The Double Bind: Affected me profoundly

The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am a huge Bohjalian fan. I loved Midwives, Trans Sistor Radio, Before You Know Kindness, The Buffalo Soldier, and Water Witches. He's also one of the most engaging and dynamic authors I have ever met in person (at a book reading in Portland, OR). Because of this, I always have high expectations for his novels.

I was engaged in the story of The Double Bind--I thought about the book when I was not reading it, which is always a good sign. At times, the plot dragged a bit, as other readers have mentioned, but as usual with Bohjalian's books, it was well written and interesting. I was surprised to read such scathing reviews about the book.

I knew there was a plot twist, but I did not deduce what it was going to be until I came upon it. (I'm that way with mysteries, too--just try to enjoy the story and not think ahead to what might happen--I prefer to be surprised.)

I also found it interesting to note some parallels with a nonfiction book I read recently, Strange Piece of Paradise, the real-life story of a female biker who was brutally attacked and years later, tries to unravel the mystery and unleash her own anxieties about the incident.

As soon as I finished the novel, I felt like I should go through and reread it in light of the ending revelation...but instead, I was eager to move onto a different book. That's partly a reflection of my preferences (I rarely reread books unless there is a several-year lapse) as well as my inability to engage very fully with the characters. (I did go back and scan through some key sections of the book, though, in light of the revelation.)

The Double Bind also brings the tragedy of the homeless and the mentally ill to the light of day, and also sensitively portrays the collateral damage done to women who are sexually assualted and violated.

Bohjalian is a talented writer, and the books of his I enjoy the most are the ones where you can really get inside of the characters' souls. Because of the nature of the plot (and the manipulation of the reader's mind, which is skillfully done, fully engaging with the characters was more difficult with the Double Bind. I think this book will stick with me for days or months, though...it affected me profoundly.



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Water Witches: Vermont dowsers collide with development plans

Water Witches by Chris Bohjalian

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating story about dowsers in Vermont, who come head to head with a major ski resort, which wants to tap a low-flowing river during a drought. Bohjalian always provides a thought-provoking read.


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Perfect Match: Picoult attacks the topic of childhood sexual abuse

Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It amazes me to see how many goodreads reviewers post information about the plot without marking it as a spoiler.

I'm struggling between 2 and 3 stars, but I've settled on 3 stars because at no point did I ever think about not reading on to the ending. Perfect Match was not my favorite Jodi Picoult book. It's about the assistant-DA mom of a 5-year-old boy who gets sexually assaulted, and she decides to take justice into her own hands. She knows what usually happens to sexual abuse victims, and she doesn't want to drag her son through the trauma of a trial...which will probably result in the perp going free.

Here's what bugged me about the book:

--Shifting points of view--The speaker kept shifting, and at times it was a bit jarring. Also, some of Nathaniel's thoughts seemed a bit too sophisticated for a 5-year-old.

--A verbal tic--Picoult uses the word "lip" way too many times, referring to the edge of something, such as "the lip of the bathtub." The first time, okay, but after five or six times, it is way overdone.

--Few of the characters were likable or sympathetic. Picoult excels at drawing complex, multidimensional characters, but I wasn't sure who I was rooting for. Perhaps this is the point. But I didn't really have a strong opinion about how I wanted the case to go. That's surely not a very good thing for a reader to feel.

--Weak logic. How could Nina think that a prison sentence would somehow be less traumatic or life-changing than to have her son sit in the witness box and testify against his accuser? And the conclusion seems to support what Nina did...although as much as I can understand and relate to Nina's motive, the fact is that she killed a man who turned out to be innocent.

However. In spite of these weaknesses, Picoult always knows how to write an incredibly well-researched, compelling story with twists and turns. I enjoy the moral and ethical dilemmas and the complex relationships. So three stars in the end...



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