LEAVING TIME

I have not read much of Jodi Picoult except for two of her novels,My Sister's Keeper and Nineteen minutes.While the former succeeded in enrapturing me by its poignancy and remarkably dealing with a sensitive issue,I was left underwhelmed on reading the latter.I did not like it at all and that led me to not pick up any more of her books.But somewhere along the way was this voice telling me not to give up on an author just because one of her books failed to impress me.So when Leaving Time,her latest book ,was trending on the new york times bestseller list this week,I decided that it was about time I picked it up.

This is the story of a thirteen year old girl Jenna Metcalf's search for her mother Alice who has disappeared ten years ago without a trace after a tragic incident in the elephant sanctuary where she works as a researcher and studies elephant grief,mother-calf interactions and elephant memories and documents all her findings.Thomas Metcalf,Jenna's dad is a patient at a psychiatric facility as he has lost a grip on reality and Jenna's grandmother refuses to revisit the past which leads Jenna to seek help from two most unlikely people,Serenity Jones a celebrity has-been psychic and Virgil Stanhope an ex-cop who initially investigated the case and left it unsolved.As the story progresses we are introduced to new characters who might be responsible for what happens that night ten years ago.Jenna,however still believes that her mother is alive but ten years is a long time and trying to piece information from that long ago is a challenge for everyone.

My Views:Another reason for picking up this book was the mention of a psychic on the book blurb.Now dont get me wrong here,but I have always been fascinated by psychics,mediums,tarot-readers,though I havent really indulged in readings and such,but I do tread the fine line between being a believer and a skeptic when it comes to the paranormal (but that discussion is for another day)

I must say that the writing pulled me into the story.It was narrated by four characters,Jenna,Serenity,Alice and Virgil and all of them are well-portrayed.I loved the flamboyant,witty Serenity and the conversations she has with Virgil and Jenna are peppered with laugh out moments which provides the humor in an otherwise serious story.Jenna was interesting in parts, however the niggling thought of  can a thirteen year old be so knowledgeable and worldy wise which was there at the back of my mind refused to go away.But the teenager in her did come up occasionally.Virgil ,an alcoholic,dealing with his own demons and desperate to right the wrongs and seek redemption was endearing.A gruff cop on the outside but one with a golden heart.
Alice's narration of the story got a bit tedious to read because she speaks a lot about the elephants and their behaviour which I felt was very clinical and boring and at some point my interest level dipped.Full marks to Jodie Picoult for her thorough research on the subject though and how she shows that elephants are more human than any of us and deserve to be treated with the same repect.

Three quarters of the book down and when I still couldnt figure out the puzzle,I thought to myself that maybe this one is going to be a let down too.But the ending was such a shocker that I never saw it coming.Of course if you do think at a deeper level again later it does require a considerable suspension of disbelief.But at the moment I was reading the book it did manage to send a shiver down my spine.

I therefore rate it a 4 out of  5