Songs of the Humpback Whale: A Novel in Five Voices

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It's a hit!

Well, this is Picoult's debut novel (though not the first of hers that I read). I remember being slightly disappointed the first I read this, but n... (show more)

Well, this is Picoult's debut novel (though not the first of hers that I read). I remember being slightly disappointed the first I read this, but now, I enjoyed it. On the surface, I like the career of the husband (a marine biologist) and I enjoy the unique structure of the book. I think _Nineteen Minutes_ was more engrossing, but this is more the kind of book that grows on you, though it too is very sad in its own way. I still wish some of the characters were better developed (namely the brother who stands out as creepier and creepier each time I read it). What it stands out the most for is its structure, so as far as the writing goes, it does make it one of her better books. It also does not follow the formula involving a courtroom scene that so many of her other books do, which makes it a different type of book from her. (show less)

 

 

by Victoria

No, it's a flop!

I'm sure this is a good book. I love this author, I truely do. But O M G at all the jumping around. Now Picoult is known for giving multiple perspe... (show more)

I'm sure this is a good book. I love this author, I truely do. But O M G at all the jumping around. Now Picoult is known for giving multiple perspectives of a situation; I understood that going in... But when you have so many that are drawn out and not very interesting...and then thrown in is one that runs backwards in time. It was just plain frustrating to read. The characters are simply not interesting. They are ordinary people, granted, but boring ones who think about the past way too much and do not live in the present as far as I could tell. Overall, even though I have a Picoult collection, I won't be recommending this one to anyone. It was confusing, irritating, and even the parts I could understand were boring me to death. Get one of Picoult's later novels...My Sister's Keeper is far better and will keep you enthralled. (show less)

 

 

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  I found myself struggling to finish this book. Don't be mistaken. The book is awesome. As usual, I loved how Jodi Picoult seem to portray everyday life so realistically and beautifully in her books. The plot progression through the different voices in the book was amazing, but sad to say I too had some difficulty catching up with all the characters. I didn't understand why Picoult chose to narate Rebecca's side of the story backwards, though I felt that it fitted really nicely at the end of t... (show more)

  I found myself struggling to finish this book. Don't be mistaken. The book is awesome. As usual, I loved how Jodi Picoult seem to portray everyday life so realistically and beautifully in her books. The plot progression through the different voices in the book was amazing, but sad to say I too had some difficulty catching up with all the characters. I didn't understand why Picoult chose to narate Rebecca's side of the story backwards, though I felt that it fitted really nicely at the end of the story with Rebecca's recollection of how the whole story began.

  My struggle was that the book just didn't draw me to read it. Her other books were fantastic reads which kept me going from beginning to end, but with this I could leave the book aside and only come back to it when I am absolutely free and have nothing urgent at hand.

  That being said, this is Picoult's first novel and if this is that good, I can finally understand why I loved her other novels so much. (show less)

   

   

  by Facebook User on Oct 25, 2009 at 10:01AM

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  This is the first Jodi Picoult novel I have read. It is also her very first novel. I enjoyed this book a lot! It was a nice read with many complexities. There are six characters in this novel. Jane, Rebecca, Oliver, Joely, Hadely and Sam. This book is told from the perspective of all six characters and Rebecca’s story is told backwards compared to everybody else’s. At times this made the book a little bit confusing for me and I found myself flipping back to previous Rebecca chapters to help i... (show more)

  This is the first Jodi Picoult novel I have read. It is also her very first novel. I enjoyed this book a lot! It was a nice read with many complexities. There are six characters in this novel. Jane, Rebecca, Oliver, Joely, Hadely and Sam. This book is told from the perspective of all six characters and Rebecca’s story is told backwards compared to everybody else’s. At times this made the book a little bit confusing for me and I found myself flipping back to previous Rebecca chapters to help it make sense. I have never read a book in voices, so I found myself thinking a lot more when reading this book then I would with others.
  Overall I would give this book 5/5 It was a strong story with many conflicts and lovable characters. I would recommend this author for anyone who wants to try something new.

  My typical authors that I love to read are Nora Roberts, Nicholas Sparks and Danielle Steel. I was looking for something new and Jodi was it for me (show less)

   

  by Shauna Wolf on Jun 03, 2009 at 03:32AM

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