Plain Truth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the magazine of the same name see The Plain Truth.
| Plain Truth | |
 Plain Truth |
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| Author | Jodi Picoult |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Washington Square Press |
| Publication date | April 3, 2001 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 432 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-671-77613-4 |
Plain Truth is a novel written by Jodi Picoult about a murder on an Amish farm. The book tells the story of how a dead infant found on an Amish farm shakes the entire community. An eighteen year old, unmarried Amish girl, Katie Fisher, is determined to be the mother.As the police investigate the death, they discover that the baby was not stillborn, but that it died a short time after being born, suffocated, and cloth fibers are found in it's mouth and throat. Katie is accused of neonaticide: the murder of her newborn infant. Ellie Hathaway is the attorney who is assigned to Katie's case, and she must learn the culture and way of the "plain" people in order to gain Katie's trust and find out what really happened.
A doctor determines that the infant was born premature due to a bacteria that can cause, among other things, the suffocation of the newborn baby, which Katie contracted from drinking unpasteurized milk. After weeks of delibneration in which the jury fails to come to a verdict, Katie pleads no contest, and is placed in an electronic monitoring program, allowing her to live at home while she serves her sentence. in the end Katie's mother, Sara Fisher gives Ellie the scizzors which had been used to cut the umbilical cord, revealing that she knew Katie was pregnant and had gone to her the night she gave birth, though Katie didn't know it. whether she killed the baby or merely hid it, planning to 'find' it the next morning, is not revealed.
[edit] Characters
- Ellie Hathaway, a 39 year old lawyer. Katie is distantly related to her.
- Katie Fisher, an unmarried 18 year old Amish farm girl. She is the main focus of the story. After having a baby, she pushes it from her mind and is accused of murdering it.
- Coop, Ellie's ex-boyfriend, a psychiatrist. But ends up making love to her in several parts of the book.
- Jacob Fisher, Katie's older brother. He was excommunicated from his church for continuing schooling and giving up his Amish ways.
- Aaron Fisher, Katie's father. He owns the dairy farm. He is extremely rigid in his views on his religion, not wanting to do anything to go against it whatsoever.
- Sarah Fisher, Katie's mother. She truly loves her children, and would do anything for them, though she must follow her husband's belief system in order not to go against the church.
- Adam Sinclair, a friend of Jacob's in college. He lets Jacob rent out his apartment while he's in Scotland for work. He is the father of Katie's baby. He also a Casanova type character.
- Samuel Stoltzfus, an Amish boy who works for Aaron Fisher. He is Katie's boyfriend, and loves her very much.
- Leda, Katie's aunt and Sarah Fisher's sister who was once excommunicated and now serves as the Fishers' confidant (Except for Aaron Fisher).
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
In 2004, the Lifetime television network debuted the Plain Truth movie, starring Mariska Hargitay as the attorney Ellie Hathaway and Alison Pill as accused and disowned Amish girl Katie Fisher.
[edit] External links
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