There were seven of us at the beginning of book group today at Linda's; Sheri, Annie, Maddie, Saran, Marylib, Libby plus Linda. Mary came later after a visit to Boulder and her grandchild. Jodi Picoult writes books to start social conversations, and "Small Great Things" certainly did that for our group. We all had various criticisms of the characters and the writing, but agreed it was a worthwhile book to read, if not for the engaging good story, but also for the self exploration we did upon reading it. Jodi Picoult wants her books to teach readers something they didn't know either about the world or about themselves, and she admits that in writing her books, she also learns a tremendous amount herself.
The author said this was a book about family, relationships, and love. There were three family units and each family unit learned something from the situation portrayed in the book. Each main character had to confront his own beliefs, come to terms with those beliefs, and decide what they wanted to change about those beliefs to move forward. Jodi Picoult writes about socially conscious themes to challenge the reader's beliefs.
Some of us had thought this author was a fluffy best seller-type of writer, but this book certainly proved us wrong about her and we may read others of her many books.
Maddie and Marylib told about experiences in their lives with African Americans (or colored or blacks, as the author pointed out). Libby mentioned the ideal world of the military where everyone is employed and provided for and all races live together and mingle socially. Several of us thought Turk was way over the top, and Annie mentioned that he was too well spoken and eloquent for what she though a person of his ilk would be. And he was complicated emotionally. Ruth was too perfect but then we couldn't see her really deep anger until the trial. Kennedy changed as the book progressed as her client pressed her on certain issues.
Annie mentioned that Picoult said "ignorance is a privilege." A powerful statement that made us all sit up. The rest of the conversation ranged from the fact the book seems ready to be a screen play for a movie, the ending was contrived and a surprise, did Ruth live a dishonest life, and we all thought Edison was terrific. The consensus was that despite flaws, it was a very successful book. Whites who think they have no prejudices don't realize they do.
Thank you, Linda for a great choice, and good luck on your move. Please add your own comments as I am sure I left out a lot!
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