Samyann
A Jodi Picoult novel, narrated by Mozhan Marno, Jennifer Ikeda, Edoardo Ballerini, Suzanne Toren, and Fred Berman. The Storyteller is just over 18 hours of listening in the audiobook format.
There are near 10,000 reviews, you need not go far for a synopsis of plot.
No issues with narration, it’s fine.
These comments are directed to the overall impression of mixing a diabolical historical event still an open sore to survivors/descendants, and a mythical SciFi character. The Storyteller very typically Picoult, well written, a page turning mystery with considerable research, a vivid imagination, or a combination of both.
The story within the story is a part of the book I didn’t particularly like – it was extraneous to the heart of the tale – one of the darkest eras of humanity, the holocaust. That segment of the story devoted to modern day Nazi hunting and the memories of Minka through a ghetto, box cars, multiple concentration camps, multiple losses of family and friends, Nazi visceral brutality and genocide, etc., is a gripping tale. These segments are interrupted with another story however, the fictional tale of a vampire – Minka’s writings and link to sanity during her ordeal.
The overall story had me completely lost, initially, until I figured out that the vampire story was Minka’s writings. I had trouble grasping this; it was so bizarre and unrelated to the holocaust. Even Picoult’s effort to weave the vampire tale into a Nazi siblings relationship at the end of the book is a bit silly.
I’m torn with liking/recommending this book. I guess if you like the work of Picoult, you’ll like the book. The Storyteller isn’t the best holocaust book, nor is it the best vampire book – but it is a Picoult novel. Not her best, though.
