In 2016, 2018, and 2020 I read and reviewed Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things, Spark of Light, and The Book of Two Ways, with each earning five stars (and two of the three getting my “You HAVE to read this book”). I also noted that “when a friend and former library co-worker basically sniffed her disapproval when I told her I liked Jodi Picoult’s books, our friendship was changed forever.” I worked for several years in public libraries and tried not to be judgmental of people’s reading preferences, or to let the fact that someone thought Danielle Steel wrote great literature to negatively impact my opinion of them. But really, I don’t get it. I know JP is writing for a mass market – and sometimes her resolutions might be just a bit too neat for snooty readers. But I’ll admit right up front, I am a sucker for a well-plotted story that makes me think about a social issue or two along the way. So, here we are, a year early for her biannual novel release…and what other issue could she tackle if not the pandemic and COVID-19? Wish You Were Here is Picoult’s latest, and it’s…complicated.
The topic might turn some people off, as in “I am living this nightmare, I want to escape COVID when I read.” Better look elsewhere then, because this story captures both the pure terror of the medical issues as well as the resulting emotional toll on individuals and relationships. The story begins on March 12, 2020, the day after Broadway theaters shut down. Diana O’Toole and her ER doctor boyfriend are just about to leave on their dream trip to The Galapagos…what could possibly go wrong? Of course he can’t go, he’s a freaking ER doc! Diana is devastated, so when he tells her to go ahead and go without him, she does…and she is dumped right into a completely new way of being, immersed in life with a family that causes her to reevaluate everything.
Of course, there is a twist. And this one is huge! I so hope reviewers are careful about spoilers, because I think the experience of reading this book would be completely different for a reader who knows what’s coming.
I have found myself recently thinking about the written history of this pandemic, and whether people will get the way EVERYTHING changed in 2020. Ms. Picoult has done an amazing job capturing the horror, confusion, and shared experience of millions of people, when she notes “There is a profound difference between knowing your situation is temporary and not knowing what’s coming next.” I’m not sure whether the fact that the release of this is not until November 2021 will have an impact, given that it seems so many people are so over the whole thing, and are claiming “it’s over! Take off your masks!” etc. (for the record, I don’t think it is over and I’m still wearing a mask in Summer 2021, despite the “opening up” of things in California.
Impossible to avoid spoilers if I get into any details, so I will just say it has the excellent character development Picoult fans expect. It’s also emotionally wrenching and, although I wasn’t wild about the ending, I am not sure how she might have done it differently and still have us care so much about the people we met along the way. Diana learns that “...trying to figure out what happened to me isn’t important. It’s what I do with what I’ve learned that counts.”
Picoult does a great job presenting the daily reality of living through this past pandemic year. I recommend this book highly, and look forward to re-reading it in a year or so when (I hope) the pandemic truly is under control. I’m curious about how I will be thinking about the whole pandemic/lockdown/reopen debate. Thanks to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for this honest review. Five stars.