The Storyteller
An astonishing novel about redemption and forgiveness from the “amazingly talented writer” (HuffPost) and #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult.
Some stories live forever...
Sage Singer is a baker. She works through the night, preparing the day’s breads and pastries, trying to escape a reality of loneliness, bad memories, and the shadow of her mother’s death. When Josef Weber, an elderly man in Sage’s grief support group, begins stopping by the bakery, they strike up an unlikely friendship. Despite their differences, they see in each other the hidden scars that others can’t.
Everything changes on the day that Josef confesses a long-buried and shameful secret and asks Sage for an extraordinary favor. If she says yes, she faces not only moral repercussions, but potentially legal ones as well. With the integrity of the closest friend she’s ever had clouded, Sage begins to question the assumptions and expectations she’s made about her life and her family. In this searingly honest novel, Jodi Picoult gracefully explores the lengths to which we will go in order to keep the past from dictating the future.
Some stories live forever...
Sage Singer is a baker. She works through the night, preparing the day’s breads and pastries, trying to escape a reality of loneliness, bad memories, and the shadow of her mother’s death. When Josef Weber, an elderly man in Sage’s grief support group, begins stopping by the bakery, they strike up an unlikely friendship. Despite their differences, they see in each other the hidden scars that others can’t.
Everything changes on the day that Josef confesses a long-buried and shameful secret and asks Sage for an extraordinary favor. If she says yes, she faces not only moral repercussions, but potentially legal ones as well. With the integrity of the closest friend she’s ever had clouded, Sage begins to question the assumptions and expectations she’s made about her life and her family. In this searingly honest novel, Jodi Picoult gracefully explores the lengths to which we will go in order to keep the past from dictating the future.
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Community Reviews
Again, PLEASE don't judge me on dates. It would take a lot to go back and figure out when exactly I read any books. But that's beside the point, right? I found this novel absolutely intriguing. To see both sides of WW II. And to be told from the perspective of someone who was a prisoner? And also, the jailer. Then to bring in a modernv gay aspect to it was such a nice touch for our modern world. Absolutely engaging. And very very informative. It might make you think on either side. Which is one of Jodi's classic news as an author she shows you all sides of the story. I love her!
I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to everyone-especial anyone who thinks they have read enough Jodi Picoult as this book is unlike any if her other books. Haunting. Lyrical, uplifting, it is tremendous.
thenextgoodbook.com
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
460 pages
What’s it about?
A 95-year old former Nazi war criminal, Josef Weber, confesses his past to a local baker, Sage Singer. Josef is a former teacher and a community icon. Sage struggles to believe his confession in light of the life he has lived in America. Josef not only wants her forgiveness; he wants Sage to help him die.
What did it make me think about?
I read "In Paradise" ,by Peter Matthiessen, last summer and it made me wonder about books written about the holocaust. Is the evil seen in any type of genocide so horrendous that books can never do it justice? Do these stories provide enough of a glimpse to remind us that tremendous evil can happen in the world at the hands of ordinary people?
Should I read it?
Jodi Piccoult takes different topics and weaves them into interesting stories that hold your attention. Sometimes her books seem simplified and formulaic but they always shed light on an interesting subject of moral dilemma. I do see the appeal her books hold for many readers. If you are interested in this time in history and want a quick, page turner that will make you pause then this book is for you.
Quote-
"My husband- your grandfather- used to say, Minka,you were a writer. Imagine the story you could tell.
But it is exactly because I was a writer that I could never do it.
The weapons an author had at her disposal are flawed. There are words that feel shapeless and overused. Love, for example. I could write the word love a thousand times and it would mean a thousand different things to different readers.
What is the point of trying to put down on paper emotions that are too complex, too huge,too overwhelming to be confined by an alphabet?
Love isn't the only word that fails.
Hate does, too.
War.
And hope. Oh, yes, hope.
So you see, this is why I never told my story.
If you lived through it, you already know there are no words that will ever come close to describing it.
And if you didn't, you will never understand."
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
460 pages
What’s it about?
A 95-year old former Nazi war criminal, Josef Weber, confesses his past to a local baker, Sage Singer. Josef is a former teacher and a community icon. Sage struggles to believe his confession in light of the life he has lived in America. Josef not only wants her forgiveness; he wants Sage to help him die.
What did it make me think about?
I read "In Paradise" ,by Peter Matthiessen, last summer and it made me wonder about books written about the holocaust. Is the evil seen in any type of genocide so horrendous that books can never do it justice? Do these stories provide enough of a glimpse to remind us that tremendous evil can happen in the world at the hands of ordinary people?
Should I read it?
Jodi Piccoult takes different topics and weaves them into interesting stories that hold your attention. Sometimes her books seem simplified and formulaic but they always shed light on an interesting subject of moral dilemma. I do see the appeal her books hold for many readers. If you are interested in this time in history and want a quick, page turner that will make you pause then this book is for you.
Quote-
"My husband- your grandfather- used to say, Minka,you were a writer. Imagine the story you could tell.
But it is exactly because I was a writer that I could never do it.
The weapons an author had at her disposal are flawed. There are words that feel shapeless and overused. Love, for example. I could write the word love a thousand times and it would mean a thousand different things to different readers.
What is the point of trying to put down on paper emotions that are too complex, too huge,too overwhelming to be confined by an alphabet?
Love isn't the only word that fails.
Hate does, too.
War.
And hope. Oh, yes, hope.
So you see, this is why I never told my story.
If you lived through it, you already know there are no words that will ever come close to describing it.
And if you didn't, you will never understand."
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