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Fixed on Fiction

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

In March, Fixed on Fiction met to discuss The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult.

Sage Singer befriends an old man who's particularly beloved in her community. Josef Weber is everyone's favorite retired teacher and Little League coach. They strike up a friendship at the bakery where Sage works. One day he asks Sage for a favor: to kill him. Shocked, Sage refuses... and then he confesses his darkest secret—he deserves to die, because he was a Nazi SS guard. Complicating the matter? Sage's grandmother is a Holocaust survivor. What do you do when evil lives next door? Can someone who's committed a truly heinous act ever atone for it with subsequent good behavior? Should you offer forgiveness to someone if you aren't the party who was wronged? And most of all—if Sage even considers his request—is it murder, or justice? 

-Summary courtesy of Goodreads

Here are some of the initial comments readers made while discussing their reaction to this month’s title:

  • This was good and I finished fairly quickly. Minka’s story was un-put-downable. She’s not a great writer and I find her to be a bit of a sensationalist.
  • I liked the first 50 pages a lot. I thought she should throw out the whole scene of Leo on the bad date with his mother’s set-up. Not crazy about Minka’s story.
  • I really liked Minka’s story. Heartbreaking and sickening.
  • Thumbs up. I like writing that explores moral issues.
  • I really enjoyed this one- Holocaust stories are so important.
  • I thought it was great. I read Minka’s story in one sitting and I was surprised by the ending.
  • I think telling stories about the Holocaust is so important, but she didn’t make me care about any of these characters.
  • I thought it was improbable. What are the odds that Minka and Franz end up in the same town? (We later discussed that Franz did this on purpose, although that seemed improbable as well).

Additionally, here are some other book/film titles that were mentioned during our meeting:

These are just a few of the comments made during our meeting. Please feel free to share additional thoughts on The Storyteller below. 

 

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