Book Review For Change of Heart

After reading Janet Maslin's review on Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult, I find that her views on the book were ones that I had not thought of while reading the book. For example, Janet Maslin writes "at this late stage in her story Ms. Picoult has her own chance for redemption. Had “Change of Heart” culminated in revelations that were truly plausible or unexpected, its vapidity might have been transcended. But there is no substance to the story’s last surprises." Maslin mentioning that there was no substance added to the ending is something I don't really agree with. However, I can see the point she is trying to make though because the ending did seem predictable, yet I still found that there was meaning behind. I guess it was one of those endings to novels where it is left up to interpretation of the reader in order to see if the ending has a purpose or not. Maslin also mentioned that “Change of Heart is narrated by several characters, each with a different way of elbowing the reader’s ribs." I agree with Maslin's statement because I do feel that Jodi Picoult's way of trying to have different narrators for every chapter really does insight the reader to view different prespectives of the characters. I think that the blending of the different character traits that Picoult added to her novel demonstrates how well many people will be able to enjoy the book. In this review, Janet also mentioned how Claire's mother, June, was a very bland character that basically can be described an angry and depressed person. I agree with Maslin on this interpretation. However when she mentions that June is "lacking any distinguishing characteristics," this is where my opinion of June differs because I think that while June lacks any other characteristics besides being upset and angry, I feel that there is a reason why Picoult wanted June to be this type of character. June being this lifeless personality brings the message to the reader how agonizing this decision of taking Shane's heart is, and how empty and alone she feels, since she now has noone to turn to for answers.

Overall, I feel that Janet Maslin provided an accuarate snyopsis and analyis of this novel. While some of our opinions differ, I find that overall I agree with the preception of the novel that Maslin provided.

The Ending Of Middlesex

As I continued to read this novel, I begin to notice that the relationship between Desdemonia and her brother is closer then most brother sister relationships are. A possible explanation for this might be that Desdemonia and her brother, Lefty, both grew up most of their lives together alone due to the fact that thier parents died when they were young children. Even though I may not be able to grasp the reality of losing parents at an early age, I can sense that the close relationship that both of them share is something that both Desdemonia and her brother need in order to cope with the loss. Then, Calliope begins to tell her story about how her family ended up coming to America on a ship from Greece. As Calliope tells the story of her grandparents, I find that it is hard to really get into the minds of the characters because it is always in a third person sense which makes it feel very impersonal. However, the actual story that Calliope tells is remarkable....

Desdemonia and Lefty made the decision to come to America after riots and terror began occurring in their town. The reason alot of these attacks are occuring is because this is taking place during the time when the Turks were killing the Armenians. However, many of the Greeks were leaving because the Turks were coming to invade. As Desdemonia and Lefty were out on sea, their relationship began to change into one that is romantic. I am unsure if at this time, this was a common practice to marry a close family member, but evidently this is what happens. Desdemonia ends up in Detriot, where the Stephanides family lines begins. Here, it is where the reader will finally be able to understand Calliope's story....

While Calliope's story is one that is unqiue and rare, I find that there are elements to her story that the reader might be able to relate to. The concept of her being different from others and having to accept it is one theme that many teenagers are able to connect with. Jefferey Euglenides adds alot more emotion and detail into the story of Calliope, which allows for the reader to better connect and understand Callie's point of view. While I thought that Callie's story was well written, I was a little disappointed overall how the rest of the story was written because I found that it was a little confusing to follow and that it did not really hold my interest. The historical explanation of her family moving to Detroit was very descriptive. In my opinion, I think that the historical portion of the novel should have been kept to a minimum so that the reader could learn more about the main character.

Overall, I would say that my reading experience with Middlesex was okay. I did enjoy Euglenides concept and idea of having Calliope be the narrator for the novel, but, I think that this only caused the reader to have a disconnection with the characters in the book. I also found that this novel did contain some older English words, which made the meaning of sentences confusing at parts. However, eventually I was able to understand what was happening.

I would definitely recommend this book to reader who do not mind reading a novel that contains a lot of historical background and does not mind waiting until the middle of the book to finally understand the main character's story. I would also say that the readers of the book should be mature so that they would be able to understand the ramifications and problems that occur with Callie's condition.