Published: October 2014
Publisher: Ballantine
Format: Kindle
I've said it before and Ill say it again. Jodi Picoult doesn't write novels anymore. She just documents what ever it is that she's obsessed with at that point in time. This time...it's elephants.
I had legit pink elephant dreams after reading this. Like the Elephant Parade song from Dumbo.
For the most part, Leaving Time reads like a non-fiction book on elephant behaviour. Which actually sort of saved it for me. As a veterinary nurse I have a huge interest in everything zoological.
I can imagine the endless recording of behaviour will drive others mad though. Just like the Hopi Indian element in vanishing acts drove me utterly insane.
The rest of the book is a bit of a mess. Are we really expected to believe that the investigators were that incompetent that they missed a wallet in a tree, a tooth on the ground and a nail fragment in a sweater. Really? ….ok
Lately Jodi seems to just stumble through her novels. It's almost like as if she can't wait to get to the plot twist which she hangs the entire story on, which in turn makes everything you've just read sort of redundant. As a reader this sort of structure just leaves me with a sort of empty feeling.
I appreciate the amount of research she put into this. Which is why I gave it 3 stars and not 2 but it doesn't make it any more readable.
I really miss her courtroom drama's. It was one thing she did really well and I feel her stories suffer when she abandons them. I hate to say it but Jodi is no longer a go to author for me anymore.
Rating:
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Thank you for validating my thoughts on this book. I've been a huge fan of most of Picoult's older work, but I really disliked this one. I forced myself to read to the end for the big twist, and then hated it! I also feel that she writes books for the ending now, and would love her to go back to the ones where she tackled a moral issue (and made you see both sides).
ReplyDeleteYES! Her best stories were when she wrote about believable characters going through shitty times. She really used to make me question my own beliefs which was great. Not anymore.
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