An Enticing Prequel to a New Jodi Picoult Novel

Larger Than Life by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novella was sad, but interesting.

As always Jodi Picoult has done her research, and woven a story into the facts. The story weaves between a researcher (Alice), an elephant calf (Lesego)and Alice's relationship with her mother. You will flip between present time (Alice in Africa researching elephants) and past time (Alice's memories of growing up with her mother). There are some nice connections between elephant memory and human relationship.

You will learn so much about elephants while reading the novella. It was really very fascinating, but also so sad how we disrespect the animal kingdom for the sake of greed.

A favorite passage comes from a reflection Alice has on motherhood, which is oh so true for young mother's everywhere:

"There is a reason people say being a mother is the hardest job in the world: You do not sleep and you do not get vacation time. You do not leave your work on your desk at the end of the day. Your briefcase is your heart, and you are rifling through it constantly. Your office is as wide as the world, and your punch card is measured not in hours but in a lifetime."

I was in the mood for a brief, but interesting read, and this fit the bill.

I will be looking forward to the sequel Leaving Time: A Novel.



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