Customer Reviews

Harvesting the Heart: A Novel

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

This is the fourth book that I've read by Jodi Picoult and it is my favorite so far. This is a beautifully written story about self-doubt, the chance to find yourself, and the bond that exists between a mother and child.

The novel begins in the present with Paige locked out of her own house pleading with her husband Nicholas to see their child,Max. The story continues from there, shifting from Paige's perspective to Nicholas'. We learn that Paige has been abandoned by her mother, then flees from her hometown after dealing with a traumatic incident at a young age. She soon falls in love with Nicholas, a soon to be doctor who's own star is on the rise. Paige is an artist at heart but abandons her own dream to help support the career of her husband. She soon becomes a mother herself and tries to be a loving one but doubts her ability to do so. She carries the burden of her mother's desertion. In order to stand on her own she has to go back to her past, to the mother who left her. From there she has to learn how to love.

This book differs from her others in that there is no mystery to be solved here, there is no court room scenes. There is just the tender story of two people, two souls that are meant to be together, and the journey that their lives take them on. Jodi has an incredible way with words and her storytelling here is absolutely superb. It is a book to be savoured.

I had initially read "The Pact", given to me by a friend, and absolutely loved the work of Jodi Picoult. I ordered "Harvesting the Heart", and read in less than two days. Another "could-not- put-it-down-until-I-knew-the- ending" type of book. The characters are real and believable, and you could picture them living next door to you. I, personally, am not a mother (yet!), but reading this book gave me insight into motherhood, marriage and love...and what they truly entail. The story of Paige and Nicholas is truth in fiction. And as with "The Pact", I did not want this book to end, but to continue on to see exactly what happens in the lives of these people who are dealing with emotions that many readers can connect with. A moving story of, simply, life...and definitely worth reading.

Paige and her Irish-Catholic father are deserted by her mother when she is 5 years old. She has dim memories of a woman who was at times a delightful and playful companion and at other times, a brooding and unhappy person. Paige doubts her self-worth and wonders what she did to drive her mother away. Despite the pain of being abandoned herself, she begins a pattern of running away from people and situations that are overwhelming to her. She wonders if it is her fate to become just like her mother. While working as a waitress in a diner, she meets Nicholas, a wealthy and charismatic medical student, who, amazingly, is interested in her. Their relationship flourishes, despite the objections of his aristocratic parents, and eventually they marry. Their early married life is idyllic, but eventually changes occur which make things unbearable for Paige. She reverts to her old habits and begins a search for her mother in an attempt to discover who she and her mother really are. As usual in a Jodi Picoult novel, the characters are finely drawn and the plot is gripping. This book "grabbed" me at the beginning and never let me go until the very last page.

I think Jodi Picoult's "Harvesting the Heart" is at its best when describing the rigors of caring for a newborn. Her writing here is as close to immediate and powerful as she gets, putting us smack dab in her protagonist's scuffed slippers; colic, sore nipples and all.

Unfortunately, the rest of this ambitious, unwieldy story is bogged down by over-writing and tedious, stereotypical characters who, for all their clever idiosyncracies, remain flat and contrived. Picoult tries hard--too hard--to combine plot elements as diverse as heart surgery, horse shows, sketching, photography, Catholicism, even Navajo healing, and the result is a clunky, self-conscious narrative that educates but does not convince.

Because the book was a Penguin I kept with it, waiting for it to get better, but was disappointed that it didn't rise to the standard I expect from this (normally) excellent publisher. "Harvesting the Heart" would make a good supermarket paperback, something to read on the beach, perhaps; but if you are looking for a literary novel of young motherhood--something with fresh, vibrant writing--you won't find it here.

Jodi Picoult created a novel so rich and so true. She has magically woven a story of sorrow, happiness, and the search for our own truths.

'Harvesting the Heart' focuses on the life of Paige and her new marriage to Nicholas. Paige becomes a mother and soon memories of her own mother and an unspeakable past have her doubting herself and her ability to parent her child.

Jodi captures the feelings of most new mothers. She details the feelings of being overwhelmed and emotionally spent. Sleepless nights and showerless days are what fills Paige's life. Slowly, Paige is reaching her breaking point.

When Paige breaks and can no longer endure, she sets out on a journey to find herself and reawaken her true passions. This is a life changing event for all. Through this journey, Paige is able to rekindle and revisit relationships and reconcile her past.

This early novel of Picoult's is definately one of her best. I would highly recommended it.

I was disappointed in this book. It captivated me until the very end, but I was left unsatisfied. I can really ring with the dilemma and issues that Paige faces, yet I waited for her husband to measure up to her level of self- awareness. It didn't seem to me that he was ever going to tell her how much he loved her. I was left with the sense that he would never fully appreciate her, nor forgive her completely. The book is very touching and real, capturing true emotions, and feelings, but left me unhappy and unsatisfied.

Harvesting the Heart is a beautiful novel on so many levels. The title itself refers not only to the main character Paige, who must discover her past to begin to live her future but also to her husband Nicholas who is a heart surgeon and who must also learn to love.

This book really touched my heart so much so that I could not put it down. The story begins in the present and travels back to the past for both Paige and Nicholas. Paige's mother left her and her father when Paige was very young and it has continually plagued her and eventually catches up to her as she runs away from her father right after high school.

Paige's leaves Boston and ends up as a waitress in Cambridge where she meets Nicholas, her opposite in every way, on her first day. Nicholas is well bred, wealthy, handsome and so sure of himself in everything he does that Paige can not help but fall in love with him and he with her because she can see wonder in everything around her.

Paige draws portraits of people, hidden within the folds of their hair, skin or clothing are their deepest secrets or desires - this is another thing that draws Nicholas in. But can their marriage survive? Can Paige survive?

Nicholas's parents are against their marriage, Paige must give up everything to help Nicholas through medical school and then she gets pregnant.

This pregnancy, like the title of the book, is the mirror image of an abortion she had in high school. It also brings up her fears about motherhood and reminds Paige of her mother.

Paige must learn about and accept her past if she hopes to live her future but can Nicholas learn to accept Paige?

This book flowed from page to page, with beautiful and moving descriptions of Paige's drawings, May's ranch, Nicholas's life at the hospital and their lives together. All in all - the only thing I didn't like about the book is that there is no sequel!

Hurrah for Jodi Picoult - an imaginative and wonderful storyteller that will touch your life.

I am an AVID reader and this is the first book in 10 years I am giving a negative review to. This is quite literally the worste book I have ever read. The plot is incredibly unbelievable (the marriage that the whole story revolves around would just NEVER have happened at all), the main character is one-dimensional and the author mistakes her broody emotional-ness for profoundness. Not to mention the theme that no one can escape their outcome if they have ever had any kind of disappointment in life, we are ALL victims and no one has responsibility for their actions. In addition, the story is laced with all sorts of random references to mysticism and fate while trying to masquerade as such a "realistic" book that appeals to everyone's own private reality. I can't count how many times someone thinks something in their head and then someone else subconsciously across the room answers their question through what I am supposing to be telepathy, or reads their mind and finishes their sentence or someone just "felt" they should be standing on this random corner at 1:30 a.m. because they just KNEW that person would be there. Not to mention how Paige and Nicholas both somehow seem to remember EVERY SINGLE moment of their childhood from birth to 5 with eery, fine-detailed clarity, which has made them the wrecks they are today. So many holes in the plot. Such a waste of time. If I didn't have to finish it for book club, I would have stopped at page 3 and called it a loss.

After reading the Pact, I didn't think Picoult's work could possibly get any better. I was wrong. Harvesting the Heart is by far the best book I have ever read. It contains much symbolism, but at the same time its not overdone. The novel left me thinking about my relationship with my boyfriend and also my mother. If you read any of Jodi's novels, chose this one. I didn't want the book to end!

After reading the many glowing reviews of this book, i feel compelled to say "i disagree". I found this book disturbing and unsettling and feel Paige, the story's protagonist, was treated very abusively by her husband. What unfolds throughout this novel is a tale of co-dependency,despite the appearance of recovery at the denouement--motherless young woman runs away from home after an abortion only to marry and becomes pregnant by a stoic surgeon. When post partum depression strikes, she abandons her child and husband and sets off to find her mother. the two reconnect during a 3mo visit in which paige develops self respect and realizes she has to love herself if she is to truly love others.

Armed with new self awareness, she returns to her baby and husband, but is rudely rebuffed. at this point, i felt the character development COMPLETELY fell apart on ALL LEVELS making me lose interest in how the book would end; however, i kept slogging through, hoping she'd see the light (and a lawyer) to file for divorce and custody...Unfortunately, neither happens---she allows herself to be treated EXTREMELY disrespectfully by her husband, who slams doors (both literal and figurative) in her face, speaks harshly, and is emotionally abusive. In short, he is the same person he was before she left, while she is not. A real woman, armed with newfound self esteem would NOT tolerate these things, or say "i'll do whatever it takes to make him love me again",

that a female author would write this type of ending, disturbs me. harvesting the heart COULD have been a wonderful piece of women's literature--the writing style was excellent and structurally it was sound--but it sunk to romance novel level with this very weak cliche-ridden ending.

not at all what i've come to expect from penquin press.