Review of "Wish You Were Here: A Novel" by Jodi Picoult

In the Author's Note at the end of this book Jodi Picoult, who has asthma, describes her reaction to the Covid lockdown. She says, "I was at home, paralyzed with fear. I couldn't breathe well on a good day; I couldn't even imagine what Covid would do to my lungs.....I couldn't distract myself with my work. I couldn't write. I couldn't even read." When Picoult eventually broke her slump she decided to write a book to chronicle the pandemic: "To tell the tale of how the world shut down, and why, and what we learned." This is the book Jodi penned.

Author Jodi Picoult

*****

The story opens in March 2020, just before the coronavirus shuts down the world. Diana O'Toole - an art specialist at Sotheby's.....



.....and her boyfriend Finn Colson - a surgical resident at New York Presbyterian Hospital, are about to embark on a trip to the Galápagos Islands, where Diana expects Finn to propose.



Diana and Finn, who seem to be perfectly matched, have a long-term life plan that includes travel, marriage, children, excelling in their careers, having a beautiful home, etc.

On the eve of Diana and Finn's departure for the Galápagos, Covid patients start flooding the hospitals. Finn tells Diana he has to stay and tend to the sick, but suggests that Diana go on the trip anyway, since it's non-refundable.



Diana agrees and travels to the Galápagos by herself - a journey that involves several planes, a ferry, and a water taxi.



Diana arrives at her destination, Isabela Island, just as it's shutting down for two weeks because of the pandemic. Diana is dismayed to learn she can't leave the island and her hotel is closed. To top it off, Diana's luggage is lost and she can't communicate with the local people, who speak Spanish.



A kindly older woman, who calls herself Abuela, offers Diana a tiny apartment and Diana settles in as best she can.



After some missteps - including a bad experience with toxic apples - Diana becomes friendly with a former tour guide named Gabriel.....



.....and Gabriel's troubled teenage daughter Beatriz, both of whom speak English.



Diana is desperate to communicate with Finn, but it's very difficult. There's minimal Wi-Fi and phone calls don't go through. When Finn's emails do arrive they're filled with descriptions of people dying; his exhaustion; his fear of getting sick; the horrible situation in New York; etc.



Diana feels terrible for Finn, but she's in one of the most beautiful environments in the world, and she does some touristy things. Diana goes swimming in lagoons; walks around to look at the tortoises, iguanas, flamingos, penguins, sea lions, and other animals; enjoys the beautiful plants; and so on.







Abuela provides some delicious home-cooked meals; former tour guide Gabriel shows Diana his favorite spots on the island; and even teenage Beatrix warms up to Diana a bit.



It turns out both Diana and Beatriz have absentee mothers: Diana's mother was a world-famous photographer who traveled constantly and Beatriz's mother deserted the family.

As the two-week mark approaches, when the shutdown of Isabela Island is scheduled to end, Diana prepares to return to New York and Finn. However, the island closes indefinitely, and Diana is trapped for the foreseeable future.



The book explores the loneliness and isolation experienced by people in the midst of the pandemic - what they learn about themselves, and how it changes them.

For me, the situation of Finn and the other hospital workers is especially affecting since it highlights the plight of healthcare workers (including cleaners) who - before the vaccine was available - were in constant peril.



In current times, the predicament of healthcare personnel REALLY highlights the selfishness of people who refuse to get vaccinated. Refuseniks get sick and expect hospital staff to care for them. It's inexcusable. Even if healthcare workers are vaccinated, they can get breakthrough infections. As I'm writing this review the Omicron variant is running rampant, largely because unvaccinated people serve as incubators for the virus.

The book provides a close look at people affected by the Covid pandemic, and it's not a pretty picture. Thus I wouldn't recommend the novel to people sensitive about the subject.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jodi Picoult, and Ballantine Books for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars