Book Review: Nineteen Minutes

by Jodi Picoult

I'm a frequent critic of a book that tries to accomplish too many things. Nineteen Minutes comes very close to that line. The storyline follows multitudinous characters and its complexities are never-ending. And yet, it is told so well that I can hardly find this as a flaw. Had Picoult been weak in any one part of the plot, I may not have been as forgiving - but lucky for us both, she did not.

The novel centers around an event that lasts 19 minutes, during which a student goes on a shooting rampage in his high school, and encompasses flashbacks to the characters' childhood, adolescence and their days, weeks and months immediately preceding the shooting. Then, the author follows the same characters through their mourning, recovery and the trial. All of these pieces are interwoven seamlessly so that, although the chapters make leaps in time from one to another, the order appears to the reader the most natural thing plausible.

The issues covered are numerous - and this is where my only criticism falls. I find myself curious to know more about nearly all of the characters, and would almost prefer a series of stories told from each perspective to allow a more in-depth look at their nature and thoughts. Alas, this is not available to me, and so I must rely on my own thought and imagination - which is never a bad thing. However, despite the novel's 451 pages, I was left wanting. Both a good and a bad thing. Good, because sometimes books that leave themselves tied up in a neat package with a red bow can be unsatisfying; bad, because I think to some extent this is due to a lack of full exploration. Additionally, the buildup seemed more complete than the conclusion, which felt somewhat rushed and simplistic following the complexity of the majority of the story.

However, despite any want for depth I may have had, I have to commend Picoult on her character development. There was not a single character to which she failed in establishing for me an emotional connection. The most significant of these being the "villain" of the story - the shooter. She strikes a key balance in bringing out the lovable, as well as the challenging, in each of the story's characters which allows for the reader's full exploration of emotion.

Generally, the book was not only quick and easy to read but also thought-provoking - a combination that does not present itself frequently. It's absolutely worth reading.