Jodi Picoult 's The Storyteller
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Jodi Picoult's The Storyteller is a fictional account of a young woman-Sage- who befriends an older gentleman-Josef- she meets at a grief group. Both  Sage and Josef are lonely and seeking companionship, and both are stuggling to cope with secrets that have led them to the therapy group. As the novel progresses, Josef reveals to Sage that he was a member of the SS who held a high position at Auschwitz- the largest death camp in all of Europe during WWII.  Josef has hidden his secret for many years by hiding in plain sight. He is an upstanding member of the community and a beloved neighbor, teacher and friend.  As he nears the end of his life he seeks forgiveness for the atrocities he committed during the war.  Sage, the grandaughter of an Auschwitz survivor, grapples with the idea of forgivness throughout the text.In the seven years I have spent as a classroom teacher, it never fails that my students ask me the following questions: How did normal citizens become Nazis? Why would any person allow such horrors to happen?  Over the years, my answer to them has evolved.  I have come to believe that all people are capable of both good and evil, depending on their environment.  It is interesting fodder for a debate on nature vs. nurture that always sparks their interest.  The Storyteller also zeros in on this idea.  Is someone that commits unspeakably evil acts a monster? Can one ever be forgiven for such things?  Told multiple perspectives, Picoult has obviously done her research. Wrapped within the stories of the characters is also an allegory written by Sage's grandmother as a young woman.  Essentially Picoult has written two novels in one in a way that is absolutely masterful.I have read  many pieces of Holocaust Literature- both fiction and non-fiction. It is a genre that I feel absolutely compelled to read.  Though it did have a few minor flaws, this particular piece was especially well done. 