The Pact

by Jodi Picoult

Overview

Kris i Emili. Oni s rozhdeniya vmeste, a povzroslev, polyubili drug druga. Ih sem'i mnogo let druzhat, i roditeli uzhe pogovarivayut o svad'be. No vse rushitsya, kogda im soobshchayut, chto Emili zastrelili. V ubijstve obvinyayut Krisa, poskol'ku v tot moment on byl s nej. Odnako istinnye motivy smerti Emili ostayutsya neyasnymi. Kto nazhal na spuskovoj kryuchok? Kris ne zhelaet nichego govorit', tak kak dal klyatvu sohranit' tajnu Emili. On otkazalsya ot pomoshchi vzroslyh, ot protyanutoj ruki materi, krepkogo plecha otca, ot uverennosti opytnogo advokata i sdelal vybor v pol'zu svoej lyubvi. I emu poverili. I roditeli, i prisyazhnye… "Klyatva" – eto trogatel'naya istoriya, v kotoroj elementy tajny sochetayutsya s delikatnym issledovaniem tragicheskoj temy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9785389194069
Publisher:	Azbooka
Publication date:	03/24/2021
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	576
File size:	2 MB
Language:	Russian

About the Author

Джоди Пиколт ¬– американская писательница, сценарист, автор двадцати пяти романов, лауреат десятка литературных премий за выдающиеся заслуги в области литературы. Ее романы переведены на 34 языка и изданы многомиллионными тиражами, а каждая новая книга попадает в список бестселлеров по версии New York Times. Джоди Пиколт получила степень бакалавра в области творческого письма в Принстоне. Свой первый рассказ "Омар, которого неправильно поняли" она написала в 5 лет. Во время учебы в университете Джоди Пиколт удалось опубликовать несколько коротких рассказов в журнале Seventeen, на этом едва начавшаяся писательская карьера Пиколт закончилась. Она сменила несколько профессий, работала преподавателем английского языка, копирайтером, техническим редактором, пока не осознала, что ее призвание – писать. Пиколт поступила в Гарвард и получила степень магистра в области образования. Сразу по окончании университета сотрудничала с компанией DC и подготовила пять выпусков комикса "Чудо-женщина". Чуть позже Джоди Пиколт вышла замуж и выпустила первый роман "Дорога перемен". Книги Джоди Пиколт "Девятнадцать минут", "Сохраняя веру", "Простая правда", "Второй взгляд", "Новое сердце" и другие неоднократно попадали в списки бестселлеров, подтверждая статус одной из самых влиятельных писательниц в современной художественной литературе. Произведения Пиколт поднимают сложные моральные и социальные дилеммы. Ее книги посвящены отношениям в семье и браке, вопросам веры и культурного разнообразия, физического и психологического насилия.

Hometown:

Hanover, New Hampshire

Date of Birth:

May 19, 1966

Place of Birth:

Nesconset, Long Island, NY

Education:

A.B. in Creative Writing, Princeton University; M.A. in Education, Harvard University

Website:

http://www.jodipicoult.com/

Read an Excerpt

NOW

November 1997

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.

What People are Saying About This

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.

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.

Reading Group Guide

Plot Summary
The 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

How do you feel the extended family environment created by the Hartes and the Golds affected their children? Did it contribute to Emily's suicide?

Is there such a thing as being too close to another non-blood relative family?

How do you feel Chris handled his guilt? Can he justify helping Emily commit suicide?

How did the marital relationships of the Golds and the Hartes contribute to Gus's and Michael's temptations?

Is Emily correct in believing she had no other alternatives to suicide? Explain.

Is Melanie justified in her feelings and actions toward the Hartes following Emily's death? What might justify her behavior?

On page 35 is the following statement: "Chris and Emily had grown up with love, with wealth, and with each other. What more could they have needed?" Comment.

In what ways does jail change Chris? In what ways does he benefit from the experience, and in what ways does it hurt him?

Consider the personalities of the Hartes and the Golds. Do oppositesattract? Does it make for the best communication in a marriage? How do the events of the book support or deny this thesis?

Where do you see these characters in five years?

Is the punishment meted out to Chris just? In your opinion, is Chris guilty of murder?

Which character in the book is the most adaptable? The least adaptable? Why?

Do you think Chris's trial will affect Jordan's view of the justice system? Explain.

What is the significance of the "blank" piece of paper that Chris finds in the tin can at the end of the book?

Editorial Reviews

Picoult suggests the subtle ways in which parents can place dangerous pressures on their children.
— The New York Times Book Review

Megan Harlan

Engrossing...Picoult's deft touch makes this her breakout novel.

People Magazine

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.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

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.

Kirkus Reviews