I'm reading Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult for my Biblical Heritage class in order to examine the morals in our modern day opposed to the morals found in the Bible. The pretense of the book is about a marriage that has begun to fall apart, due to the husband's abuse of his wife.
We meet Cassie Barrett as Jane Doe, sleeping on a tombstone in the middle of the graveyard. She wakes up with no recollection of her former self, what happened the night before, or how she got to be where she is presently. Her first reaction is to walk outside of the graveyard, and once she gets to the street, she sees Will, a newcomer in town, and she runs straight into his arms.
Will is escaping his former life as a Native American in South Dakota and realizing that the racial tension in Beverly Hills is exactly what he expected. Just pulling over to the side of the road to ask for directions, he was shoved around and treated as scum. And he realizes that his escape may not be as promising as he was wanted it to be.
The beginning of the book begins with a Native American tribal story about a man, Strong Wind, who refused to marry just any maiden, and said that "he would marry the first maiden who could see him coming at night" (Picoult 3). And every maiden who tried failed because they lied and said they could see him when he was never there. Until the youngest daughter of the chief, confessed that she did not see him, and because of her honesty, he revealed himself to her, and they married.
Somehow, what happens in the first chapter of the book, the reunion of Jane to Will, like long lost lovers, seems reflective of this story. However, what's strange about this "reunion" is that they've never met each other before this fateful day. So, what does this story reveal to us? Our modern day culture's obsession with love at first sight? Or love in general? Does it show us that we are over obsessed with love and the need to be happy because another person is supposed to make us more human, becoming our other half, our soulmate? Does it dig into these issues or is it a beautiful story of one unique chance for redemption for both of them?
Cassie (Jane) and Will find each other in vulnerable places and without any prompting, lean and support each other despite the minimum amount of time they've come to know each other. Will houses Cassie (Jane) until he helps her figure out who her husband is. And while he is off on his first day of work as a police officer, she begins to unpack for him, in the hopes that he will feel more at home in a strange place. But what she doesn't realize about him is that he's never felt at home. It freaks him out, and his heritage is not something he wants to hold on to. He wants change, a new town, a new life, a new start. Not some reflection of the past.
And she, just beginning to remember some small things about her life suddenly realizes (from reconstructing their chicken bones from dinner) that she was and is an anthropologist. Excited for something familiar, she enthusiastically searches through the library for modern archeology and anthropology and remembers finding a hand that was pictured in one of the recent books.
The next day, her husband, Alex Rivers, the famous movie star, comes searching for her at the police station. And as he takes her into his arms, she feels slightly anxious, but glad to have someone who knows her.
Will, on the other hand, is silently distraught that the one thing that made him feel safe and comfortable in Beverly Hills is leaving him. He hopes that she will keep in touch but doubts that he will ever be someone important in her life ever again.
The depth that Picoult goes into to explain the emotions and thoughts of the characters make it all the more real to the reader. I begin to understand and hurt for Will as he looses the one thing that meant the most to him in this new life. And I worry that Cassie will just cycle through the same situation again and again as her husband continues to abuse her. But we don't know that yet, do we? All I know is that she woke up in a graveyard with no recollection of herself, and her husband was off filming in Scottland. So what happened? How did she come to be in such a state? And will she begin to remember her true feelings for her husband before she's in danger again?
Either way, this book is diving into some of the most complex situations in modern society. Abuse, marriage, racism, and love. But in order to find out more, I need to keep reading. And so do you, if you want to discover the truth about Cassie Barrett.
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