book review: "Leaving Time"...

... written by well known author Jody Picoult. It was a long book: 12 Cds that, if listened to without a break, would take eighteen hours to finish. It took me at least a week, as it was only heard when I was driving although I was fascinated by the story. I have read other work by this author, and expected this book would be as well written and enjoyable.

The tale was related from different viewpoints, with various voices reading each character as the story was woven together. Alice is a scientist, her specialty being an interest in elephants, focusing on how they deal with grief. We first met her when she was working in a reserve in Africa.Where she met Thomas, visiting from an elephant sanctuary in Connecticut. Alice and Thomas became a couple, as they found they had much in common when Thomas was visiting where Alice worked. Alice falls for this guy, and becomes pregnant, and moves to the States, working in the preserve in New England. The baby comes, named Jenna.

Much of the story is told in retrospect, with the characters telling the events from their individual perspective: Jenna is searching for her mom, who disappears after an incident at the Elephant Preserve where a worker is killed. Jenna, now thirteen, has been reading her mother's detailed journals, records of her observations as a researcher, student of animal behavior, trying to decipher clues that would help her find her missing parent. Her dad had a breakdown and was institutionalized after the death of that worker, and cannot help with the search.

Jenna seeks the assistance of a local psychic, expecting Serenity to be able to discern if her mom is dead. Serenity gets no 'vibes' that would lead her to believe Alice is no longer living, yet they can find no trace of her. Jenna contacts law enforcement, hoping to find the detective who was involved in the case a decade ago. Virgil, Serenity and Jenna are an unlikely group, combine forces in an effort to unravel clues that begin to surface after many years. They make a trip from New England to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, hoping to find the people who worked at the facility before it was disbanded after Alice vanished. There is a Very Surprising twist at the end, that I will  not reveal, other than to say Nothing Is As It Appears.

Due to personal fascination with elephants, I especially enjoyed the information included in the book when shared from the scientist/Alice viewpoint. Picoult did a tremendous amount of research, reading about elephant behavior and shared much of her knowledge in writing from the perspective of one who would spend hours sitting observing these massive animals in their daily activities. Her characters were well formed, with many details added to make each individual seem to come to life, especially as the text was read by different age appropriate voices. A list of the references used by the author was given at the end of the twelve discs, sharing the sources, books she used to help create the fascinating world of elephants and their caretakers.