Almost everyone is aware of the terror of the Holocaust and the actions of the Nazis during the World War II. Although nearly 70 years has passed since the terrifying event happened, Jodi Picoult reminds the readers once again that the killings and horrors that took place should not be forgotten by taking us through a vivid, yet surreal, journey of history.

   
 


Released in February 2013, The Storyteller is a novel written by Jodi Picoult, who is also well-known for her another book, My Sister’s Keeper. Having written over 20 books, Picoult covers diverse subjects and themes, including incidents of school shootings and family issues. With descriptive narration and acute perception, this American writer manages to put a profound journey into a spell-binding book for the readers. This novel in particular is about the experiences of the time when Germany was led by Hitler and the Nazis. The story takes the perspective of not only the Holocaust survivors and but also the Schutzstaffel (SS) Guards, the generals under Hitler, who were held responsible for the death of millions of Jews.

The protagonist, Sage Singer, is a 25-year-old young woman whose visible scar on her face makes her a reclusive member of her community in New Hampshire. Her grandmother, Minka, is a survivor of the Holocaust, but Sage refuses to acknowledge herself as a Jew. All alone by herself, Sage leads a quiet life as a baker, until she meets Josef Weber, a 92-year-old year old man. The two characters recognize the emptiness that each has inside of him or herself and start confiding in each other until, one day, Josef tells Sage that he used to be an SS guard in Auschwitz.

Now Sage is at a moral dilemma as her own grandmother was a victim at Auschwitz which was also the camp Joseph was in. Although Joseph asks Sage, a descendent of a Jew, to aid his death, Sage cannot easily commit this act as she is enraged by what Joseph and the other SS Guards had put her grandmother through. It is up to Sage how she will deal with the two opposing characters who were part of such a huge history.

Picoult’s narration of the two characters reminds the readers of the important historical lesson from the Holocaust: “forgive, but never forget.” Although 70 years of time is not actually a long one, many people seem to have shrugged these moments off their shoulders and carried on. There are some people who even think that the Holocaust did not exist. However, the events of the Holocaust are the ones that should never be forgotten so as to prevent further terrors.

Picoult’s remarkable style of writing creates an almost first-hand experience that puts the readers in the character’s shoes. While the audience is heart-broken by the experiences of Sage’s grandmother, Minka, for her destitutions in Aushwitz, they also cannot help feeling sorry for the old guard on his traumatic, yet cruel, journey.

The ending may be disappointing when compared to the sturdy baseline the story was building upon. Nevertheless, overall, the novel is a profound experience that reminds readers that people should never forget the events that took place 70 years ago and also reflects upon forgiveness, morals and love.

One of the greatest things about reading a book is that the readers are able to experience emotions and events vicariously through the characters; they are able to feel emotions in profound depth without having experienced the events in person. The Storyteller is certainly a book that shows this power of reading books. Some parts will make readers aghast at the inhumane and unspeakable things humans are capable of, and some parts will make the readers cry and empathize with the characters who had to deal with the loss of their loved ones.
 

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