Monday, March 12, 2018

March 27 House Rules by Jodi Picoult

House Rules was our book this month, with a dozen of us having a great discussion.  All of us loved it or at least liked it to some degree.  Some one said that Jodi Picoult is a good researcher for her books. Most had read a few of her books, one member has read all her books.

The author used different characters to tell the story, their perspective, and some of us even noted the font was different on each chapter.   The multi-viewpoint novel was a bit confusing for one person, but another shared, at least in this book, they stated the name above each chapter.  One member said she liked the different narratives, it gave you a broader sense of what everyone felt.

One person said at first they weren't sure about it, but when the mystery part of the book came in they wanted to know more

The story is about a young adult who has Asperger's, and one person said Jodi Picoult did a good job of showing us the inside of the brain of an austic child.  One member said that Jodi added so many components of Asperger's, this is not the norm.  Some had family members who were autistic and could relate to that part of the story.  We talked about the causes of it, what really does cause it?  A member said "why do we have to have all our shots at once."  We talked about the "other child" like Theo, the one who doesn't have autism.  "It must be extremely hard to not disadvantage the 'normal' child (per sake of conversation), giving a lasting impact.  It becomes a family issue, impacts in extreme ways."  Another member said they wanted to find out "what happened to Theo, we don't know for sure what happened."

One of the questions for the book club was about this statement Jacob said: "The concept of Asperger's is like a flavoring added to a person and although my concentration is higher than those of others, if tested everyone would have traces of this condition too."  We talked about how we do have to some degree, some of the frustrations and struggles they go through.  A lot of people have anxiety.  A simple one, which Jacob found he needed to do, was to have your money in order, facing the right direction.  Some of us could attest, we needed to do that too.

Another book club question was "Mark Maguire perceives as a "Get out of Jail Free card' (p285), whereas a defender general observes that "Vermont's decidedly crappy when it comes to psychiatric care for inmates" (p231) and Neurodiversity Nation believes "neurotypicals' are trying to 'destroy diversity' for autistic people (p321).  Who is the closest to the truth?  What kind of social provisions are made for Jacob at home, at school and in the wider community?  Are they excessive, inadequate or inappropriate?"  We had some great conversation on this. One person said we can do and should do more to help make accommodations, working to the norms; there should be a way.

Character Emma Hunt -- she is a determined advocate for her kids.  Jacob described his mother as a champion.  Made the house rule:  Clean up your messes, tell the truth, brush your teeth twice a day, don't be late for school, and take care of your brother, he's the only one you've got.

Character Jacob Hunt -- doesn't get "social aspects", super amazing at remembering facts, sees things in black and white.

Jacob doesn't have to put time into relationships, he doesn't need to.  Your heart determines so much to do, what you do, it is a blessing to be detached, 'Oh, oh well, that just the way it is." No emotional meltdown, too, is that a blessing, not to have that?  We have the ability to process, he can't chose it, so it is a disadvantage to it.  The disadvantage outweighs the "blessings."

The house rules -- take care of your brother.  Jacob knew he had to take care of his brother.  He never was asked directly, who did it.  Jacob thought Theo had done it.

We thought the book would have been so different with out the forensic component.  Again, like a member said, we missed not having a judgement, what happened?  At the end of the book, it said "Think whatever you want.  The only thing that really matters is this:  I'd do it all over again."  Jacob loved his brother Theo and house rules, take care of your brother.


1 comment:

  1. Excellent subject matter although somewhat inflated. Writing style is very much Jody Picoult -- the endings never disappoint. A good read -- but don't skim over the details.

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