Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780743422444ISBN:0743422449
Description: Acceptable. If we were to meet you would see that my soft covers are not as bright and fresh looking as the day I was published they have spots of moderate to light edge wear, but my binding remains snug and my spine undamaged. Internally I am clean free of any markings, soiling, or even previously dog eared pages. I am simply a clean and sturdy reading copy. The choice of standard shipping is via USPS media mail and can take up to 21 days for USPS to deliver. If you require your product ... read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Date Published: 2001-04-03
ISBN-13:9780743422444ISBN:0743422449
Description: Fair. Binding is tight with a lean. Text is clean and unmarked, with edge tanning. Spine is creased; cover is very worn, creased and chipped (taped). Ex-library copy with usual markings and attachments. Careful packaging and fast shipping. We recommend EXPEDITED MAIL for even faster delivery! read more
Edition: Later Printing
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Date Published: 4/3/2001
ISBN-13:9780743422444ISBN:0743422449
Description: Good. 0743422449 PB1D. Solid copy. Binding tight and square. No marks. Covers show edgewear, else Very Good. Pages tanning slightly with age. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Date Published: 2001-04-03
ISBN-13:9780743422444ISBN:0743422449
Description: Very Good. SOFTCOVER. Very Good-Condition. Binding tight, pages clean. Long crease at top edge of front cover. Light edge-wear. Older cover design with red roses. Nice copy! read more
Description: Acceptable. Stamp on first page. Stickers on spine and cover. There is very little wear around the edges. This book is in fairly good shape. read more
Description: Acceptable. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780743422444ISBN:0743422449
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Remainder mark at bottom. 416 p. With a WSP Readers Club Guide. Fiction: The police chief in a small Massachusetts town is faced with a tough call when his cousin confesses to him that he has killed his terminally ill wife out of mercy. When does love cross the line of moral obligation? What is true love? read more
Edition: F First Paperback Printing
Binding: S Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Atria Books, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9781416549383ISBN:1416549382
Description: Good + Brief summary of content available upon request by e-mail. read more
Description: Acceptable. Ships from the UK. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Your purchase also supports literacy charities. read more
"Wow, Jodi, we didn't hit it off in this one. This was my fourth Picoult novel to read and I was initially excited to crack this one open. Unfortunately, it was a bit like looking in the box, only to find that the contents are gone. The selfishness of mankind in general overwhelmed me in this book. I know that I live in a culture where "I" is king, but really? Are there really people like this? I suppose so. Maybe I just don't like reading about them. Cameron (husband to Allie) is so self absorbed it's almost unbelievable. Allie seems to be the only redeeming character in this book and even I can't like her that much. The main storyline seems to focus on Jamie and his now dead wife Maggie but even that is riddled with who is more selfish. I guess I want a book with real love -- love that focuses on the other person and not what makes everyone happy. The irony here? Nobody seemed happy. Ever. Period. I'll of course, read another of Picoult's and hope for the best."
"It took me just the weekend to read Mercy, but that's not saying much since it's been in my possession for months now. The book has two stories intertwined in it-the first, main story, is about a man named Jamie, who kills his wife suffering from Cancer. And it's not just the beginning of Cancer-this is full-blown, spread all over the body, radical mastectomy Cancer. His wife-with whom he shares a love most of us will never know-ask him to kill her. He doesn't take on the request lightly, but he eventually carries it out. We then go through the months leading up to the trial. The other story line has to do with Jamie's distant cousin, Cameron, and his wife Allie. Cameron meets a woman-Mia-and feels as if he's known her his whole life. He inevitably cheats on Allie with Mia.
The story with Jamie asks some good questions-could you love someone so much you would kill them? No worry of the consequences. Is that selfless or selfish? Did he do it because he loved her or because she wasn't the person he fell in-love with anymore? To be honest-if someone I loved dearly-say my sister-was in so much pain and wanted to end it-I believe I could. If I truly felt it was what she wanted-if she was in a hopeless situation (such as Jamie's wife, Maggie), then yes. I believe I could do it. Of course, that is all well in good in theory-much like abortion-we can all say what we would do in the theoretical-but when it comes to real life, really being in the situation, it's anybody's guess. I don't believe we can ever know ourselves well enough to know what we would do in those situations until they become a reality.
The story with Cameron, Allie, and Mia tie in with Jamie's story. Cameron loves Mia from the second he lays eyes on her-soul mates, so to speak. But he also loves her wife-her consistency, her un-wavering faith, HER love. As in most all affairs-Mia loves Cameron for who he is in his life with Allie and vice versa. If they were to run away, neither would be the person the fell in love with-would the relationship last?
Jamie makes a very poignant remark to Allie and we see it crop up throughout the story:
"You know it's never fifty-fifty in a marriage. It's always seventy-thirty, or sixty-forty. Someone falls in love first Someone puts someone else up on a pedestal. Someone works very hard to keep things rolling smoothly; someone else sails along for the ride" This is one of the truest things I've ever read in a novel. Every relationship I have ever been in; every relationship I have ever seen-this rings true. I don't, however, think this is bad thing. As the person who loves "more", I realize that is wired in me. It makes me feel GOOD about the relationship-not more than 5 minutes ago Michael said to me "You know when you are the happiest-when you are taking care of me." He is 100% correct.
As with all of Picoult's novel-there is much to consider-to think about. She writes about societies taboos-and makes you consider it from a real life and human perspective.
"JODI PICOULT HAS AN ASTOUNDING WAY OF MAKING HER READER'S THINK HARD AND WANT TO KEEP READING HER NOVELS. THIS NOVEL IN PARTICULAR BROUGHT ALOT OF THOUGHT TO ME WHILE READING AND MADE ME ASK MYSELF HOW FAR WOULD I GO FOR THE PEOPLE I LOVE? IF YOU HAVE READ ANY OTHER BOOK WRITTEN BY HER YOU WILL LOVE THIS ONE JUST AS MUCH AS HER OTHER STORIES. SHE WRITES ABOUT REAL LIFE SITUATIONS THAT MAKE YOU ASK YOURSELF WHAT WOULD I DO?"
"Oh my. I am still feeling somewhat sad and hollow a few hours after having finished this book. I remain an ardent Picoult fan. Sad because of the very premise of the book - Maggie being destroyed by cancer, Jamie's accepting to end her life, which leads to his being tried for murder. Hollow because of the relationships between Cam and Allie and Cam and Mia... to mention just those two. Picoult novels very often have key scenes in courtrooms and this is no exception. The character of Campbell, the prosecutor, although well characterized, is not really delved into. She's pretty nasty, ambitious and self aggrandizing, but we don't know more about her or what makes her really tick. We go a bit further with Graham, but again Picoult does not go as far as she could, perhaps to focus more on the main characters. The theme of mercy killing is of course paramount, but somehow Cam's plight struck me more as the tragic flaw. I don't want to create a spoiler so I won't go into it, but Jamie's theory about the imbalance in love (sixty-forty; seventy-thirty etc)was very strong and moving as portrayed here. Yet another great read."
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