THE PACT

A  Love Story

By Jodi Picoult

BY Tom B. Stephenson

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Let us embrace

And from this very moment

Vow an eternal misery together

THOMAS OTWAY

  This book has a fatal flaw from the get-go!  The mother of the prime protagonist is named Augusta Harte, referred to as “GUS”.  I have known many folks called Gus, but invariably they have been male, never female.  Throughout the narrative, Gus pops up, startling me.

Otherwise, the story is an intriguing one throughout, with much of a legal nature that is difficult to understand, and probably comprehendible only to those with a legalistic framework.  I found much to question, however, as to admissibility of court room procedures.  I can not imagine a judge who, in presiding over his court, munches on almonds in shells, and spitting the hulls openly!  “ The only caveat to a case with Judge Puckett was his affinity for almonds which he kept  in glass jars on  his desk in both  the courtroom  and chambers, and cracked open loudly with his teeth.”  In New Hampshire yet!

The principle characters are a very young couple, born nearly at the same time, and relates their growing up years together.  The boy becomes a championship swimmer, and the girl a promising painter.  She, unfortunately, has a suicide fetish, and together they manage to kill her.  It is not clear to the authorities nor families what happened to who, but the young fellow is brought to trial, and much of the tale relates to his apprehension, detention and imprisonment.    Not for the faint of heart, but a moving story of young love which I am pleased not to have had happen to me!