Songs of the Humpback Whale
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| Songs of the Humpback Whale | |
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| Author | Jodi Picoult |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Family saga novel |
| Publisher | Allen & Unwin |
| Publication date | 1991 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 352 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0743431014 |
Songs of the Humpback Whale (1991) is the debut novel of Jodi Picoult. It is about a woman who chooses to leave her emotionally abusive and distant husband behind in favor of drivnig across the country from San Diego, California to live with her brother in Massachusetts. Her teenage daughter chooses to come with her.
[edit] Plot summary
Jane Jones, a speech pathologist, has been married to Oliver for almost twenty years. Together, they have a teenage daughter named Rebecca. Oliver, a world-reknowned marine biologist, has a history of being emotionally abusive and unavilable. After an argument that culminated in Jane slapping Oliver, Jane calls her older brother, Joley, who is living and working on an apple orchard in Massachusetts. Through a series of letters, he guides her across the country until they are reunited.
The orchard is owned by Sam, who employs and lodges his friend Hadley, as well as Jane's brother Joley. Soon, Jane and Sam begin an affair, and a relationship develops between Rebecca and Hadley. This is controversial, because Hadley is 25 and Rebecca is 15.
Eventually, Oliver is able to track Jane and Rebecca to the orchard. He arrives there with the intention of bringing them back to San Diego. However, Rebecca, afraid of being separated from Hadley, runs away with him to his mother's house. They are discovered one morning on top of a mountain and confronted by Oliver, along with Sam and Joley. Hadley falls from the mountain to his death. Sick with pneumonia from spending the night outside, Rebecca has no choice but to return to the farm.
Confronted with the consequences of her actions, Jane has to decide what is better for her and her daughter.
[edit] Narrative style
Songs of the Humpback Whale is told in five voices. It uses the alternating narrator style that Picoult employs in My Sister's Keeper, in which characters take turns narrating chapters.
[edit] See also
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