the value of perspective

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction

Review: This book is a bit of a departure for Picoult, as it doesn't involve an ethical dilemma where both sides are, if not sympathetic, at least fully fleshed out.  Here, the focus is on one character, Diana, who must decide if she really wants what she always thought she wanted from life.

The story starts just when things are starting to get serious in New York City with the COVID-19 pandemic.  Businesses and schools are being shut down and Diana's doctor boyfriend tells her how the hospital is becoming overrun with patients.  Is it too soon for a novel about the pandemic?  Maybe, but not in Picoult's hands.  Perhaps because the first part of the book keeps the pandemic at a remove.  I think the bigger reason (for me at least) is that, because the timeline of the book is largely the spring of 2020, I was able to read about what was going on with a whatever-the-opposite-of-nostalgia is (because I definitely wouldn't wish for those days all over again).  "Oh yeah, I remember all those celebrities singing on YouTube!" "That's right, I had forgotten about wiping down packages!"  "Oh yeah, I remember how we thought this was only going to last two weeks!"

Being able to achieve that kind of perspective is one of the great gifts of fiction and Picoult gives it to us in abundance.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.