Published by Ballantine Books
Publication date: October 11th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Fiction
Jodi Picoult is one of those authors I love for being entertaining yet educational. In each of her novels she takes on a subject and not only turns it into gripping fiction, but informs the reader. In her latest, Small Great Things, the subject is racism and as always she approaches it with a unique moral dilemma. Ruth is a labor and delivery nurse with twenty years of experience and accolades from former patients and colleagues alike. She is passionate about her work, just as Turk Bauer and his wife, Brit are passionate about white supremacy so they demand that Ruth not be allowed to touch their newborn son. When she finds the child in distress, she follows the directive until her nursing instincts and human compassion take over and she tries to save his life. He dies and they have her charged with murder.
Small Great Things plays out not only in the courtroom, but in the everyday lives of the characters. For Turk, that is trying to stay strong through his wife’s depression and rage that his ‘organization’ cannot take vengeance for their child’s life while Ruth has to go to work at McDonald’s to support herself and her teenage son, because her nursing license has been suspended. Her lawyer, Kennedy, is confronted not only with the difficult case, but with her very understanding of racism and, ultimately, her part in it. As the trial progresses, Ruth finds that her worst fears are confirmed and that what she believed to be true about her work means less than the color of her skin.
It is remarkable how events and truths can be reshaped, like wax that’s sat too long in the sun. There is no such thing as a fact. There is only how you saw the fact, in a given moment.
This is not easy reading given the times we live in now. Picoult does not hedge with her characters—the Bauers are frightening in their hatred of anyone not just like them, with Brit Bauer being as violent as her husband, if not more so. The vitriol of their ideology and its insidious spread made me queasy. But what makes Picoult the master of her craft is that she presents all sides of even the most unlikable characters and situations. No one is either as good as they seem or, sometimes, as bad. Through them, she forces us to look at ourselves. In Small Great Things, this epiphany comes first to Kennedy, who has believed, as a public defender, she understands racism and its impact. Instead,
When I started working on this case, ladies and gentlemen, I didn’t see myself as a racist. Now I realize I am. Not because I hate people of different races, but because—intentionally or unintentionally—I’ve gotten a boost from the color of my skin.
And there, once again, Picoult turns the snow globe of life upside down and shakes our perceptions with a fury. Small Great Things is the epitome of what my friend Sarah at Sarah’s Book Shelves calls “brain candy”—books that are easy-to-read and smart. You cannot put them down because the story is as addictive as M&Ms, but unlike candy, it’s good for you.
Thanks for the shout-out! And I used to read Picoult all the time and I haven’t in awhile. Need to pick her back up! And she sure does kill it with the moral dilemmas every single time. I always leave her books never being able to decide what I would do in whatever situation she created.
I heard Picoult talking about her book on NPR — pretty interesting interview at http://www.npr.org/2016/10/08/497164687/small-great-things-author-jodi-picoult-talks-about-inspired-the-novel She definitely handles difficult subject matters and issues!
I was like Sarah – I used to read Picoult’s books all the time and then I stopped. But I’m so glad that I went back for Small Great Things because it was so good. Everything you mention in your review – yes! I love this line in particular “Picoult turns the snow globe of life upside down and shakes our perceptions with a fury.” Perfect.
This book was difficult to read but I found the real challenge came when I tried to write about it properly!
She captures so much of what’s happening now- and in a way that’s really frightening. I almost thought I was not going to be able to keep reading- the sections about Turk and how the white supremacist movement works now were rough. And yet, you can’t put her down- she’s addictive!