I picked up a copy of Jodi Picoult's latest novel Handle With Care.
Picoult is someone whom I would pigeon hole with the likes of Nora Roberts. Lifetime movies. Nicholas Sparks. The Notebook. You catch my drift.
But, it was at the advice of Stephen King. (See King's contribution to Entertainment Weekly's 7 Summer Reads ) The King of Horror with the occasional sentimental masterpiece like The Body or The Shawshank Redemption, which I still call a favorite.
And therefore, Folks, I caved.
For starters let me say how much of a sucker I am because
A. I spent memorial day weekend with my face buried in a Picoult novel.
B. I couldn't put it down.
C. I cried
D. I gave a third of my paycheck to the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation.
Now first of all, any book that tackles Faulkner's signature multiple view point narration is a by any and all means admirable to say the least.
I know that Picoult novels are somewhat formulaic. Tt's easy to see that her compositions are rife with both medical and legal jargon. A standard horrible illness meets a controversial courtroom drama.
My Sister's Keeper is probably her most well known. It's about to be a major film with Cameron Diaz, which I'll admit the trailer was very intriguing.
Moving on.
Handle With Care is the story of a five year old girl named Willow. She has a severe form of a genetic disease called Osteogeneis Imperfecta Type III. OI is also known as brittle bone disease. Her disease keeps her in casts and braces for most of her childhood and therefore she reads constantly and as a kindergartner, she reads on a sixth grade reading level. As a consequence, Willow is full of utterly useless information. A bit precousios, yes, but...I learned a lot of fun facts.
The one hundred billionth crayon made by Crayola was Perriwinkle Blue.
A can of Diet Coke will float, but regular Coke sinks.
The most common name for a goldfish is Jaws.
Jerry, did you know the human head weighs eight pounds?...Kidding. But Willow's outburst are just as endearing as Johnathan Lipnicki's ever were in Jerry Maguire
.One of my best friends, Marcus has OI so I wasn't completely ignorant of the condition. But his is less severe and in no way deforming. Marcus has had something close to 50 breaks in his life and most happened when he was young. Type III OI patients rarely grow over 3 and half feet tall and suffer hundreds of breaks in their lifetimes. I had no idea how serious of a condition OI was. Though Handle With Care is fiction, it's circumstances are real. Picoult does her research. And she does it well.
Willow was diagnosed with OI when seven fractures appeared in utero on an ultra sound. Four more break during delivery.
After that her story is told primarily through the eyes of her parents, with insertions from the sister, the OB, and the lawyer who handle's the wrongful birth suit Willow's mother Charlotte files against the OB, Piper, who also happens to be Charlotte's best friend.
Anyone else noticing a little Sarah Palin here? We have a Piper, a Willow, and a special needs child with a lengthy abortion debate in the courtroom. Eh?
Aside from that...
What Stephen King noted is that this book isn't about living with a disabled child but--
"at the bottom it's a story about the American heart of darkness: a small-town marriage under stress. Picoult writes with unassuming brilliance and never descends into soap opera."--EW
American heart of darkness, wow. Borderline Revolutionary Road here, which I personally described as the "rape of the American dream." I also couldn't put that book down, and the film haunted me for days.
Willow's mother Charlotte used to be a professional pastry chef but had to quit to take care of her daughter, which was a full time job, as something as simple as sneezing or rolling over in her sleep could fracture bones. Throughout the novel dessert recipes are spliced in between perspective changes and I never in my life thought dessert could carry such wisdom. Maybe not wisdom but at least self revelation.
Example: "The soufflés are done when they are well risen . . . but do not be surprised if they sink under the weight of their own promise."
Many things despite what King says, were a bit much for my taste.
Amelia the older sister lives in the shadow of Willow's illness and therefore dyes her hair electric blue, pukes up everything she eats, and starts cutting herself which leads to a predictable accident.
Charolette starts up a wrongful birth suit in order to win money to support Willow for the rest of her life. On her husband's salary alone the debt is overwhelming. To do this Charlotte has to be willing to say that had she known at 18 weeks, that her child would have OI, she would have terminated her pregnancy. Convincing Willow that she's lying is the bigger challenge.
Charlotte sues her best friend and compromises her beliefs. She destroys her relationships.
At times it's hard to sympathize with a character who self-loathes and can't see what's happening around her.
The ending is also flawed.
So many efforts...in vain.
It makes me wonder if Picoult is one of those author's who is pressured by deadlines and publicist to meet her demographic which loves over the top drama, because at times, this book bordered Grey's Anatomy season finales in its actions.
Still it's like a Vally of the Dolls style trainwreck. Can't look away no matter how ridiculous you're getting here, Jackie Susanne...uh, I mean, ...Jodi Picoult.
But the writing...the writing was beautiful.
Simple.
Heartbreaking (specifically the chapter with Morphine tremors).
Perfectly descriptive.
And ultimately engaging.
This book broke me.
It was a total page turner.
I will probably read again and spend more time with it.
Rather than a 48 hour affair with an unsatisfying ending that left me sniffling with a case of literary blue balls.
And Dear Hollywood, I would love to fix it.
As a screenwriter I can easily see what I would change in an adaptation. Cut some of the teen angst. That one hospitalization. Closure to broken relationships. Beaches didn't end in the middle of a fight, Bitches. I mean, Mrs. Picoult.
Confession time...My Sister's Keeper is officially in my que.
Oh and Stephen, Thanks.
Really. I needed Handle With Care.
Now I'm not reading Little Dorrit. You can't sucker me into original Dickens as I've suffered the likes of a Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Hard Times, and Cricket on the Hearth, I sternly believe he was paid by the word...but...since someone nearly as twisted as you has taken up his final fair...I'm up for Drood.
Peace out,
