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> Genre: Fiction > Throw the whole damn man away

Throw the whole damn man away

Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult

February 28, 2020 by octothorp Leave a Comment

I have to admit some bias with this book, because a good friend of mine who is wayyyy too amazing to date the Jaydens, Braydens, and Okaydens that she usually goes for just got her heart broken by the most average basic cis dude doctor.  But even so, throw the whole damn man away Paige.

Our heroine is not perfect, mind. She leaves her husband and three month old to go find herself by searching for her wayward mother for a few months. Because she’s sublimated her entire personality and skills in service of this cardiologist’s career. She stops going to art school so she can work to put him through college. (Hm, that looks like a trash can over there). She helps him through the long hours of residency and makes him dinner and generally takes care of him, which he then takes for granted. (Ooh, and it’s a big one, with a fresh liner). He then mocks her efforts to blend in with his high society friends (yup, could definitely fit a grown ass man in that trash can), and when she gets pregnant he doesn’t help with the baby because  ̶h̶e̶’̶s̶ ̶b̶u̶s̶y̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶h̶o̶s̶p̶i̶t̶a̶l̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶ ̶b̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶d̶a̶y̶ being a giant one himself and taking care of newborns is crushing.  (Perhaps it’s not so bad, we could always try for the recycling). He comes home from work and is frustrated with Paige for not having taken his shirts out for dry cleaning and blames her for the child hitting his head and getting a nosebleed, treating her like a negligent mother. (Nope, trash can material all the way). She goes out to take his laundry and has a “fuck this shit I’m done” moment (FINALLY) and leaves him to deal with all the myriad joys of taking care of a newborn.  Instead of using that frustration to sympathize with what his wife has been dealing with, he offloads his kid on whoever’s closest and fumes at Paige for abandoning him (Which, I mean, I kinda get, but dude, look at your own complicity in your situation – you have willingly stepped into the trash can here).  And then. He almost gets it. Almost. And then. Then she reveals what has caused her to run – she feels she is a bad mom for having hurt the kid and for having had an abortion prior to meeting him and HIS SAD BABY FEELINGS ARE HURT BECAUSE HE ASSUMED HE WAS HER FIRST WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO RECONCILE WITH THIS MAN. (GARBAGE TRUCK IS AT THE CURB, HONK HONK, MOTHERFUCKER).

There’s more, and it’s well written, and it’s compelling, but dude. This is the worst man, and I think it’s hella telling that at one point Paige’s mother asks what Nicholas is like and Paige can’t tell her, first describing his looks and then being at a loss when trying to describe the man. The universe is telling you something, honey. Boy, bye.

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Jodi Picoult, Motherhood, NOPE, nope nope nope, Parenting, throw the whole damn man away

octothorp's CBR12 Review No:28 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Jodi Picoult, Motherhood, NOPE, nope nope nope, Parenting, throw the whole damn man away ·
Rating:
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About octothorp

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I buy books faster than I can read them. View octothorp's reviews»

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