In Jodi Picoult’s novel, Wish You Were Here, Diana O’Toole, an art associate at Sotheby’s, faces what we all dealt with during the Covid pandemic: chaos, uncertainty about the present and the future, family and work disruption, and the threat of contracting a potentially deadly virus. After planning a romantic getaway to the Galapagos with her fiance, Finn, she elects to go alone after he learns he must stay home to help fight the ensuing battle against the virus. Once there, she experiences the isolation and uncertainty of life we all felt in 2020 and much of 2021, albeit in a much more exotic locale. Her predicament causes her to re-examine her professional life and, when she immerses herself into the affairs of an island teenager who’s harboring family secrets, she begins to question her personal life and the validity of her long-term commitment to Finn.
Picoult is a master of words who crafts beautiful metaphors and imagery that give her writing deep meaning and impact. Her Author’s Note at the end of the book is a must-read, as she reveals how the pandemic shutdown affected her reading and writing, and how it ultimately led to the creation of this book, reminding us that authors really do write what they know.
Notwithstanding my, and probably your, pandemic fatigue, I recommend this very good read!
Reviewed July 2022
In Jodi Picoult’s novel, Wish You Were Here, Diana O’Toole, an art associate at Sotheby’s, faces what we all dealt with during the Covid pandemic: chaos, uncertainty about the present and the future, family and work disruption, and the threat of contracting a potentially deadly virus. After planning a romantic getaway to the Galapagos with her fiance, Finn, she elects to go alone after he learns he must stay home to help fight the ensuing battle against the virus. Once there, she experiences the isolation and uncertainty of life we all felt in 2020 and much of 2021, albeit in a much more exotic locale. Her predicament causes her to re-examine her professional life and, when she immerses herself into the affairs of an island teenager who’s harboring family secrets, she begins to question her personal life and the validity of her long-term commitment to Finn.
Picoult is a master of words who crafts beautiful metaphors and imagery that give her writing deep meaning and impact. Her Author’s Note at the end of the book is a must-read, as she reveals how the pandemic shutdown affected her reading and writing, and how it ultimately led to the creation of this book, reminding us that authors really do write what they know.
Notwithstanding my, and probably your, pandemic fatigue, I recommend this very good read!
Reviewed July 2022