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The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult, George Guidall (Narrated by)
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(Compact Disc - Unabridged, 13 CDs, 15 hours)
Average Customer Rating: 
(215 ratings)
- Publisher: Recorded Books, LLC
- Pub. Date: October 2005
- ISBN-13: 9781419361456
- Sales Rank: 62,897
- 13pp
- Edition Description: Unabridged, 13 CDs, 15 hours
- Other Formats:
- Paperback
- Mass Market Paperback - Reprint
Synopsis
From Jodi Picoult, one of the most powerful writers in contemporary fiction, comes a riveting, timely, heartbreaking, and terrifying novel of families in anguish -- and friendships ripped apart by inconceivable violence. Until the phone calls came at 3:00 A.M. on a November morning, the Golds and their neighbors, the Hartes, had been inseparable. It was no surprise to anyone when their teenage children, Chris and Emily, began showing signs that their relationship was moving beyond that of lifelong friends. But now seventeen-year-old Emily has been shot to death by her beloved and devoted Chris as part of an apparent suicide pact -- leaving two devastated families stranded in the dark and dense predawn, desperate for answers about an unthinkable act and the children they never really knew.
The New York Times Book Review - Megan Harlan
Picoult suggests the subtle ways in which parents can place dangerous pressures on their children.
More Reviews and RecommendationsBiography
Known for expertly blending provocative themes with family conflicts and difficult moral choices, Jodi Picoult keeps her readers riveted with heartfelt yet impeccably researched novels, like the richly suspenseful Second Glance and the poignant and controversial family drama My Sister's Keeper.
More About the AuthorCustomer Reviews
Number of Reviews: 215
Average Rating:
Write a Review
a must read
A reviewer, a dancer, 07/01/2008
The Pact was the first book i read by this author, and i immediately went out to the bookstore and bought another one of her books when i finished reading The Pact. This book was insanely well written, and the story line is captivating.
A Must.
A reviewer, A reviewer, 06/24/2008
The Pact was the first Picoult book I've read and it still remains my favorite. The entire novel is grasping and it never fails to take abrupt, unexpected turns in the plot. It is a must read.
More Customer ReviewsFact File
Name:
Jodi Picoult
Current Home:
Hanover, New Hampshire
Date of Birth:
May 19, 1966
Place of Birth:
New York, New York
Education:
A.B. in Creative Writing, Princeton University; M.A. in Education, Harvard University
Awards:
New England Bookseller Award for Fiction, 2003; Romance Writers of America, “Best Mainstream Fiction Novel” (forSecond Glance), 2003
Biography
Born on Long Island, New York, Jodi Picoult was convinced that the tranquil, suburban setting offered no real inspiration to her for being a writer. There was no drama; just the daily grind of families living their lives. Eventually, though, the story of this challenge became the core of Picoult's bestselling novels.
Picoult studied creative writing at Princeton, and before she graduated, she had two short stories published in Seventeen magazine. This early success inspired Picoult to devote her life to writing. After college, she paid the bills with a series of copywriting and editing jobs, and she even taught eighth grade English. Marriage and children soon followed, and while she was pregnant with her first child, she wrote her first novel, Songs of the Humpback Whale, a remarkable tale told from five different points of view that heralded a bold new voice in fiction.
In subsequent novels -- including phenomenal bestsellers like My Sister's Keeper (2004) and Nineteen Minutes (2007) -- Picoult has mined the complex mysteries of everyday life: love, marriage, career, family. Faced with difficult, often painful moral choices, her characters struggle to find balance in an off-kilter world fraught with danger and shattered by terrible sociological ills like domestic violence, sexual abuse, and teen suicide. Though page-turners of the highest order, Picoult's stories avoid easy solutions and provoke thoughtful reading and animated discussion. Unsurprisingly, they are a favorite choice for book clubs.
From her web site, Picoult talks about the relationship between her family and her writing. "It took me a while to find the balance," Picoult says, "but I'm a better mother because I have my writing ... and I'm a better writer because of the experiences I've had as a parent that continually remind me how far we are willing to go for the people we love the most."Good to Know
"I've gone skydiving," she told us, "and I'd do it again -- if I didn't have kids.
Picoult and her family own two Jersey calves, named Decalf and Coffee.
On her official web site, Picoult reveals some fun and fascinating facts about herself, including:
Before becoming a novelist, Picoult worked at a two-person ad agency, where her main responsibility was "to keep the owner's wife from finding out he was sleeping with the freelance art director."
If she could invite anyone, living or dead, to a dinner party, Picoult's guest list would include Ernest Hemingway, Alice Hoffman, William Shakespeare, Mel Gibson, and Emeril Lagasse.
Other than writing, other talents of Picoult's include making Linzer tortes and broccoli soup, and childbirth. "I'm awfully good at giving birth -- quickly, no drugs, etc. -- though that definitely has a limited appeal," she quips.
Feature Interview
In the summer of 2004, Jodi Picoult took some time to talk with us about some of her favorite books, authors, and interests.
What was the book that most influenced your life or your career as a writer -- and why?
Gone With The Wind. I read it when I was twelve --I was a total dork, and memorized huge sweeping dialogues I could act out as both Scarlett and Rhett. But what stuck with me was the way Margaret Mitchell managed to create an entire world out of words. I thought, "I want to do that."
What are your favorite books, and what makes them special to you?
What are some of your favorite films, and what makes them unforgettable to you?
I was a sucker for Titanic -- I'd wake up for days after that, still thinking about the movie.
What types of music do you like? Is there any particular kind you like to listen to when you're writing?
Music is like Kryptonite for me, while I'm working -- I just can't listen to it and function creatively. However, I must have music blasting in my car. My favorite singer is Aimee Mann -- she's a songwriter with the heart of a poet. I also like Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Counting Crows, Ben Jelen, Howie Day, Shaun Colvin, Tori Amos, John Mayer, Eric Clapton, Mozart, and the Shrek soundtracks!
What are your favorite kinds of books to give -- and get -- as gifts?
Fiction. There's just nothing like a great novel -- it's an escape and a journey all wrapped up in one neat package.
Do you have any special writing rituals?
When I'm writing, I usually just park myself in my chair and write. I'll do it for hours at a time; my husband is fabulous enough to ferry me coffee or snacks during the day. My desk is usually a mess, covered with post-its and emails. On the hutch above my desk are five sterling silver letters: W, R, I, T, E -- so I don't forget what I'm supposed to be doing there, I guess. I have pictures of my children all over the place, and one of my husband and me in a hammock. And there are two fortune-cookie fortunes taped to my computer: "Be satisfied with one chapter at a time," and "Live a life that will give you great stories to tell." How cool are those?!
Many writers are hardly "overnight success" stories. How long did it take for you to get where you are today?
This year, when My Sister's Keeper reached number 11 on the New York Times bestseller list, a reporter asked me if it was my breakout book. I said that if it was, I had the slowest breakout on the planet. It's really been years of growing an audience, and having them pass the word along to their friends. Like many writers, it took me a long time to find an agent. I got hundreds of rejections, and finally, a woman who was just starting her own literary agency business said she believed she could represent me -- and I liked and trusted her. We've been together ever since. One of my favorite stories, however, involves a very high-powered, well-known literary agent who called my publicist a year ago. She wanted to fly me to New York for lunch, to "talk" about changing representation. I declined politely -- I was quite happy with my current agent, I said. And I'm quite sure this woman didn't remember that she was the very first agent to reject me 15 years ago, either!
What tips or advice do you have for writers still looking to be discovered?
Hang in there. Part of the battle is being one of the few still standing at the end. If you refuse to give up, eventually someone will take a second look at you and wonder why you think you're so good... and often a second look is all it takes.
What else would you like your readers to know?
When I'm not writing, I'm usually being a mom. I have three kids. Kyle's 13, a terrific pianist and a fencer; Jake is an 11 year old hockey goalie; and Sammy (Samantha) is 9, and -- go figure -- loves to write. If I am alone in the house and can convince myself not to work, you'll find me in the kitchen -- baking. Last year I took up ice hockey, which was pretty interesting because I don't know how to stop on hockey skates -- and this summer, I've been kayaking. My favorite place on earth is Australia -- Perth, if you want to be specific. And I'd probably eat anything that was covered in chocolate.
From the Publisher
From Jodi Picoult, one of the most powerful writers in contemporary fiction, comes a riveting, timely, heartbreaking, and terrifying novel of families in anguish -- and friendships ripped apart by inconceivable violence. Until the phone calls came at 3:00 A.M. on a November morning, the Golds and their neighbors, the Hartes, had been inseparable. It was no surprise to anyone when their teenage children, Chris and Emily, began showing signs that their relationship was moving beyond that of lifelong friends. But now seventeen-year-old Emily has been shot to death by her beloved and devoted Chris as part of an apparent suicide pact -- leaving two devastated families stranded in the dark and dense predawn, desperate for answers about an unthinkable act and the children they never really knew.
The New York Times Book Review - Megan Harlan
Picoult suggests the subtle ways in which parents can place dangerous pressures on their children.
People Magazine
Engrossing...Picoult's deft touch makes this her breakout novel.
Publishers Weekly
Teenage suicide is the provocative topic that Picoult plumbs, with mixed results, in her fifth novel. Popular high-school swimming star Chris Harte and talented artist Em Gold bonded as infants; their parents have been next-door neighbors and best friends for 18 years. When they fall in love, everyone is ecstatic. Everyone, it turns out, except for Em, who finds that sex with Chris feels almost incestuous. Her emotional turmoil, compounded by pregnancy, which she keeps secret, leads to depression, despair and a desire for suicide, and she insists that Chris prove his love by pulling the trigger. The gun is fired in the first paragraph, and so the book opens with a jolt of adrenaline. But Picoult stumbles in delineating both sets of parents' responses to the tragedy. Unconvincing behavior and dialogue inappropriate to the situation (plus, most importantly, the fact that the parents fail to discuss crucial topics) never touch the essence of bereavement and thus destroy credibility. Picoult redeems herself in flashbacks that reveal the two marital relationships and the personalities of both couples; and she sensitively explores the question of how well parents can ever know their children. After Chris is accused of murder and jailed, the narrative acquires impressive authenticity and suspense, with even the minor characters evoked with Picoult's keen eye for telling detail. The courtroom scenes (reminiscent of Picoult's 1996 novel, "Mercy"), are taut and well paced. Readers may remain unconvinced, however, that an intelligent young man like Chris would not have sought some help rather than respond to his lover's desperate request.
People Magazine
Engrossing...Picoult's deft touch makes this her breakout novel.
Kirkus Reviews
In this brooding fourth novel, Picoult (Picture Perfect) creates an affecting study of obsession, loss, and some of the more wrenching varieties of guilt. It all begins with a failed suicide pact between two teenagers: Emily Gold dies, but the precise motivations behind her death remain obscure. And who pulled the trigger? Her boyfriend Chris Harte, who survives because of having fainted, apparently, before he could kill himself, seems unwilling to offer an explanation. Zipping back and forth through time, the story traces the growth of the long, complex relationship between the kids. When the two families first settle down next to each other, the Hartes and Golds seem meant for each other: Both families are upper-class New Englanders; both the husbands are doctors; both the wives are pregnant, and so in a sense the pairing of Chris and Emily takes place even before their birth. Eventually, they sleep in the same bassinet, go on to develop their own secret language, accompany each other everywhere and, when they become adolescents, are inevitably drawn into a fervid romance. While it seems inconceivable that Chris could have killed Emily, a preponderance of forensic evidence suggests that it just may be. On his 18th birthday, Chris is hauled off to jail and the perfect harmony between the families instantly dissolves. Melanie Gold, unable to accept the notion that her perfect daughter could have been suicidal, focuses her anger on the murderer next door, and, emotionally, James Harte disinherits his son, who's now a liability to the doctor's prestigious career. Chris himself, saddled with a hot-shot lawyer more interested in building a case than in hearing the truth, sinks intodespair. The trial scenes, alternating rapid-fire testimony with flashbacks to the actual suicide, are particularly powerful, and what Chris finally says when he takes the stand comes, thanks to Picoult's skill, as a considerable surprise. A moving story, mingling elements of mystery with sensitive exploration of a tragic subject.
What People Are Saying
Luanne Rice
Jodi Picoult has written a haunting tragedy of two families. The tact is rich with suspense and compassion, and it will make people question how well they know their own children. It is an intensely moving novel.
Anne Rivers Siddons
Anyone who doubts that there is any more vivid, original fiction being written must read The Pact. Jodi Picoult has written a truly fine book, a piece of total contemporary Americana.
Customer Reviews
Number of Reviews: 215
Average Rating:
Write a Review
a must read
A reviewer, a dancer, 07/01/2008
The Pact was the first book i read by this author, and i immediately went out to the bookstore and bought another one of her books when i finished reading The Pact. This book was insanely well written, and the story line is captivating.
A Must.
A reviewer, A reviewer, 06/24/2008
The Pact was the first Picoult book I've read and it still remains my favorite. The entire novel is grasping and it never fails to take abrupt, unexpected turns in the plot. It is a must read.
Great Read!
Melissa H., A reviewer, 06/07/2008
This is probably the best from Jodi Picoult. A touching love story that shows how the two families cope with an unimaginable tragedy. I could not put this one down an everyone in my office loved it!!!
Also recommended: Vanishing Acts and Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
absolutely love jodi picoult's books
Jen, A reviewer, 06/06/2008
this has to be my favorite book that she has written, followed by my sisters keeper. i was so into this book it took me just days to finish. i found myself cancelling plans just to read this book. i would recommend this book to anyone. i feel that once you read this book, you will want to read all of her books!!
Also recommended: johanna edwards books
The Pact
A reviewer, A reviewer, 06/02/2008
This book was the best novel I have yet to read. It was a compelling love story that had many twists and turns, and kept me reading for hours at a time. I strongly recommend this book if you're looking for a capturing love story.
Also recommended: This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen Dear John by Nicholas Spraks
Showing 1-5 NextProduct Details
- ISBN:
1419361457
- ISBN-13: 9781419361456
- Format: Compact Disc, 13pp
- Publisher: Recorded Books, LLC
- Pub. Date: October 2005
- Edition Description: Unabridged, 13 CDs, 15 hours
- Sales Rank: 62,897
Reading Group Guide
Plot SummaryThe Pact, Jodi Picoult's fifth novel, is at a once love story, a psychological study of two families in crisis, and a courtroom drama that could be taken from today's headlines. It is a multi-layered novel that invites discussion about the mysteries of relationships of all kinds: How well we know ourselves, our children, our best friends? Jodi Picoult has given us a rich canvas that allows us to ponder these questions and to see that it is in a crisis that we find out what we're really made of. In the end The Pact poses the heart-stopping question: How far would you go for someone you love?
Topics for Discussion
Read an Excerpt
There was nothing left to say.
He covered her body with his, and as she put her arms around him she could picture him in all his incarnations: age five, and still blond; age eleven, sprouting; age thirteen, with the hands of a man. The moon rolled, sloe-eyed in the night sky; and she breathed in the scent of his skin. "I love you," she said.
He kissed her so gently she wondered if she had imagined it. She pulled back slightly, to look into his eyes.
And then there was a shot.
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