Product Description

The author of Picture Perfect "explores the fragile ground of ambivalent motherhood" (New York Times Book Review). Paige's mother left when she was five. When Paige becomes a mother herself, she is overwhelmed by the demands. Unable to forget her past, Paige struggles with the difficulties of marriage and motherhood.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1805 in Books
• Published on: 1995-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780140230277
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Picoult ( Songs of the Humpback Whales ) brings her considerable talents to this contemporary story of a young woman in search of her identity. Abandoned by her mother when she was five years old, Paige O'Toole has been left with painful doubts about her self-worth. She leaves her Chicago home for Cambridge, Mass., at 18 to fulfill herself as an artist, but must work in a diner because she can't afford art school. When she marries Harvard medical student Nicholas Prescott, his parents disown him, disapproving of their Irish Catholic daughter-in-law. Again Paige is forced to sideline her creative needs and work as a waitress in order to support Nicholas until he is able to establish his career as a cardiac surgeon. Paige is soon overwhelmed by the demands of Nicholas's socially sophisticated world, and after the birth of their son, Max, she becomes emotionally and physically exhausted. Unable to communicate her terrors about herself to Nicholas, she leaves him to search for her mother, who may hold the answers to her life. Told in flashbacks, this is a realistic story of childhood and adolescence, the demands of motherhood, the hard paths of personal growth and the generosity of spirit required by love. Picoult's imagery is startling and brilliant; her characters move credibly through this affecting drama.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In her second novel, the author of Songs of the Humpback Whale ( LJ 5/15/92) recounts with power and grace a young woman's efforts to achieve "grandeur... andthe ability to be comfortable in the world." Paige O'Toole Prescott, a gifted portraitist, sets aside her art to support her husband, Nicholas, during his medical training. His wealthy parents reject Paige, who already suffers from self-doubt after being abandoned by her mother. Despite Nicholas's success as a surgeon and the young couple's love for each other, the birth of their son catapults them into emotional crisis. Paige's resulting quest for courage and self-confidence forces Nicholas, her parents, and her in-laws to reevaluate their attitudes, standards, and behavior. Picoult considers various forces that can unite or fracture families and examines the complexities of the human heart both literally and figuratively. Highly recommended.
- Jane S. Bakerman, Indiana State Univ., Terre Haute
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
An Irish Catholic whose mother left home when she was only five, Paige has a special talent. She often finds, buried in her drawings, images that others recognize as details of their pasts or their innermost longings. Overwhelmed by guilt after an abortion, Paige finishes high school and runs away from home instead of checking into the Rhode Island School of Design. She practices her art at her job (at a diner aptly called Mercy), sketching the customers in a promotion called the Chicken Doodle Soup Special. It's through her insightful portraits that she meets her husband-to-be, Nicholas Prescott, an egocentric medical student and future heart surgeon. His wealthy parents disown their son and estrange themselves from the young couple, and Paige works to help Nicholas through medical school. When their first child is born, Paige completely loses her self-confidence and embarks on a search to reestablish her identity and to find her own mother. Stranding the self-centered Nicholas with a new baby turns out not to be the worst possible decision, and the repercussions from this impulsive move help mend family rifts. Anne Gendler

Customer Reviews

Picoult's best work yet
This is the fourth book that I've read by Jodi Picoult and it is my favorite so far. This is a beautifully written story about self-doubt, the chance to find yourself, and the bond that exists between a mother and child.

The novel begins in the present with Paige locked out of her own house pleading with her husband Nicholas to see their child,Max. The story continues from there, shifting from Paige's perspective to Nicholas'. We learn that Paige has been abandoned by her mother, then flees from her hometown after dealing with a traumatic incident at a young age. She soon falls in love with Nicholas, a soon to be doctor who's own star is on the rise. Paige is an artist at heart but abandons her own dream to help support the career of her husband. She soon becomes a mother herself and tries to be a loving one but doubts her ability to do so. She carries the burden of her mother's desertion. In order to stand on her own she has to go back to her past, to the mother who left her. From there she has to learn how to love.

This book differs from her others in that there is no mystery to be solved here, there is no court room scenes. There is just the tender story of two people, two souls that are meant to be together, and the journey that their lives take them on. Jodi has an incredible way with words and her storytelling here is absolutely superb. It is a book to be savoured.

Another triumph for Picoult...
I had initially read "The Pact", given to me by a friend, and absolutely loved the work of Jodi Picoult. I ordered "Harvesting the Heart", and read in less than two days. Another "could-not- put-it-down-until-I-knew-the- ending" type of book. The characters are real and believable, and you could picture them living next door to you. I, personally, am not a mother (yet!), but reading this book gave me insight into motherhood, marriage and love...and what they truly entail. The story of Paige and Nicholas is truth in fiction. And as with "The Pact", I did not want this book to end, but to continue on to see exactly what happens in the lives of these people who are dealing with emotions that many readers can connect with. A moving story of, simply, life...and definitely worth reading.

What does it mean to be a mother?
Paige and her Irish-Catholic father are deserted by her mother when she is 5 years old. She has dim memories of a woman who was at times a delightful and playful companion and at other times, a brooding and unhappy person. Paige doubts her self-worth and wonders what she did to drive her mother away. Despite the pain of being abandoned herself, she begins a pattern of running away from people and situations that are overwhelming to her. She wonders if it is her fate to become just like her mother. While working as a waitress in a diner, she meets Nicholas, a wealthy and charismatic medical student, who, amazingly, is interested in her. Their relationship flourishes, despite the objections of his aristocratic parents, and eventually they marry. Their early married life is idyllic, but eventually changes occur which make things unbearable for Paige. She reverts to her old habits and begins a search for her mother in an attempt to discover who she and her mother really are. As usual in a Jodi Picoult novel, the characters are finely drawn and the plot is gripping. This book "grabbed" me at the beginning and never let me go until the very last page.