February meeting : notes

February book & discussion notes

Present: Vanessa, Gail, Doreen, Pauline, Shari, Denise, Natalie, Nola, , Vanessa, Maureen, Tosca
Title: The tenth circle
Author: Jodi Picoult
Image from:

Synopsis: "How far would you go to protect the ones you love? When Daniel Stone was a child, he was the only white boy in a native Eskimo village where his mother taught, and he was teased mercilessly because he was different. He fought back, the baddest of the bad kids: stealing, drinking, robbing and cheating his way out of the Alaskan bush - where he honed his artistic talent, fell in love with a girl and got her pregnant. To become part of a family, he reinvented himself - jettisoning all that anger to become a docile, devoted husband and father. Fifteen years later, when we meet Daniel again, he is a comic book artist. His wife teaches Dante's Inferno at a local college; his daughter, Trixie, is the light of his life - and a girl who only knows her father as the even-tempered, mild-mannered man he has been her whole life. Until, that is, she is date raped...and Daniel finds himself struggling, again, with a powerlessness and a rage that may not just swallow him whole, but destroy his family and his future." -- Amazon.

Relationships - were pretty complicated. Laura didnt' want to marry Daniel, he said he could change but he really couldn't. He was obsessed with his daughter. This allowed Laura to go off and have her career while he was a house husband. She knew abou this violence - she was attracted to that bad boy side. It would've been nice to get in the head of Laura. You got the impression Daniel knew the sort of guy Jason was, although he admits Jason was still never as bad as he himself was.

Comments:
* Not an enjoyable book because of the subjects, but it was a page turner. Rape, underage sex, various other social issues - too depressing. Unreliastic - for shock value?
* My innocence was shattered. The book started out with a rape scene and then you find out the woman's back history of lovers.
* I wouldn't make an effort to read any more of her books.
* I've never done this before but, with this book, I read the ending partway through, saw how it ended and went back and finished it.
* Enjoyed reading it more than The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
* Enjoyed reading The Lovely Bones more than this
* Skimmed through the story
* The cop was a good character whose daughter had been through drugs etc.
* I didn't like it but I finished it

Questions raised:
* Did Picoult know a family like this?
* Was she raised by Inuits?
* Great writing skill but didn't enjoy the book
* There was great depth to the book
* Was not conducive to sleep
* Book club is about stretching yourself and reading books you ordinarily might not
* Did Laura kill Jason or did he slip?

Did nobody feel one bit of sorrow for Trixie? Yes, she was a sad figure, a product of her upbringing but she was also spoilt and she was a sociopath - so totally self-obsessed. Trixie was incredibly sad, mixed-up and in pain and nobody listened to her.

Who was responsible for Jason's death? ALL of them: Daniel, Laura, Jason & Trixie.

Is redemption possible? Daniel's relationship with Trixie was his chance to atone for his past and what Jason did threatened that. Is it possible? Yes.

Did Daniel's graphics enhance or detract from the story? Can now see how comic artrists put their work together.

General feeling: Laura and Daniel were remiss in their parental duties. Who lets a 14 year old girl stay out overnight without knowing anything about where they would be or even who they would be with?

Rating: 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5,

Would you recommend the book to others?
* No
* As well-written as it was, no
* Yes but not to all
* No
* It was a good book, so yes
* Yes, e.g. class discussion type book
* No
* Yes - but I'd pick my victims well

Please note: Our next meeting is Saturday 27th March 2010 here at Manurewa Library. Our next book is 'The life and times of the Thunderbolt Kid' by Bill Bryson. Nat has requested copies for the group which I think everyone has had by now. See you all later today :)