THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW. Will warn again when they appear.
Jodi Picoult
Wish You Were Here
Ballantine Books (US: 30th November 2021); Hodder & Stoughton (UK: 25th November 2021); Random House Canada (CA: 30th November 2021); Allen & Unwin (AU: 25th November 2021)
US Kindle Edition US Hardcover UK Kindle Edition CA Kindle Edition Worldwide Hardcover Worldwide Paperback
There’s an early sign that this is not up to the author’s usual high quality writing: A character of Japanese ethnicity was married to an English musician who was shot dead. Too obviously inspired by Yoko Ono and John Lennon. This is lazy writing, and even secondary characters don’t deserve that. I like Kitomi, but still… I expect more from Jodi Picoult.
It’s not a spoiler to say that this novel was inspired by, written, and published during the Covid-19 pandemic. The real life event plays a pretty major part of the story, and is mentioned in all the summaries and promo material: an American tourist is stranded in the Galápagos Islands during the pandemic.
SPOILER NOW!