Name: Noelia Abreu's review of The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Item: The Storyteller
Rating: 4
Author: Noelia Abreu

Jodi Picoult

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.

The Storyteller

Noelia Abreu

First time I’ve read historical fiction and was shocked how much I’d enjoyed it. 

Edna Aviles

An astonishing novel about redemption and forgiveness from the “amazingly talented writer” (Huffington Post) 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 we will go to in order to keep the past from dictating the future.

Actual Rating: 3.5

To be honest, I havent read a lot of Holocaust books yet. They scared me a little, and they mad me feel sad and nauseous. When I bought this book, I had no idea what was in store for me. By the time I started, Jodie Picoult already had me hooked and I had no choice but to push onward. 

The main character of our story is Sage Singer - a young woman who is still reeling from physical and emotional scars. Due to an accident that kills her mother and damages her face, she acquires scars on the left side of her face that does not only lower her self esteem but also reminds her of her mother's death. I love her character. She's the usual damsel in distress, who thinks she deserves the lesser catch. She finds solitude in baking, and the way she describes is is so unique and wonderful.

What really caught my interest here was the story her grandmother wrote about a fabled girl, Ania. It was a twisted kind of fairy tale, dark and whimsical. I find it wonderful that a girl from that era would be able to write as well as this. The story was somehow allegorical to the main plot, but I also thought it was too confusing.

The flashbacks were also a huge part of the book, one that provided insight on WWII. The detailed and thought out description of the Holocaust, from both the Jew and the Nazi's pov, was gruesome but it also led me to a deeper understanding of it. It was really really sad, and now I look at the Holocaust in a way that I've never seen it before. 

They deal further more with forgiveness, morality, the FBI, and then a killer plot twist. Highly recommended.

Melody Izard

I will be reading this in order to get some promised Chocolate Babka.

After befriending an old man in her town, Sage Singer is deeply shocked when he begs her for a terrible favour - until he shares his darkest secret with her. In the latest novel from master storyteller, Jodi Picoult, she asks: can evil ever be forgiven? And can murder ever be justified?

Victoria Grace

Jodi Picoult did it again. That ending! I feel like I can't breath.

Laura Mitchell Hutchinson

Jodi Picoult never disappoints! I was gripped into this book from the very first page. Silly me for thinking it would be a fascinating enjoyable read (which, I guess, it was) but I overlooked how deeply I would wade through the horrors of the holocaust. Overall, I feel like I have been educated greatly on both sides of the event and I'm still in emotional turmoil from the ethical traumas that are so typical of Jodi Picoult's stories!

Allyson Marrs

Wow! Easily in my top 3 of favorite Picoult books. She writes with stunning clarity and real heartache. This is a well-researched take on the holocaust with a narrative that delves into the past and makes us relive it all--a take I wasn't expecting. There are more than a few twists in this story that connect beautifully and give this book intricate layers. I can honestly say I did not predict the enormous twist at the end, but I am thrilled with her choice to do what she did. This story will gut you. It will entertain you. It will stick with you.

b.andherbooks

"The Storyteller" is Jodi Picoult's attempt to draw out the tropes of the Holocaust. Who is guilty? Can someone who perpetrated atrocity be forgiven?
This novel is typical Picoult in that she uses various POVs to navigate difficult subjects and questions which really have no 'right' answer. Generally I enjoy her style, but in this story she completely drowns the atually intriguing part of her tale. I wish Picoult would have spent much more time with Sage Singer, baker, granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, and an accidental 'friend' to an ex-Nazi SS officer who wants her to forgive him for his 'sins' and help him die. Instead Picoult spends the majority of the book with Minka, Sage's grandmother, and her recounting of what happened to her during WWII. While this tale is heart rending and devestating, it merely felt like a regurgitation of every horror tale you've already heard. Of course Minka was involved with every historical aspect of the Nazi genocide machine (Lodz ghetto, Auschwitz, death march). It felt contrived, and overly lengthy. I've read Eli Weisl's "Night," I don't need to have it retold from a woman's POV here. I wish Picoult would have instead focused her energy on the more unique aspects of her story - including the present day struggle Sage goes through when she learns her friend is in fact a monster. Worth a read if you are a WII newbie.

THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR 'An emotional and compelling tale' Sun After a tragic accident which left her deeply scarred, Sage Singer retreated into herself, allowing her guilt to govern her life. When she befriends kindly retired teacher Josef, it seems that life has finally offered her a chance of healing. But the gentle man Sage thinks she knows is in fact hiding a terrible secret. Josef was an SS officer during the Holocaust and now he wishes to die - and he wants Sage to help him. As Joseph begins to reveal his past to her, Sage is horrified. Does this past give her the right to kill him?A compelling tale about the line between justice and mercy from the internationally bestselling author Jodi Picoult. Jodi's brand new novel, A SPARK OF LIGHT is publishing soon and is now available to pre-order!

Elize van Heerden

One of the best books i have read in a while, as always Jodi Picoult has out done herself and you see why she is a no 1 best seller! She draws you in from the first sentence, and you feel Minka's pain when she looses friends andnfamily members. This is a must for all!

Roos Kuijper 

One of the best fiction books about the Holocaust I've ever read!
Jodi Picoult did her research excellent.

Caryn Bayne

Jeannie Gallagher

Megan Helberg Keiser

McKenna Blean

Frances Howell

Megan Seraydarian 

Becoming friends with Josef Weber, an old man who's particularly loved in her community, Sage Singer is shocked when one day he asks her to kill him and reveals why he deserves to die, causing her to question her beliefs—and to wonder if his request would be murder or justice. Reprint.

Allison Garber

Deepika Ramesh

Lorraine

Sage Singer befriends Josef Weber, a beloved Little League coach and retired teacher. But then Josef asks Sage for a favor she never could have imagined--to kill him. After Josef reveals the heinous act he committed, Sage feels he may deserve that fate. But would his death be murder or justice?

Andrea

Rebekah jean

Cindy

Number One bestselling author Jodi Picoult combines topical moral issues and emotional human drama with the page-turning compulsion of a thriller.

Noelia Abreu &
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

Reviews

Join the club

Noelia Abreu &The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

Reviews

Join the club

Noelia Abreu &
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult