Themes:
Current affairs, self-discovery, choices, aspirations, relationships, family, love, responsibilities, COVID-19, grief and loss.
Synopsis:
Diana O'Toole is an ambitious young art specialist at Sotheby's in New York. She's about the make the big break in her career and has a long-awaited island holiday planned, where she is certain her surgeon boyfriend, Finn is going to propose.
But then the new virus hits and Finn must stay in New York to help. In an attempt to somewhat enjoy the trip, Diana finds herself in the Galapagos alone. As the virus gets worse and the borders are closed, isolated and far from home Diana is stuck on the island. She has no choice but to step out of her comfort zone and discover a new side to herself, but is everything as real as it seems?
Thoughts:
This was such a unique and interesting reading experience. Given the current circumstances around the global pandemic I knew there wouldn't be another opportunity for me to read about something as I'm actually living through it in real life. I'm sure there will be more books to come in the future about COVID but I was intrigued to read this as it's still an ongoing reality for us all. Everything in this book was so relatable, from the thoughts and emotions the characters experience to the doubt and conflict that arises from an uncertain future.
There are so many layers to this book, but it mostly centralizes around what it means to be human and what it means to have wholesome connections with people and nature. When your life is carefully planned out with exactness and purpose but everything is put on hold and you have no control over anything, what can you do? You scrutinize your entire life, re-evaluate your sense of self and think about what really matters. You look for the beauty in every little thing, you try to hold on to your sanity and withstand the loneliness with hope and belief that this challenge will end.
I can't express how interesting and insightful it was to read from Finn's perspective, it was like getting a glimpse into the lives of all the key workers and seeing how difficult this time has been for them. The emails from Finn were probably my favourite part of the book. As always, Jodi Picoult did not fail to impress with her well-informed detailed writing, strong characters, relevant topics and a huge plot twist to mix things up - which I definitely didn't see coming! Without giving too much away, I really came to enjoy the magical realism aspect to the story -it was the perfect escape from such scary and unknown circumstances. I didn't really like the idea at first but quickly adjusted to the change in direction of the plot.
The imagery used to describe the beauty in the nature and lifestyle of the Galapagos was mesmerising. It cast a warm filter throughout the chapters where we visit the island with Diana in comparison to the rest of the book which brings forth all the gloom and despair COVID brought with it. Just be aware, it will bring all those emotions right back! The references to Tiger King did make me laugh - I attempted to watch it during one of the lock-downs but couldn't stand the show. It even goes into challenging people's views on social distancing and wearing face masks - things which have now become so normal and were are still doing to an extent today!
More importantly, this book covered some really heartfelt subjects in regards to familial relationships and dealing with the possible/actual loss of a loved one. And also, how society comes together in the wake of a crisis so life-changing. There's no doubt that the pandemic affected us all and it's still very real and raw. Overall, I think this was a beautiful, surreal book written with a lot of thought and precision. All things considered, I'm really glad I read it and it's definitely a stand-out book from this year for me.
Rating:
4/5
Favourite Quotes:
'Other things that leave you breathless: love so big that it tumbles you like a wave.'
'I learned the hard way that you shouldn't stay with someone because of your past together - what matters more is if you want the same things in the future.'
'What we want is for everyone to just wear a mask. But then there are people who say that requiring a mask is gross infringement of their bodily rights. I don't know how to make it any more clear: you don't have any bodily rights when you're dead.'
'There are two ways of looking at walls. Either they are built to keep people you fear out or they are built to keep people you love in. Either way, you create a divide.'
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