Leaving Time: A Novel
Throughout her blockbuster career, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult has seamlessly blended nuanced characters, riveting plots, and rich prose, brilliantly creating stories that “not only provoke the mind but touch the flawed souls in all of us” (The Boston Globe). Now, in her highly anticipated new book, she has delivered her most affecting novel yet—and one unlike anything she’s written before.
For more than a decade, Jenna Metcalf has never stopped thinking about her mother, Alice, who mysteriously disappeared in the wake of a tragic accident. Refusing to believe that she would be abandoned as a young child, Jenna searches for her mother regularly online and pores over the pages of Alice’s old journals. A scientist who studied grief among elephants, Alice wrote mostly of her research among the animals she loved, yet Jenna hopes the entries will provide a clue to her mother’s whereabouts.
Desperate to find the truth, Jenna enlists two unlikely allies in her quest. The first is Serenity Jones, a psychic who rose to fame finding missing persons—only to later doubt her gifts. The second is Virgil Stanhope, a jaded private detective who originally investigated Alice’s case along with the strange, possibly linked death of one of her colleagues. As the three work together to uncover what happened to Alice, they realize that in asking hard questions, they’ll have to face even harder answers.
As Jenna’s memories dovetail with the events in her mother’s journals, the story races to a mesmerizing finish. A deeply moving, gripping, and intelligent page-turner, Leaving Time is Jodi Picoult at the height of her powers.
“The Elephant” from NATURAL HISTORY by Dan Chiasson, copyright ©2005 by Dan Chiasson. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
Praise for Jodi Picoult
“Picoult writes with unassuming brilliance.”—Stephen King
“It’s hard to exaggerate how well Picoult writes.”—Financial Times
“Picoult writes with a fine touch, a sharp eye for detail, and a firm grasp of the delicacy and complexity of human relationships.”—The Boston Globe
“Picoult is a master of the craft of storytelling.”—Associated Press
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Throughout her blockbuster career, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult has seamlessly blended nuanced characters, riveting plots, and rich prose, brilliantly creating stories that “not only provoke the mind but touch the flawed souls in all of us” (The Boston Globe). Now, in her highly anticipated new book, she has delivered her most affecting novel yet—and one unlike anything she’s written before.
For more than a decade, Jenna Metcalf has never stopped thinking about her mother, Alice, who mysteriously disappeared in the wake of a tragic accident. Refusing to believe that she would be abandoned as a young child, Jenna searches for her mother regularly online and pores over the pages of Alice’s old journals. A scientist who studied grief among elephants, Alice wrote mostly of her research among the animals she loved, yet Jenna hopes the entries will provide a clue to her mother’s whereabouts.
Desperate to find the truth, Jenna enlists two unlikely allies in her quest. The first is Serenity Jones, a psychic who rose to fame finding missing persons—only to later doubt her gifts. The second is Virgil Stanhope, a jaded private detective who originally investigated Alice’s case along with the strange, possibly linked death of one of her colleagues. As the three work together to uncover what happened to Alice, they realize that in asking hard questions, they’ll have to face even harder answers.
As Jenna’s memories dovetail with the events in her mother’s journals, the story races to a mesmerizing finish. A deeply moving, gripping, and intelligent page-turner, Leaving Time is Jodi Picoult at the height of her powers.
“The Elephant” from NATURAL HISTORY by Dan Chiasson, copyright ©2005 by Dan Chiasson. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
Praise for Jodi Picoult
“Picoult writes with unassuming brilliance.”—Stephen King
“It’s hard to exaggerate how well Picoult writes.”—Financial Times
“Picoult writes with a fine touch, a sharp eye for detail, and a firm grasp of the delicacy and complexity of human relationships.”—The Boston Globe
“Picoult is a master of the craft of storytelling.”—Associated Press
Laurel-Rain Snow –
LOSS, GRIEVING, & A UNIQUE QUEST
When Jenna Metcalf was three years old, her mother Alice disappeared from the elephant sanctuary where she lived and worked.Now ten years later, she is desperate for answers, but where can she turn? Her grandmother, with whom she lives, never has tried to find Alice, or to find answers. She seems almost uncaring as she goes about her detached, distant life.So when Jenna decides to contact a psychic, she stumbles upon one Serenity Jones, a has-been who hasn’t solved a case in years. A hack that takes money and gives easy answers that she finds through a series of clues she gleans from the clients. She believes that she has lost her powers.But Serenity has a good heart, and soon she and Jenna are seeking out Virgil Stanhope, who worked on the case back then.Finding him is not that easy, as he has changed his name and left the department.But persistence pays off and now the trio of seekers are looking for answers. What the police knew at the time of the “accident” was that one woman was killed, possibly trampled by an elephant, and another was taken to the hospital, without ID. That woman disappeared, and presumably was Alice.Leaving Time: A Novel is narrated alternately by Jenna, Virgil, Serenity, and even Alice, moving seamlessly between the past and the present. What we learn from Alice’s voice is how she met Thomas, Jenna’s father, when he visited the elephant reserve in Botswana where she was researching grieving in elephants. After discovering her pregnancy, she joined him at his elephant sanctuary in New Hampshire.Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle form a clearer picture of life for Alice and Thomas, from the beginning to the mental health issues, the abuse, and ultimately, one tragic night when everything changed. But will Jenna and her helpers find out what really happened? Will a trip to Tennessee help fill in the blanks?Just when I thought that I had everything figured out, it all turned upside down and nothing was as it seemed. What was real and what wasn’t? How would everything finally fall into place? A mesmerizing story that took a very dramatic turn kept me rapidly turning the pages, waiting to find the answers. 5.0 stars.
Kat McQueen –
Complex, engaging book
Jodi Picoult writes brilliantly. And this is a riveting novel. I must say, if I were reading this for a literature class, I would read it twice because it moves from one time period to another, one character’s voice to another, with lightning speed. This adds to the interest, unquestionably, but it also demands full attention. This is not a leisurely read. The book is a combination treatise on mother-daughter bonding, murder mystery, and compelling plea for more humane treatment of elephants (indeed, their treatment could hardly be worse). I was totally caught up in the mystery, and though I’m pretty good at armchair detective work, I confess I did not have this one figured out, and that was very satisfying. To me, however, the best part of the book involved the informational pieces on elephants. Picoult clearly did an impressive amount of research on elephant behavior and intelligence, and could have written a nonfiction book focusing on that topic. I almost wish she had. At times, the story seems a distraction. I lost some interest with the introduction of the psychic, even though she is perhaps the most intriguing of all the characters in the book. It’s not that–I’m afraid I’m just not a believer in psychic powers (except in the general sense that all humans can, at times, predict the future or sense things beyond the obvious), and I feel the story could have been resolved another way without introducing this rather strange element. It just didn’t feel necessary to me with everything else that was going on–love affairs, excitable elephants, childhood trauma. Honestly. Who needs ghosts and visits to the other side? Without giving anything away, I’ll just say I hoped for a totally different ending. This is the only reason I gave the book four stars rather than five. Endings are important because they constitute the final impression you walk away with. It’s a terrific book overall, though. I would give it as a gift–to the right person. And I can understand why the author and this particular book are so popular. I particularly applaud Jodi Picoult for her forthright and outspoken stand on behalf of elephants, and hope that she will consider doing at least one nonfiction book in the future.
Rainer Vogel –
Jodi Picoult is a gifted writer; her characters truly come alive in her stories. This story is 100% suspenseful from beginning to end, and you’re completely clueless until the very last moment, which is absolutely surprising!
Paola B. –
Sono una fan di Jodi Picoult, ma questa storia è andata oltre le mie aspettative. Il finale mi ha lasciata a bocca aperta.Interessante anche se volete scoprire aspetti sulla vita degli elefanti.
Amazon Customer –
Very Informative and amazing to find out about elephants. The story is heart breaking and happy at the same time, a must – read.
CRIS –
Me ha encantado, aunque ha habido alguna cosilla un poco liosa. Pero esta muy bien, me ha tenido enganchada desde la primera página. Lo recomiendo.
T –
This book is a very interesting book