The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Unexpected! This story of historical fiction describing the events of the Holocaust through the survivor’s tale was brilliant! This book was amazing in every aspect of the word so my review is a long one! The story was haunting, hopeful, scary and moving. It reminded me of the first book we read together, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Not only do they have the same historical base but they are stunning in their portrayal of morality and survival.
The Storyteller is a story within a story within another story. The intricacies of the characters was evident from the first page. Sage’s character had me invested in her story from the beginning with the mystery of her scar and the mystery surrounding her grief. The introduction of Josef only added to the intrigue with his saintly demeanor and request to die. But to review this book, I feel that I need to address the characters individually because they are each written with substantial, intricate and complicated details. They each deserve our attention.
MINKA:
Oh Minka! This character really doesn’t make her presence known in this book until almost halfway through. But her story is rapturous and beautiful, even at its worst. I imagine her story is more common in this ugly history of our world than we can imagine. A smart and educated young Jewish girl who becomes enveloped in the fight between good and evil, life and death. Minka is the candle that burns brightest and they all follow her lead. She reflects on her survival of the Holocaust in Poland as if it happened to someone else: “When I got here, to America, this is when my life began…Everything before …well, that happened to a different person. (page 67)” Because really, all of those horrid events happened to a young innocent person. Freedom happened to the starved prisoner who did everything she could to survive.
Two of the best quotes in this book come from Minka and they are two things that should be contemplated. First, she says “It is probably the hardest thing to understand: how even horror can become commonplace. (page 259)” It is in her description of the Upior (Polish for vampire), or Nazi regime, that she makes this statement that seems to encompass all bad things…we get used to them. Minka makes this statement as the Polish people begin to see Nazi brutality on a daily basis and begin to no longer be shocked by its existence. The second quote that impacted me was when Minka asks the reader: “If you had to pack your whole life into a suitcase…what would you take? (page 270)” It’s a question I cannot answer. I think the obvious things but then I think, my memories are what would carry me through, just like Minka’s did.
Minka’s tragedies are many. Her family is moved from their home to the Polish ghetto for the Jews. Her mother is taken away and killed. Her brother in law is killed. But there are two scenes that took my breath away. One was when the Nazis are searching for children to kill and she hides her sister and nephew. This sliver of the story was heartbreaking because just as you think that they have dodged death, it comes right back to them. “Majer wasn’t coughing anymore. He wasn’t screaming. But my sister, looking down at her son’s blue lips and empty eyes, was. (page 263)” I did not see this coming at all and it shocked me so much to read the words that I went back several times to make sure I read it correctly. I couldn’t believe that this tragic story could get worse, except to have Minka’s sister commit suicide. The second scene that was emotionally charged was when Minka is sorting through the suitcases and finds her father’s. She had described him as: “He was tall and strong and invincible. The real joke was that my father was too full of life to ever die. (page 197)” And Minka had believed that after they were separated, that he was still alive until she opened his suitcase and realized he was truly gone. “There is a reason the word history has, at its heart, the narrative of one’s life. I buried my face in the wool and started to sob, rocking back and forth, even though I knew I was going to attract the attention of the guards. My father had trusted me with the details of his death, and in the end, I was too late….Do it, I thought. Take me, too. (page 287)” Everyone was gone. It would be hard to imagine a reason to keep living if everything had been taken from you.
JOSEF/FRANZ/REINER:
The beginning of the book introduces us to an old German man who has been a pillar of the community. He has given back to his town in America as a Good Samaritan and neighbor. His reputation is virtuous. Then there is the juxtaposition of the Hartman brothers who are growing up in a time of German patriotism and loyalty. They are forced into a world that they cannot avoid, one brother is more accepting of this fate, while the other is reluctant but knows he must comply in order to survive. “Any military man will tell you that the way to pull a divided group together is to give them a common enemy. (page 113). While one brother, Reiner says: “I was only following orders. (page 138)” Franz reminds him: “Don’t forget where you came from…you don’t have to listen to what they say. Well, maybe that’s not true. But, you don’t have to believe it. (page 146)”
There are three haunting scenes from the Hartman brothers stories. The first is when Reiner commits his first killing. He is not remorseful or apologetic. He is merely forthright and justified. “Say what you will about the inhumanity of the SS-TV during the invasion of Poland, but I gave that woman her baby before we marched her off. (page 148)” The second scene is a description of the firing squads: “To look down and see your friends and your relatives, dying an instant before you. To take your place between the twitching limbs of the wounded, and wait for your moment. To feel the blast of the bullet, and then the heaviness of a stranger falling on top of you. To think like this was to think that we were killing other humans, ad to us, they could not be humans. Because then what did that say about us? (page 156)” The poignant moment is the description of the young man who “lifted his hand and pointed at himself. In perfect German, he said, neunzehn. Nineteen. (page 149)” Nothing could be more haunting except for the third scene. When Reiner describes the killing of the mother and child. He tells us that the mother consoles her daughter by singing to her and as they are shot: “That’s when I heard the little girl, still singing. (page 160)” Was it his imagination? Was it his guilt? Or was she still alive?
THE UPIOR:
In Polish, Upior means vampire or ghost. The Upior is Minka’s tale about a vampire who doesn’t want to kill contrary to his brother who needs to kill. It is a metaphor for what is happening Minka’s world. Could it be that Minka has been describing Franz and Reiner in her tale? She calls the Upior: “A monster with remorse. (page 317)” Isn’t that what Franz is to Minka? Doesn’t he treat her with kindness in a relationship where she is the prisoner and he is her guard? He imprisons her and others but also rescues her on two occasions from being killed. Is it for his own sake? Yes, but also I think that he is intrigues by her and she reminds him of when he was a young, normal, and educated German boy. And Minka states that she also must remind herself that he is the bad guy. “Sometimes all it takes to become human again is someone who can see you that way, no matter how you present on the surface. (page 350)” Both Minka and Franz are in this conundrum. Minka is the victim and Franz is the trapped antagonist.
SAGE:
Sage is a person trapped in her own self-effacing world. She is introverted in the beginning but her relationship with Josef brings her courage out just in time to discover a history and truth that lived within her own family. This story of good versus evil encompasses her family and includes Josef, whether by coincidence or by design. As Minka begins to tell her story, Sage becomes an empowered protagonist and ally to her grandmother. She seeks to protect her and understand her. “When a freedom is taken away from you, I suppose, you recognize it as a privilege, not a right. (page 366)” Through Minka’s story, Sage is able to recall her grandmothers actions in the past and she can now reconcile them to actions of a survivor.
Sage has a profound choice to make in this book. She becomes her grandmother’s protector but she is also Josef’s confidante. She has an inner struggle to keep the two separated despite their obvious conjoined history. When Josef confesses to Sage that “I knew you would be upset…But you were not my first choice. (page 408)” It seems that Josef has pursued Sage’s family to seek forgiveness and peace. But, the question becomes: is Sage qualified or willing to give Josef/Franz the forgiveness he seeks? Sage’s boss gives the best rationale for forgiveness when she states: “What he did was wrong. He doesn’t deserve your love. But he does deserve your forgiveness, because otherwise he will grow like a weed in your heart until it’s choked and overrun. The only person who suffers, when you squirrel away all that hate, is you….I don’t know what this person did to you, and I am not sure I want to. But forgiving isn’t something you do for someone else. It’s something you do for yourself. It’s saying, you’re not important enough to have a stranglehold on me. It’s saying, you don’t get to trap me in the past. I am worthy of a future. (page 451)” Forgiveness is not something to withhold unless we want it to bind us forever.
The book begins with these two lost people who need each other to move forward. “Loneliness is a mirror, and recognizes itself. (page 37)” Josef has no one left in his life and neither does Sage. They are two humans who are truly alone even though they still seem to maintain their façades. Loneliness is what binds them and brings them together but it is history and forgiveness that set them free. “Nobody who looks at a shard of flint lying beneath a rock ledge, or who finds a splintered log by the side of the road would ever find magic in their solitude. But in the right circumstances, if you bring them together, you can start a fire that consumes the world. (page 434)” Minka says it best when she explains why she has kept this secret and never published her story: “I know how powerful a story can be. It can save a life. But it can also be a sinkhole, a quick-sand in which you become stuck, unable to write yourself free…Truth is so much harder than fiction. (page 357)” The story was never published but how many people did it save as she retold it during the war? “Sometimes all you need to live one more day is a good reason to stick around. (page 299)” And, a reason to ask “WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?”
Who is the “Storyteller”? Minka? Sage? Josef? Why?
Who was Josef? Did you think he was Franz or Reiner or both? Were you convinced in the end?
Why did Josef choose to be Reiner instead of Franz?
There is a point in the book where Minka says she never saw Franz again after he shipped her away from Auschwitz, do you think he looked for her so he would know how the Upior story ends?
Is it really possible that Josef kept his true identity from his wife? Is it possible to keep a secret this great from your family? Do you equivocate Josef keeping his past hidden to Minka keeping hers hidden? Why or why not?
Do we try to reinvent ourselves after catastrophic events in our lives? Why?
Why do you think that Josef chose Sage to confess to and to ask for help in dying? Was it coincidence?
What do you think is the symbolism in Sage baking God into a loaf of bread?
Is Minka’s turning point the kiss with Josek at the café right before the SS soldiers take him away? Or was it before that?
What did you think when Josef presented his SS photo to Sage? Is this his dramatic explanation for why he should be dead? Did you believe him?
How devastating was it that Minka finds Darija in Auschwitz only to have her killed in front of her?
Did learning fluent German help or hinder Minka’s survival?
What was the purpose of Minka’s boots given to her by her father and what was the purpose of the Christian papers from Josek? Why didn’t she use them?
The deaths of Minka’s mother and sister are incredibly dramatic, why? Why was her father’s death so lackluster? Was Minka immune to the devastation or had he been preparing her for it inevitability?
What do you think was the purpose of the story of the Upior? What was it mirroring?
So, if you had to pack your whole life into a suitcase, what would you take?
This was my first Jodi Picoult read and I found it to be both thought provoking and moving. The Holocaust and most all history categories have interested me…to a point of obsession.
When I first met Sage, I was not impressed with this self-effacing, aloof young lady. She did not seem to have a clue about life but the author made her seem so much older and mature than she really was. However, as the book progressed I started to see a bright, loving and patient girl, and I started to fall in love with this character. Someone who was so protective of her grandmother inspired me and stirred me with emotion.
One of the first compelling quotes in the book was when Sage was first talking with Josef about ending his life. She finally understood where he was coming from and realized, “When your existence is hell, death must be heaven.”
Minka was a beautiful storyteller and writer. When she started speaking publicly for the first time a young boy stood up and told her, “The Holocaust never happened.” Minka could barely contain herself because she knew what she went through and she certainly was not going to let it all be erased by some hippie, young kid. She told Sage that she should have told him, “History tells us that six million Jews disappeared during that war. If there was no Holocaust, where did they go?” I read that sentence a dozen times, because it is so hard to believe that that many people were killed so senselessly.
I found the Hauptscharfuhrer and Minka’s relationship to be so interesting. I love that she was reading to him each day and that he was so fascinated by her writing. When they both get to the intimate part of the book, which is really only a kiss, he says, “Fascinating, to think of violence being just as intimate as love.” This is a sign of a great writer, for Minka was able to talk about Aleksander’s graphic exploits, but still embarrass the Hauptscharfuher, as if it had sexual connotations.
When Minka escaped, she was bathed and taken care of by the farmer’s wife. When she was washed, hair brushed and dressed in clean clothing she said, “Sometimes all it takes to become human again is someone who can see you that way, no matter how you present on the surface.” Oh, to even imagine what she must have looked like to bring tears to the eyes of the farmer’s wife is, well, just incomprehensible.
I, too, have always dreamed of becoming a writer and it is because of this desire that I found Minka’s words about writing so enthralling. “The weapons an author has as her disposal are flawed. There are words that feel shapeless and overused. Love, for example. I could write the word love a thousand times and it would mean a thousand different things to different readers. What is the point of trying to put down on paper emotions that are too complex, too huge, too overwhelming to be confined by an alphabet?” She is so inspiring…
The ending, well, it was as staunch as you can imagine. I honestly think the author should have just stopped with Sage going to Josef’s house without telling us what her decision was. I did not want Sage to cross that line and have to live with any regret. However, we may not have found out about the incredible plot twist with its crushing ending.
This was also my first book by the author and I have to say I am impressed. This book was so thought provoking and it was such a great look inside this horrible time in history. I think Ms. Picoult truly depicted the feelings and travesty of this time. It is such a different style and beautifully written book about a subject we’ve read about so many times.
I loved your statement: “Oh, to even imagine what she must have looked like to bring tears to the eyes of the farmer’s wife is, well, just incomprehensible.” You’re so right! It was like the farmers wife was finally seeing what the Germans were doing to the Jews. It was finally real to her and it was horrific. I was grateful that the author showed that there were compassionate people still living in Germany who might not have agreed with the genocide being inflicted on the Jewish people.
I’m glad that you came to love Sage. I liked her from the beginning but you’re right that she became such a strong character by the end of the book that you just wanted her to make the right decision. I’m still not sure if what she did was right but she had already found her own peace so I think she was allowing Josef his peace as well.
Do you think you’ll read another book by Jody Picoult? I really enjoyed her writing style.
So this was one of my favorites… so well written, stories within stories and plots that weaved into others… so good! Loved all of it and such a development as you kept reading.
I think everyone was a storyteller. I think anyone who has a story to tell is a storyteller. I think Sage was the backbone and Minka and Josef brought their own stories to it. It was definitely interesting to see the many perspectives between the storytellers and to see that it was all eventually connected.
For Josef, I thought he was Reiner for a while and then I kept going back and forth. It was a great mystery in the end and when Minka was telling the story of her time in the Holocaust, I kept changing my mind. I think I was in shock when Minka identified him. I was hoping he was Franz and he would be seen as a “good guy” by Sage, as someone that treated her grandmother as best he could under the circumstances. I think he chose Reiner so that he would be seen as the bad brother and that Sage would want to kill him, and he would ultimately get his wish.
I do think he looked for her maybe because of the book, but also because I think he genuinely cared for her. I really do think he tried his best to take care of her, but still maintain his SS officer ways. I think he loved that she wrote the book and that she had an intellect that kept him interested. I also think the he saw himself in that book and ultimately wanted to know the ending so he could maybe see how she saw him.
I do think Josef kept his identity solely to himself. I think he really started believing he was this upstanding citizen. I think when you lie to so many people and for so long, you start believing your lie. You have to live the lie that you’re telling and somehow you become the lie. I think in the back of his head he always knew the truth but day to day he thought of himself as Josef. I think Minka and Josef kept their pasts hidden for a reason, his being not to let people know what he had done and her’s because she didn’t want to relive it by telling the story. I think something like that makes you want to erase the memories and the hardship. If you already went through, why would you want to remember it over and over again!?!
I think depending on the event, you either hide it or live with it deep in your heart and mind. I think that you’ll never forget, but as time goes on you become someone else, whether you’re lying or the event made you stronger. Big events in life change you whether you learn a lesson from it, regret what happened or want to change what happened. I think it’s natural.
Sometimes I think Josef looked for her. I think he even followed Minka to this town and then wanted to get the mother to kill him and when she was gone, then he turned to Sage, the next best thing. For some weird reason this is my feeling on this. But then I go back to just thinking he met a Jewish girl and thought “Oh maybe she can kill me so that it’s payback.”
I really don’t know what the meaning was behind the loaf of bread with God in it. It seemed to be a distraction from the story for me. It seemed it could have been an enlightenment, but I’m still not sure how to see it.
I think Minka was always strong and the true backbone of her family, but the kiss at the cafe was a definite eye opener for her. I think she realized just how ruthless the Germans were and to have feelings for someone and have to run away to save herself was probably the theme to her life. She was so caring for others, but along the way, she’s had to be selfish in order to keep herself going. She needed to save herself in order to help others.
When Josef showed the photo to Sage, it was I think his ultimate proof of his prior life and true identity. I think he wanted her to see exactly what and who he was so that she never had a doubt about his stories. I think this was the last attempt at making her hate him enough to help end his life. I did believe him because if he was lying, he would have had any proof.
When Darija was killed, it was really devastating. I think to have someone you know in the same situation as yourself and probably the last person you know from your prior life, to see them die right next to you is something that can never be forgotten. I think it’s just a symbol of the Nazi regime… they give you just enough (food, water, clothing, etc.) and then they show you that they can take it away in an instant. I think it was a mind game, even if not to the Germans.
I think knowing German saved her life. I think the Germans see someone as intelligent if they know German and somewhat of an ally in a way. I think it helped with her relationship with Franz and why he protected her and helped her. I also think she was able to understand them when they spoke so she was more aware than the others at the camps.
The boots and the Christian papers were just proof that she had opportunities to run but instead stayed with the others, staying with her family and also the rest of the Jewish people. I think she knew she had these items (the papers and money in the boots) to escape if she needed to, but she wouldn’t abandon those close to her. She was a true heroine and suffered for a purpose.
I think her father dying was just the last nail in the coffin. I think at some point in this situation, you get used to death and ultimately it’s so final, that there is nothing you can do about it. I think she knew that little by little she’d be left with no one. I also think since she was so close to her father, that it was just sad, lacking the climactic element of her mother and sister.
The Upior was the story of the Nazi soldiers. She saw them as monsters and then eventually it mirrored Reiner and Franz in a way. I think it was her way of telling the story of her life in the camps without actually telling it and naming names. I think this was her version and I think that’s why the ending was such an important topic… to see how it all ends in her eyes.
Tough question… I don’t have a lot of possessions that mean a lot to me so I think I would pack things that could help me. Not pictures or articles of clothing, but things that I could use if I escaped or money if I needed to pay off someone for freedom. I do think that as a society now, we think how dumb to pack a picture frame, but at that time, they didn’t know what the future held and what would help them. They just thought they were being moved and were going to be living somewhere else. I think your memories are what keep you alive and your strength that gets you through hard times, not a suitcase of things.
Loved, loved, loved this book! Great choice and what a weave of events and stories that really were all so well connected!
I am so happy to read your comments. I can tell that you loved this book just as much as I did! You’re right, this book weaves so many stories together and brings them together with meaning and purpose. Every element of this book brings us to the culmination of these characters making amends and finding their peace.
Your statement: “I think everyone was a storyteller. I think anyone who has a story to tell is a storyteller.” It is so true. We do all have a story to tell. Some more dramatic that others and some more simple but we do all have a story. I think that every one of these characters was the storyteller of their life and their truth. We cannot know what it was like to be against the SS and have to work for them for survival. I’m not condoning Franz’s actions but he did what he had to do to survive. Minka did what she had to do by sharing her Upior story with her fellow prisoners and her keeper. Her storytelling kept her alive. Sage’s story was one of survival as well but it was her ability to overcome a physical scar that was her story. She was integral in bringing Minka, Josef and her stories to light.
You said that you think the story of the Upior is the story of the Nazis and Franz and Josef, but how do you think she was able to start writing this story prior to the war? I see the foreshadowing by the author here but why do you think the author gave Minka’s storytelling so much forethought and insight for what was to come?
I don’t know what I would take either. Nothing that I cherish would help me in that situation. For practicality, I would choose the money and the Christian documents. But, Minka had them and still didn’t use them. I think she thought that she would die with the others and that there was no surviving this nightmare.
I really enjoyed Ms. Picoult’s writing style. Do you think you’ll read another book written by her?
I think starting the story prior to the war was probably a normal monster story that she embellished from time to time and made as horrendous as she could imagine. Once the war started, I think she was able to fill the pages with actual events and characters that she met. Or she could have been writing about her greatest fear, and then the fear became her reality??? I just see so much of a resemblance in the war and her Upior story that it’s so hard not to think that they’re each others mirror in a way. Not sure if I mentioned this prior, but I do think that’s where the interest in the story came from, to see how she saw him. He wanted to see if he was liked, when everyone else hated him.
I do think I’ll read another one of her books. I think the story was amazing, but the writing was incredible and made it that much more fascinating.
Great insight with your statement: “writing about her greatest fear, and then the fear became her reality???” I feel like she did come up with this creative way of projecting her fears and then the fear became reality! It explains how the story detailed that her father was the baker and that a monster came and killed him. And you touched on the point that when she starts “mirroring” life in her story, she starts reflecting the characters feelings towards the monster. So yes, Josef/Franz is wanting to know how he is truly viewed because he sees himself in Alexander and the Nazis in the Upior too. I think it also shows our limits in our ages and experiences. As a girl writing the story, she was limited in her descriptions and events in her story but as her life became more complex, she was able to give greater detail and deeper emotions transpired in the story. They say you should write about what you know. At the beginning Minka writes a mellow tale of small fears but by the time the war is over, Minka has written a truely gruesome and scary tale.
I agree that Jodi Picoult’s writing is so detailed and engaging. I will probably read more from her too!
I’m sorry this entry is so late.
This book is fabulous. I read it in July and it is now October and I still think about it regularly. It was very difficult to read; the writing was excellent, but the topics were difficult and challenging. Mankind is capable of some of the worst atrocities and a lot of occurred during the Holocaust.
This is also difficult to write because there were parts of this book that resonated with me deeply. One of the main characters, Sage, has a large scar on her face that has made her extremely self-conscious and has turned her into a social recluse. Good portions of the book are devoted to this and describe the internal torment Sage has gone through and how it has impacted her life. I have had a facial deformity since I was 17 and it has impacted my life in immeasurable ways–mostly negative ones. Six surgeries and many years later I am at a point where I am able talk about it and address it. And like Sage at the end of “The Storyteller” I am in a place in my life where my physical imperfections no longer define me. Reading about Sage’s transformation through the book was cathartic for me.
In my opinion, Minka is the “Storyteller,” who weaves the story of the Upior into her life in a Nazi concentration camp to provide the prisoners with a distraction.
I believe Josef was really Franz, but choose to pretend to be Reiner in order to pay for both of their sins. Josef/Franz must have been looking for Minka, because it is too coincidental that they both end up in the same place. How is that possible? I believe deep down that Josef/Franz chose Sage deliberately because he knew she was related to Minka.
I think it is possible that Josef did keep his true identity from his wife. It is certainly possible to keep secrets from others in an attempt to lead a different life. This is often the case with serial killers–their immediate friends and family have no idea the double life they are actually leading. I definitely do not equivocate Josef keeping his past hidden to Minka keeping hers hidden. Their reasons for keeping their past a secret were vastly different. Josef’s past life was kept hidden in order to evade capture and arrest. The result was the he never paid for his crimes. He was responsible for thousands of people being murdered and was never brought to justice. Minka, conversely, kept her past a secret as a coping mechanism to forget all of the trauma she both witnessed and experienced.
Like Sage, Josef/Franz and Minka, I think we do try to reinvent ourselves after catastrophic events in our lives. I think we do it both as a coping mechanism, as well as a form of adaptation. Almost a “survival of the fittest” response.
This book was riveting. I definitely look forward to reading more of Jodi Picoult’s books in the future!
I think about this book too! This one and the Boy in the Stripped Pajamas. Maybe its that they hold a fable like tale in them based on a historical truth. Maybe its the ability of the characters to really become beloved people to us. I have always had a special interest in the Holocaust and no matter how many stories or books I read about it, I still cannot imagine the hell that millions of people were put through. This book was a beautiful tribute to the survivors and to those who perished. I was such a perfect combination of strength, weakness, bravery, fear, survival and defeat. You can’t have one without the other and this book was all of it!
Your statement: “I think we do try to reinvent ourselves after catastrophic events in our lives. I think we do it both as a coping mechanism, as well as a form of adaptation. Almost a “survival of the fittest” response.” It encapsulates all of our feelings of dealing with adversity. Although this book is the most extreme of events, the coping mechanisms are no different than any other loss of life or taking of life. I also think that Josef was trying to pay for his and his brothers sins. Reiner would have never repented so Franz had to repent for both.
Thank you for sharing your “scar” with us. I’m glad that you found catharsis in Sage and that you have found your confidence! Sage was a great narrator and served as a great instrument to the evolution of the story. She unraveled the story and found that she had nothing to hide. It was a wonderful story and I think Piccoult will be on our future reading list!