“Power isn’t doing something terrible to someone who’s weaker than you. It’s having the strength to do something terrible, and choosing not to.” —From The Storyteller

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult is a spell-binding story that is both enriching and heart-rending. The contemporary part of the story begins in Westerbrook, New Hampshire.

Sage Singer, twenty-five, is a superb baker. She works at night in a shop that is known for its excellent bakery products. A nighttime job is good for Sage because it allows her to escape a world of hurt and loneliness. A few years before, the car she was driving was in an accident that resulted in her mother’s death, and she has always felt her two sisters blame her for the terrible loss of their mother. That car accident changed the course of Sage’s life—not only did she lose her mother, she was left with a scar across her face. When with other people, she lets her hair cover the side of her face with the disfiguring scar. The only mingling she does with others is a grief support group.

One day, Sage happens to still be in the bakery when a member of the support group, Josef Weber, comes in for coffee and a pastry. Josef, a widower, is very active for a ninety-five year old man. They strike up a conversation, and form an unlikely friendship. Around Josef, Sage feels safe, and they begin to visit at Josef’s home. Once they become comfortable and trust one another, Josef confesses he has a long-buried secret and asks Sage for an extraordinary favor. It’s a lot to ask of anyone because of its moral and legal repercussions.

The story switches to Mimka, Sage’s grandmother, a Jewish teen who lives in Poland. It’s the early years of World War II and Jews in Poland are being rounded up and forced to live in ghettos established by Nazi Germany. Mimka, in high school, is a good student, and fluent in German. She dreams of becoming a writer and entertains her best friend with stories she has written. Jews are being systematically deprived of their homes, their livelihoods, freedom to travel, and even the ability to buy sustainable food. Nazis killing men, women, even children are common. Soon Jews are rounded up, crammed into cattle cars and sent to concentration camps; in Mimka’s case to Auschwitz. The treatment people received there is detestable. It’s hard to believe such horrors could be inflicted on a whole race of people.

The story switches back to Sage and the favor Josef asks of her.

I am constantly amazed with Jodi Picoult’s wide range of writing. Subjects such as baking bread, Egypt, laws regarding women’s reproductive rights, prejudice and its implications, war criminals, and the complexity of human relationships, are only a few myriad of subjects I have read in novels written by this excellent author. The Storyteller is yet another that I highly recommend.