Book Review: Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult
I’m so excited that I had the chance to read another Jodi Picoult novel. There’s so many she’s written, so it’s tough to get through them all when there’s so much out there to read—but with the closing of this story, I’m about three quarters of the way to finishing her canon. Here we go! ♥︎
Trigger Warning: sexual assault
“I think,” she said finally, “that all of us have got our ghosts.”
— i.
If an entire community identifies a guy by his past convictions, how will anybody ever get past that to accept his presence?
Damn, throughout Jodi Picoult’s canon, I feel like she’s covered so much throughout the contemporary world. I always think there’s not much more to tell, but as usual, she proves me wrong. She has one of the most creative minds I’ve ever encountered in fiction, and Salem Falls is no exception. The themes the book covers isn’t my cup of tea, especially compared to a lot of her other works, but it was a great book nevertheless. To just read my overall thoughts, skip to the bottom!
— ii.
She wished with all her heart that this had happened differently, but she had learned that words were like eggs dropped from great heights: You could no more call them back than ignore the mess they left when they fell.
Salem Falls revolves around Jack St. Bride, a man who spent almost a year in prison because he was accused of statutory rape. He moves to a new town, where no one knows him, but almost immediately people find out why he was in prison. Despite this, he develops a relationship with the woman who owns the town diner, and they fall deeply in love. His presence in the town is controversial, but no one can do anything about it, until the daughter of the wealthiest resident accuses Jack of raping her. The content isn’t as heavy as I’m making it sound (in my opinion, but read at your own caution), but it still revolves around a sexual assault trial. It was a tough subject, because a huge part of the book delves into the fact that reports of sexual assault are 98% accurate. No one just randomly decides to falsely accuse someone of assault. If you decide to read this book, please keep this in mind—there is an explanation for everything, and I think it’s important to not forget that survivors of sexual assault do not lie about being assaulted. Since our society seems to think otherwise these days. And regardless of what happens in this book, I think Picoult did a good job in persisting that, and treated the subject as carefully as she could. That being said, I’m not a survivor of sexual abuse, so please correct me if I’m overstepping and you’ve read the book.
— iii.
You can’t judge a man by actions he hasn’t committed. That’s the foundation of the legal system in this country. And no pissant New Hampshire village has the right to decide otherwise.
I think my favourite part about the book was how Jodi Picoult intertwined the themes together. They could not be more different from one another—witchcraft, sexual violence, parent-child relationships, society’s judgment, social class upbringing, justice system flaws, and lying. Of course, she makes it work. Picoult did something similar with her book, Second Glance, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise to me knowing that she did it again (actually, did it with this book first, since it was released first, I believe). At first, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why she chose these particular themes to write about in one novel, especially with the witchcraft. But it wasn’t forced. There wasn’t thirty plots going on at the same time—the book follows one continuous storyline. There are several characters, sure, but they are all important in order to read and understand the story. I don’t want to say a lot more about the themes without giving too much away, but just know, there’s quite a few, and Jodi Picoult fits them together pretty perfectly, by crafting this story and these characters.
— iv.
As a kid, his favorite toy had been a snow globe, that held a small town of gingerbread buildings and peppermint streets. He’d wanted so badly to live there that one day he’d smashed the glass ball—only to find that the houses were made of plaster, the candy stripes painted on. He had known that this existence he’d carved in Salem Falls was an illusion, that one day it would crack open just like that snow globe. But he’d hoped—God, he’d hoped—that it wouldn’t just yet.
Speaking of characters, Picoult did a really great job in crafting them and their complexities. Each character is well rounded and essential to this story. Each character has flaws and good qualities—it is impossible to simply love or hate any of them. Of course, Picoult writes a lot of characters like this, but I think this is the first novel I’ve read of hers from what I can remember, where I genuinely do not intensely hate or love anyone. These characters are so deeply human, that I genuinely could not feel anything but indifference towards them. I couldn’t hate them, even when I felt like I wanted to. I couldn’t blindly love them either, because of stuff they’ve done (no this is not regarding sexual assault I would never feel indifferent about an abuser). To be able to capture this complexity in all of the characters in the book, well, it’s very impressive, especially considering that I’m always so opinionated, and passionate about my opinions.
— v.
When I was lying, they hung on every word. And when I told the truth, no one listened.
Now before I wrap up the review, I wanted to talk about two more things, the first being, the surprise twist Picoult usually has in her stories. Of course this one was no exception, but what really surprised me was that it was literally at the end of the book. It’s interesting, because I remember reading Jodi Picoult’s FAQ page on her website at least a dozen times, and she was asked the question, do you always know the end before you write it? Then, she discusses how sometimes the novel just writes herself, and after having written a piece, she couldn’t believe she wrote that; it really surprised her. One example she uses, and I quote: Or in Salem Falls, that last scene (don’t you dare peek ahead). Since then, I’ve always wondered what on earth could have happened to have her write such a shocking scene, especially at the end of a book, because when her books have shocking scenes at the end, they’re usually planned way in advance. This quote has been in the back of my mind since reading her FAQ for the first time a few years back. And now that I finally read the book, all I can say is: holy shit. I should have seen that coming (even though Jodi didn’t herself!). A heartbreaking twist that really draws the story to a close, and puts the last missing piece of the puzzle in place. My life is changed now that I understand what she meant by that question in her FAQ.
— vi.
When it’s all over, Jack, you’re remembered for what you did, not what you said you were going to do.
Finally, I just want to briefly mention why I decided to give this book three stars, especially since I only have positive things to say about it. This is because while the book was great, as I mentioned at the beginning, the plot wasn’t really my thing. It was really cool of Jodi to delve into the world of witchcraft in a contemporary society (i.e. people who believe they’re witches in our world), but, especially compared to other books she’s written, I didn’t find it super interesting. It was, to an extent of course, but as I said, everyone has their own preferences. This book is truly the best it can be I think, it’s just a matter of what you like to read about.
— vii.
I don’t know. I don’t really know her at all, in spite of what she’s said. But if I were seventeen and I was discovered in the woods doing something I didn’t want my father to know about . . . I guess I’d spin a different story, too. And if I were really smart, I’d dream up a tale that would ruin the credibility of the person who’d intruded . . . so that no one would believe him, even if he told the truth.
Overall, Jodi Picoult did it again with a great novel, a good plot, and complex characters. The themes she chose to tackle don’t particularly interest me on a general level, but she still managed to reel me in with her storytelling, because, well, it’s Jodi. If you love anything you’ve read by her, I’d still read this no matter what, and if the themes I mentioned do interest you, I’d say read it, for sure! There’s so much to talk about by the time you finish the book.
Have you read Salem Falls? If so, what did you think? Have you read any other Jodi Picoult books? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Rating: ★★★ | GoodReads
