The Storyteller

The Storyteller, by Jodi Piccoult, Emily Bestler Books, Washington Square Press, 2013

When is justice revenge, and who has the right to deal it out?  Every Jodi Piccoult novel takes us into good and evil personified.  In The Storyteller, Piccoult juxtaposes a young women’s discovery of her grandmother’s Holocaust survival story with the shocking admission of one 90-year old former Nazi turned solid citizen, Josef Weber.  Like all Piccoult’s books that are set in New Hampshire in the midst of traditional human values, this one leads us quickly into a terrifying series of memories and horrific choices, all of which lead to survival for both protagonists.

If a novel can convey true evil contrasted with a survivor’s forgiveness – and for many readers, forgiveness is still an unteachable blessing - then the book succeeds in creating a memorial to those who suffered.  But this well-crafted book manages to do more than memorialize – the author challenges readers with revenge and forgiveness questions and deceits played out by Sage Singer, a baker who befriends an elderly man in Sage’s grief support group.

A Mill Girl Verdict:  A perfect Lenten reflection on life, evil, revenge and forgiveness,  to be read only when you’re feeling strong enough for it.