The City and The City

“It was, not surprisingly that day perhaps, hard to observe borders, to see and unsee only what I should, on my way home. I was hemmed in by people not in my city, walking slowly through areas crowded but not crowded in Beszel. I focused on the stones really around me--cathedrals, bars, the brick flourishes of what had been a school--that I had grown up with. I ignored the rest or tried.”

The picture interprets the quote by showing the people walking by who are uninvolved with the game going on around them. The people in bandannas are ignoring those walking by and vice versa. The girls walking toward each other step out of the way of one another without acknowledging the other. The people walking by are reacting to the others, but they are not interacting or even seeming to notice them. The two groups focus on their surroundings without noticing each other, just as those in the novel do.

Predictable

Upon finishing House Rules, I can't say much more than "predictable." I think I knew exactly what happened to Jess around page 200...yet the story continued on for over 500 pages. Theo basically told us exactly what happened when he said Jess got out of the shower and he had time to run away before she ever caught up. Then, in the court room it was explained that Jess's injury could come from a hard fall or a very powerful punch to the face... considering she was getting out of the shower in a hurry, which makes more sense?

Predictability aside, I enjoyed the story and its characters. I don't think each of the characters had a "distinguished voice," but they did have different thoughts and personalities that were easy to relate with. Actually, if each chapter wasn't headed by a different name and written in a different font, I'm not sure that I would have known they were being told by different characters. I think Picoult attempted to make Jacob's voice display his Asperger's, and at some points it may have, but overall I didn't see much different in his language than anyone else's.

After researching others' opinions on the accuracy of Asperger's in House Rules, I have determined that Jacob possess quirks that those with Asperger's have; however, normal people do not have ALL of the symptoms like Jacob does. Picoult took her research and applied every single observation she found to her character, without realizing that normal aspies only possess a few quirks each, and they definitely don't have them all to the extreme that Jacob does. One reviewer who has Asperger's herself commented that Picoult gives Jacob the problems of a child with Asperger's, but an 18 year old with Asperger's would in fact be quite different than a child. She notes that many people grow out of the tantrums and meltdowns after childhood, whereas Jacob is 18 and has a meltdown nearly every day. On the other hand, I praise Picoult for doing so much research on real aspies, even if it did cause her to overload her fictional character.

Overall, I would recommend House Rules for a casual read because it is interesting; however, if you are looking for a real mystery, this is not your book.

House Rules

From the first page of Jodi Picoult's House Rules, I have been hooked. If the book wasn't over 500 pages, I would finish it all now. Regardless, I am enthralled by Jacob, the teenage crime scene enthusiast with Asberger's syndrome, and his literal reasoning and the complexities of the Hunt family.

Jodi Picoult writes the novel from every character's point of view. The characters alternate narrating the chapters, each even uses a different font. By using this narration style, the reader is able to see how each of the characters think so differently about the same situations. Because Jacob has Asberger's, it is eye-opening for the reader to be able to see first hand how he thinks rather than just how another person sees him react. The many narrations also show how each character seems to have something to hide. Jacob and Theo, Jacob's younger brother, know something more about the murder of Jess, Jacob's social skills teacher. Neither of them are able to verbalize what they have seen or done, whether by choice or not. Theo also holds in his jealousy and anger at his brother. Though he loves Jacob because he is his brother and he has to, he hates to admit that life would be so much easier and better for him if Jacob were gone. Oliver Bond, Jacob's young lawyer, has his insecurities to hide. He actually has not had much practice in law, other than a few civil cases. Jacob's mother, Emma, seems to be holding in the most. On the outside she is a strong and loving mother of two very different boys, but on the inside she is worried that she is losing control, and even that she will not have enough money to support her family.

House Rules is a very easy to read mystery. So far all evidence points to Jacob as the killer of Jess, but I just know that can't be the case. Because his literal answers keep interfering with the reality of what happened that day, I'm sure it will be a while until we figure out who really killed Jess. Until then, I'll keep going over scenarios in my head of how the Hunt family can all be innocent.

Focus on Deconstruction

As we discussed in class, civil justice versus loyalty is an opposition encompassed by the entire novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Overall, it seems that the novel stands for justice because the plot follows two investigative journalists and a private detective; all who desire to bring justice to the eye of the public. Erika and Blomkvist honor and uphold justice, which is the reason they created The Millennium, a political magazine renowned for its honest and ethical standpoint. Lisbeth is a private investigator who is loyal to no one. She seeks personal justice for each wrong that is done to her, be it rape or being too interested in her personal life. The storyline is guided by Henrik Vanger who never seizes to seek justice for the wrongful murder of young Harriet Vanger.

Since justice seems to be the fuel for the novel’s action, loyalty is that much more accentuated when it wins over the characters. The most noteworthy example of loyalty over justice occurs after Lisbeth and Blomkvist solve the mystery of Harriet and the dark Vanger family secret. Blomkvist, compelled by his journalistic ethical codes, is prepared to finish the Vanger family chronicle and expose Martin and Gottfried to the media in order to bring justice to all of the unnoticed deaths of innocent women. As a reporter, Blomkvist feels that the families of the deceased women deserve to know the circumstances surrounding their disappearance. Also, Martin and Gottfried deserve punishment, even if it is just the public knowledge of their wrongdoings after their deaths. On the contrary, upon finding out the reality of Harriet’s disappearance, Vanger calls the family chronicle off and dismisses Blomkvist from his contract immediately. Despite his lifelong search for justice, his loyalty to the Vanger family name overrides. Eventually Blomkvist is swayed by his loyalty to Harriet and Vanger, but Blomkvist knows that justice is the ethical choice because he is ashamed to tell Erika of the secrets he has agreed to keep. The Vanger’s are not the only characters who depart from justice on the matter, however. Lisbeth is the first to urge Blomkvist not to call the police once he escapes from Martin’s death trap. Though Lisbeth knows that the severity of the situation requires attention, she is persuaded by her own self interest. She will not let Blomkvist alert the police because she does not want to deal with her personal conflicts.