The Storyteller
I really enjoyed this book... as I've enjoyed pretty much every Jodi Picoult I've ever come accross, but that's beside the point. I find that she always writes about topics that aren't that easy, and this time was no different. There were a lot of narratives intermingling, but it was relatively easy to keep up, and the story matter is not one you usually get.
I loved the parts where Josef explained how it was growing up as a youth in Germany. I've always wondered how it was on the other side of the story, and I think Jodi did a great job of kind of explaining what the mindset of the general population would be. It's also easier to believe right now because of all the crap that's happening in my own home country, and also the American elections where Trump is blaming all America's problems on a specific group of people. There's a reason people are comparing him to Hitler... this is also how hitler started his campaign!
Sage was a wishy washy protagonist. I completely understand that she had issues with her appearance etc, but it was so overblown! I do understand that a lot of people are so fixated on the media's representation of perfection that a little blemish can make you think that you're sub-par, but I just hate when authors play into that whole thing. It's a cheap shot even when at the end of the book the person learns that there's more to them than appearance and that in spite of their flaws they're beautiful... I don't know, I guess it's my pet peeve. I don't like when the characters spend chapter upon chapter obsessing over looks. Cut that shit out and get to the actual story, please!
Minka was an amazing character, and although I don't quite believe that her "holocaust story" was 100% authentic, it did the job of showing what a horrorshow that whole shitstorm was. I still don't get how humans can do that to each other... or how there were any survivors at all for that matter... I guess it's a testament to the human race's will to live??? I love that she used her story to help herself and others get through it, because in my life I've found that stories are so amazing at taking you away from a difficult situation and making it a little better by giving you a way to escape, even for a little while.
I saw the "plot twist" coming almost from the start, but after all's said and done, I'm happy with the ending.
