OK . . .so I am on a Jodi Picoult kick. I read my first book by her on a friend's recommendation. I wasn't going to keep reading her, but then Tim recommended The Pact (which I still haven't read yet, but is on my Books Free list) and I decided to give all of her stuff a go. In fact, the next 6 or 7 books on my Books Free list are from her.
So, Salem Falls. Pretty much it's a modern day The Crucible. Jack, who was wrongly accused of rape the previous year, comes to Salem Falls after being released from jail. The local diner owner gives him a chance and he becomes a dishwasher there. A local teenage girl, Gillian, is the typical pretty, popular, and rich kid-meaning she is all fucked up. This generalization comes from books and movies-not anything I have seen in real life. Well, except Paris Hilton.
Gillian has a crush on Jack. Being a witch (meaning she and her friends are wiccans), she casts some spells to try and attract Jack to her. Jack, being convicted of rape of a minor in the past, stays far away. Then he catches her and her friends in the middle of a wiccan celebration. He rebuffs her advances and boom-she accuses him of rape.
I've decided that Picoult's books aren't captivating enough to keep me up all night reading (like Anita Shreve does), but they are really good books. The one lesson I have come to learn is: there is always something Picoult leaves hanging. In the last book-I didn't know whether or not Faith had really seen God or was making it up. In this book, I can't figure out if Gillian's father knew that she was lying (and provided the semen left on her thigh) or if he believed her (and where exactly did the semen come from). I also think that the last page of the book implies that he has been molesting her (maybe even sleeping with her) since her mother died. Things like that bug me. Maybe that's her personal touch, they way she likes to write-blah, blah, blah. I hate it. I want things to be tied up at the end. I don't want to spend anymore time wondering. I finished the book. My reward should be closure.
It's a good book. All her books are good. I will probably keep reading them. I guess I am going to have to suck it up and get over the whole "no closure" thing.
3 comments:
I just finished reading Salem Falls and I'm on the internet now trying to get the answers to the same questions you have. Where did the semen come from, and is her father molesting her. His actions throughout the book didn't seem to note that, esp. when they talked about her not being a virgin. I even read the notes for the book club and didn't see anything. I'll keep searching the net.
I recently finished reading Salem Falls too. I was wondering the same questions just moments after finishing the last page lol. I think, according to the semen DNA chart they presented in court, that it was her faters. If you look at it, and im not a DNA expert or anyting, but it could be her fathers becasue it matches up with her own blood sample, he being at least half of it or however it works.
Also, in my mind, her father helped with the rape of Addie Peabody, so he could just be one of those creepy people who go on and molest other people, including his daughter. Especially since Gilly was supposedly 'stuck up' and different because of the way thet dressed for their wiccan, so other kids diddnt socialize with her coven. The book diddnt mention her having a boyfriend either, so all clues lead to her father, wich would lead to the semen being mixed matches.
Thats how i see it anyways, lol. I know i diddnt give any definite answers. It was just another one of Jodi Picoults books that leve you wondering and saying "what if". I hope you dont strain yourfelf trying to figure it out, good luck.
I just finished this book and I am NOT HAPPY! I agree w/your idea of closure, and this book just does not provide it. He is going home to the mother that disowned him, the father was raping the child and continues to get away with it. And where was WES this whole time? Didn't he see Jack leaving the bar and he followed him? He never testifies to what he sees...I thought he would be the attacker the whole time. This book has just left me frustrated. What did Gilly think getting Jack convicted would get her? That her dad would leave her alone because someone else touched her? I just wish there could have been better closure.
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