Nineteen Minutes, book review

Jodi Picoult is a brand-name author, which means her name on the cover (four times bigger than the title, by the way) carries with it the weight of reputation, as well as an unspoken promise: satisfaction guaranteed. Does Nineteen Minutes, Picoult’s 2007 offering, live up to her name?

Nineteen Minutes tells the story of a small New Hampshire town after a socially-shunned teenager takes revenge at school by killing ten of his classmates, injuring nineteen more. One of the surviving teens, Josie Cormier, claims to remember nothing of the shooting - or does she? Josie has secrets of her own, and as the trial of her former friend progresses, she and others must consider whether anyone is ever who they seem to be.

Picoult is a master storyteller, weaving the threads of multiple storylines into a vibrant and complex tapestry. She never merely tells something that she could show instead. I love this about her writing. It compels me to keep reading, even through difficult topics or points of view. Her characters ring true, and she dives deep into what makes them tick. She manages to make even villainous characters – such as the mass murderer here – believably sympathetic.

In addition, Picoult’s prose is mostly vibrant and fresh: Josie could feel the weight of the detective’s pity falling over her like a net. Nice. Picoult is also known for writing books that center on topics ripped from today’s headlines, and I like what she says about the ability of her stories to examine difficult truths: “Fiction allows for moral questioning, but through the back door.” As with many of her other books, Picoult doesn’t leave us with an especially happy ending, but she does leave room for hope. I like that, too.

Throughout the 455 pages of this page-turning novel, she spools out the tension, although in Josie’s storyline, I found some gaps in the pacing, which made for a bumpy – and slightly less credible – denouement.

But my biggest sticking point was the ending that Picoult crafted for her story. Though justice is meted out, some aspects of it seemed too harsh, others not harsh enough, which resulted in a conclusion that didn’t seem altogether in sync with the rest of the story.

Still, it was a satisfying read. Does Nineteen Minutes live up to Picoult’s name? On the whole, I’d say yes.

January 12, 2010