Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult – 336 pages
ARC from Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for an honest review.
Book Blurb:
Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder in the cutthroat art auction world. She’s an associate specialist at Sotheby’s now, but her boss has hinted at a promotion if she can close a deal with a high-profile client. She’s not engaged just yet, but she knows her boyfriend, Finn, a surgical resident, is about to propose on their romantic getaway to the Galápagos—days before her thirtieth birthday. Right on time. But then a virus that felt worlds away has appeared in the city, and on the eve of their departure, Finn breaks the news: It’s all hands on deck at the hospital. He has to stay behind. You should still go, he assures her, since it would be a shame for all of their nonrefundable trip to go to waste. And so, reluctantly, she goes.
Almost immediately, Diana’s dream vacation goes awry. Her luggage is lost, the Wi-Fi is nearly nonexistent, and the hotel they’d booked is shut down due to the pandemic. In fact, the whole island is now under quarantine, and she is stranded until the borders reopen. Completely isolated, she must venture beyond her comfort zone. Slowly, she carves out a connection with a local family when a teenager with a secret opens up to Diana, despite her father’s suspicion of outsiders.
My Review: 5 stars
Wish You Were Here was an amazingly well written story about life during the current pandemic. When I started the book, I had to brace myself as I wasn’t sure if it was “too soon” to read about the chaotic world we’ve been living in. Perhaps when Picoult wrote it, she thought by November of 2021, we’d be rid of Covid. Who knew the battle would still be alive and well? I’ve been a fan of Jodi Picoult since her career started and this one, with a twist of creative brilliance, just blew me away.
As the blurb implies, we have a couple, Diana and Finn, about to embark on a dream vacation where they will get engaged. As the virus lands in NYC, and lockdown is imminent, Finn is ordered to stay at the hospital for an “all hands on deck” approach. After a quick conversation, Diana goes to the Galapagos on her own. Why stay at home alone, while Finn basically lives at the hospital?
The story is told from Diana’s POV with interspersed email communication from Finn. As she is creating a new life abroad, he’s in a living hell at the hospital. It’s an odd dynamic that only gets better as the book progresses. I must stop here so that no spoilers are divulged. Also, do not skip the author’s note; it’s quite interesting!!
Quotes I liked:
Quotes from an advanced copy and may differ from final copy.
That was how I learned that the world changes between heartbeats, that life is never an absolute, but always a wager.”
“The story of our life was a run-on sentence, not a parenthetical, Are you busy?
“There is a profound difference between knowing your situation is termporary and not knowing what’s coming next.”
“Some people burn too bright to last long.”
“Busy is just a euphemism for being so focused on what you don’t have that you never notice what you do, it’s a defense mechanism.”
“The future is going to come, in some form whether we like it or not.”
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