, so it seemed only natural when they fell in love. One night both teenagers are rushed to the hospital, one has successfully committed suicide and the other is accused of murder. The Pact takes you through the build-up and the fall out of the night that changed their lives forever.
One of the things I have found consistent in Picoult's novels is her ability to write strong and human-like characters. The pact was no exception. Picoult writes in a way that is emotion-driven and places her characters in toxic and difficult situations. Every time I have read one of her books I find myself getting heated and frustrated. My greatest annoyance in The Pact was Melanie Gold, the mom of suicidal Emily. At the risk of sounding cold-hearted, I completely quit sympathizing with Melanie when she became cold and rude to the other characters in the book. She judges Chris without consideration and loses her ability to empathize in her grief. When her daughter dies, she puts up an impenetrable wall. It is her inability to let that wall down continued to aggravate me. I so badly wanted her to make amends with the other characters. As a reader, we are able to experience other characters perspectives and understand their honest intentions. So when Melanie couldn't open up or refused to help, she became very difficult to sympathize with. It was a very strong writing strategy on the author's part.
In Jodi Picoult's other books there have been characters that drove me to frustration as well. In My Sister's Keeper it was the helicopter mom Sara Fitzgerald, and in Small Great Things is was white supremacist Turk Bauer. These characters are frustrating because they are well written and strong, it is part of what makes her stories so powerful. You can't have a great hero, without an equally great antagonist. It is that challenge that gives characters an opportunity to shine.
This book is written in an interesting format, going back and forth between the past and present. It allowed for the events post-suicide to unfold as well as building up the relationship between Chris and Emily over time. I love the idea that the beginning and end of the book are the same. When the "then" finally catches up becoming the "now" it creates a great full circle moment for the reader. You finally understand the suicide and the emotions behind it which you don't get the first time you read it. The second read is a completely different experience.
WARNING: Spoilers Ahead
Picoult isn't always about a picture-perfect ending, but an honest one. I was grateful that the jury did not find Chris guilty of murder. I don't feel like convicting him would have done justice to the tragedy that happened. Since the author leaves such a grey area around who pulled the trigger that eventually causes Emily's death, it is up to each reader to decide who is guilty and of what. In my gut, I did not feel like Chris was guilty and therefore hoped he would be free and in doing so be able reconcile with Emily's family.
Finally, I loved the bittersweet moment when Chris and his family move away from Emily's, to start fresh. I found myself wishing Emily was alive and that their families could be friends again, but that ending is a little too Hollywood. And as she does so well, Picoult writes a fitting and realistic ending for her characters.
Reading Jodi Picoult's novels is always an experience in itself. I love that she takes on hard topics and forces her readers to think critically . There are so many parts of The Pact that I enjoyed, but the best parts of the book are the ones I didn't like. It is the moments that are hard to read, and the characters that are hard to swallow, that make her writing stand out.
Yours Literarily,
Lauren.
Comments