I have recently started a Film BA, after years of anxiety and depression, so am stressed but proud o...
I have recently started a Film BA, after years of anxiety and depression, so am stressed but proud of myself! Unfortunately, it leaves me with less time for reading, writing reviews and generally hanging about on Ciao...
Member since:11.08.2005
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How reliable is your memory? You may think it serves you well enough - you remember playing with childhood friends or managed to recall enough information to pass exams - but so did Delia.
I've heard a lot about Jodi Picoult lately and have read some reviews, so I thought it was high time I experienced her writing for myself - especially when the paperback edition of Vanishing Acts was staring at me one the supermarket shelf for only £3.74! I was apprehensive at first: would this be another author from the 'chick lit' camp who writes solely about the romantic escapades of women leading superficial lives or would Picoult prove to be one of the best contemporary authors I've come across? Based on this book, it would have to be the latter.
Delia Hopkins is a regular woman in her early thirties with a young
child and an alcoholic partner. The only thing 'different' about her life is that her mother died in a car crash when she was four years old... Or so she thought. Events spiral quickly in this novel and before we know it, Delia is attending a trial where her father is defending himself against a charge of kidnapping.
The striking thing about the novel is how superbly well-structured it is: how the plot and thoughts and feelings of the characters are placed perfectly and how both characters and plot unfold at precisely the right pace. It raises several themes and issues which also tie in perfectly, creating a story which balances expertly upon them.
I like this book because it leaves you with more questions than answers (with 23 more provided by the free Reading Group Guide in the back of my copy). When is breaking the law the right thing to do? When you believe it is - or when others believe it is? The foremost issue, which is unveiled quickly, is whether Andrew Hopkins (Delia's father) was right to kidnap his daughter to rescue her from his alcoholic ex-wife. And just to stab a little more discomfort into precedings, Andrew and Delia have been living under the identities of a father and daughter who died in a car crash for the past 28 years.
Delia is haunted by strange memories that she cannot place in her childhood - some of which are not explained by Andrew's intitial revelations. As the mother of a four-year-old, Sophie, the case is particularly poignant: would she feel justified in taking Sophie away from Eric, her partner, if he started drinking again? The major difference is that law still favours mothers in most custody cases and, in the late seventies, it was ten times harder for Andrew to prove that he deserved Delia more than his ex-wife because he has the disadvantage (in this case at least) of being a man.
If I were to nitpick, there is only one thing that got on my nerves in this book: the similes. Most work well and are very evocative, but some remind me of someone trying too hard to be a poet. It didn't affect my enjoyment of the novel, but I did roll my eyes a few times!
If you were harsher than me, you may say that the story is too coincidental to be believeable. I didn't think so, but I'm a Hardy fan and a semi-believer in fate and destiny. The coincidences could all be explained by the circumstances and fed into the plot extremely well to produce an intricately-woven novel; and they didn't make the story too flowery. In fact, if you're expecting a perfect resolution to all the issues, you're going to be disappointed. This is not a novel that spoon-feeds you: the best aspect of it is that it invites you to think for yourself.
Over all, how good do I think Vanishing Acts is? Well, I've just finished the novel at four-thirty on Sunday morning and felt compelled to write a review so I came down and wrote it. Fair enough, I'm not sleeping anyway, but a lesser novel would have had me reaching for the next book instead of coming all the way downstairs. If you take my word for it and read this, be prepared to question your own life as deeply as Delia's: how is your identity formed? How important are memories? Do you know right for wrong - and the exceptions?
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If I hadn't read it already I would do now. Excellent review! I love Jodi Picoult books and finished "Vanishing Acts" today. I agree with you in everything, including the similies...hmmm....I think it's the Tenth Circle for me next. Read all others.
bingbong 01.05.2006 15:18
Another one to add to the must read list! Ive just finished my sisters keeper and really enjoyed that so looking forward to reading more of her work. anna x
atticusuk 01.05.2006 09:28
I heard her on the radio the other day as she is in the middle of a promotional tour of the UK at the moment.
May 1st, 2006
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