Like with all Jodi Picoult books I've read, I am compelled to blog about it. Yesterday I finished Second Glance, and I admit, it has jumped right to the top of my "favourite books" list (sorry Nineteen Minutes). It's absolutely amazing how Jodi can top every mesmerising creation of hers with an even more intriguing book.
At first glance (pardon the pun), Second Glance may seem to be very different as compared to all other Jodi Picoult books. And like all Jodi Picoult books, might be quite hard to get into in the beginning. Those who are trying to read any of her books, especially Second Glance, hang in there. It will be worth it.
In this 506 page book, Jodi explores every genre and content possible: romance, thriller, history, family, tragedy, sci-fi (well, kinda), scientific stuff, view of a 8-year-old, view of a 100-year-old. But don't fret, all these are weaved and interwined in such a smooth plot and writing style that you can find yourself reading about eugenics.
Speaking of which, here's the plot:
Do we love across time? Or in spite of it? A developer has slated an ancient Abenaki Indian burial ground for a strip mall, and now strange happenings have tiny Comtosook, Vermont, talking of supernatural forces at work. Ross Wakeman is a ghost hunter who's never seen a ghost-all he's searching for is something to end the pain of losing his fiance Aimee in a car accident. He tried suicide-any number of times. Now Ross lives only for a way to connect with Aimee from beyond. Searching the site for signs of the paranormal, Ross meets the mysterious Lia, who sparks him to life for the first time in years. But the discoveries that await Ross are beyond anything he could dream of in this world-or the next. Expertly entwining a powerful drama of the heart's redemption and the disturbing real-life history of the VT eugenics project of the 1930s, Second Glance asks if truth is always something that can be measured… and if what can be measured is indeed always true.
This has no courtroom drama but is still a page-turner in the most amazing way. This book has one of the most twists I've ever read of and is as miraculous as any other book of hers. The strangest people have been brought together by fate, even across time.
What I like about the book:
Ghosts. This is different. Although it still possesses (hehehe pardon the pun, again!) the old spooky flavour of ghouls like we know them, Jodi has managed to bring out a side in the paranormal that I have never thought about, and will change my perspective on the supernatural forever. Her "ghosts" are portrayed in the most beautiful way ever, not physically beautiful, but magical, beyond-explanation happenings. For example: Rose petals start raining down on people, water never boils, people wake up to sweet rose perfume like in their dreams, lights as ghostly energy. (okay, so it may not sound "beautiful and magical" here, trust me, spookily, it does in the book.) So the main point is, miracles are so evident in this book, even in the form of hauntings.
It addresses a dark part of history that was actually the foundation for the Nazi racial cleansing (which I developed an interest in after the Pelly D assignment with superteam :P). So if you are interested in the Holocaust and all, perhaps this book might be interesting to help you see what really sparked off the infamous events of Hitler. It isn't as scary or intense as you might think it is, but it's a really heart-wrenching confession of the discrimination against Indians and Natives. It speaks of Eugenics, a practice that I never knew existed. It's kind of like Genetic Engineering, to produce better "breeds", but this is done by sterilising humans that have criminal records and behaviours (i.e. sex offenders, thieves, murderers) to create a middle to upper class power-house, free from these 'degenerate' groups. It's sexism, racism, and discriminatory of the lower class (sorry, I forgot if there was a term for that xD)
The characters (as with all her other books) are portrayed with such realism that lets the reader relate easily, that we can feel their love, pain, grief, and joy as if we are part of the story. The effect is that great that when reading about the guys who initiated the eugenics sterilisation plan in the book, i really felt disgusted and horrified, as if I knew them for real. That's what Jodi Picoult does to me -.- The best part of this is, I love all the characters in this book :) (not in a way that all of them are good, but in a way that the good characters aren't donkeys as are some in other books). The feeling and characters are real, which makes it so easy to relate and believe they are people I know.
Did I also mentioned I burst out laughing while reading the amazingly funny parts? I know her books often brings tears to my eyes, but tears of joy and laughter?
Her writing reaches out to me so much, that I actually feel the ghost encounters aren't scream-worthy (which I believe was the intention) and that it was the revelations that were chilling, topped with shock and grief. I guess what I realised then, was that there are some things that are more scary than ghosts, like men, for example, trying to wipe out their own kind (eugenics), playing God, and not realising how cruel it is.
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