Reviews with content warning for Dementia - J'aimerai tant que tu sois là

Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

J'aimerai tant que tu sois là by Jodi Picoult

66 reviews

stephmcoakley's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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abicaro17's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Diana is a complex and reflective character. Despite doing some choice things throughout the book, her reflection and inner turmoil creates a space to forgive some of her poor decisions. Given that this book basically reflects current and still changing events, it was well written and clearly well researched. It flows with facts and anecdotes from real life experiences. It was a beautiful (if not slightly triggering) book about a fictional person experiencing the trauma of current events.

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claudiashelf's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Everything in this book feels so real just because the story pertained to COVID-19 which happened a couple of years ago. This book is divided into two parts and I consciously say that Part One of this story seems so tedious, and I just enjoyed it in the second part. Also, even tho this story is quite enjoyable and very well-written and made me realise how the pandemic has changed people’s lives drastically when it happens in two years, even until this moment COVID-19 is still there living with us.

Furthermore, I can notice that the author has done the research for this book because there are so many details about how medical professionals deal with and face the fight with Covid patients and the author has explained everything about hospital resources or has been stretched to crisis level in every detail. That gave me new insight.

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britnidudley's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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melanieripple's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

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sarahflanders's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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danyclarice's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“You can’t plan your life Finn” I say quietly. “Because then you have a plan. Not a life”

-

Firstly. Wow. This book blew me away. This is the first book I have read by Jodi Picoult and I am in love with her writing. I think she is an amazing storyteller and brought to life the Galápagos so vividly in this book.

This book is a slow-burn with emotions bleeding into every page. It feels so surreal to read a book about COVID when we have all lived through it. Even though I live on the opposite side of the world, I resonated with the raw emotions and stillness Diana felt in her life.

This book won’t be for everyone. The plot is fairly simple and is focused primarily on the complexity of the character’s relationships with each other, and tackles themes of isolation and parent-loss. More than that, I can understand why some people would choose to avoid this book because COVID centres as the main driver for the plot. Although Diana’s story is fiction, Picoult, as shared in the author’s note, complied multiple stories of COVID survivors together to accurately depict lucid dream states, and long-term effects of being on a ventilator, which may be triggering for some audiences.

For me, this book forced me to confront many of the philosophies I live by post-COVID. Recently single, finished with two degrees, ready to move out and get a full-time job, I have constantly measured success academically and have a need to quantify my goals.

This year I will gain three certificates in UX Design and Project Management, I will get a boyfriend by the end of the year, marry by 30 and have children by 35… I think we’ve all been taught to measure our success in this way. In fact, like Diana, Picoult has taught us in the book how to open our hearts, forgive each other, and take COVID as an opportunity to assess ourselves, our priorities, and those that we love and are dear to us. I realise I need to slow down in life and appreciate what is right in front of me. Why am I focused on being happy in the future if I’m not even happy now?

As a happily married American women with three children, I know Picoult’s between the line messages can appear very complex and confusing for a reader such as myself. But right now, this book has contributed to present philosophies I will take going forward. Maybe I’ll revisit this book is 5, 10 years and gain a completely different message from it.

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