Second Glance

A Novel

By: Jodi Picoult

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 16 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

"Sometimes I wonder.... Can a ghost find you if she wants to?"

An intricate tale of love, haunting memories, and renewal, Second Glance begins in current-day Vermont, where an old man puts a piece of land up for sale and unintentionally raises protest from the local Abenaki Indian tribe, who insist it's a burial ground. When odd, supernatural events plague the town of Comtosook, a ghost hunter is hired by the developer to help convince the residents that there's nothing spiritual about the property.

Enter Ross Wakeman, a suicidal drifter who has put himself in mortal danger time and again. He's driven his car off a bridge into a lake. He's been mugged in New York City and struck by lightning in a calm country field. Yet despite his best efforts, life clings to him and pulls him ever deeper into the empty existence he cannot bear since his fiancée's death in a car crash eight years ago. Ross now lives only for the moment he might once again encounter the woman he loves. But in Comtosook, the only discovery Ross can lay claim to is that of Lia Beaumont, a skittish, mysterious woman who, like Ross, is on a search for something beyond the boundary separating life and death.

Thus begins Jodi Picoult's enthralling and ultimately astonishing story of love, fate, and a crime of passion. Hailed by critics as a "master" storyteller (Washington Post), Picoult once again "pushes herself, and consequently the reader, to think about the unthinkable" (Denver Post). Second Glance, her eeriest and most engrossing work yet, delves into a virtually unknown chapter of American history - Vermont's eugenics project of the 1920s and '30s - to provide a compelling study of the things that come back to haunt us - literally and figuratively. Do we love across time or in spite of it?

©2003 Jodi Picoult (P)2003 Simon & Schuster

A long story for sure

I enjoy this author but this one took discipline to get through. So many characters and storylines that half way through I was really struggling to find the interest to keep listening. I kept trying to figure out where a character came from and what significance. Ultimately, it all came together and the connections made.

Pretty Interesting Story

Not a must read/listen. There were skips on this one, but not the other 2 books I listened to- so not phone related. I even backed up a few times and listened again and it skipped in the exact places. Maybe the recording is from a scratched disc... either way, was an unpleasant distraction.

Multi-layered Drama of Love and Loss.

This story reflects the interconnectedness of past and present, love and loss. Yet, the ending didn't "work" for me. Sigh.

love her books!

love her books! twisty plots and surprises,, even when I think I have it figured out!

So many characters

Remarkable how a story can have so many characters weaved together over generations, alive and not-so-living. I almost needed a character map, but somehow it all came together at the end.

captivating!!

Loved it hated to stop listening. Cried and the end overjoyed by the twist ending.

A favorite

One of her best books. So many good and unexpected plot twists. The story tells important, and shameful, part of American history that Moore people should be aware of

Rewarding Read

Slow moving book that builds in layers and well worth the effort needed to appreciate it. Helpful to write down the many characters at the beginning to best follow the story. Your reward with a little mystic woven throughout is a well-crafted yarn and many enjoyable listening hours.

2nd sight

The character's development and the interweave of their lives was fascinating. I did have to listen to it twice to really appreciate all the connections and how the story was building. Another great Jodi picoult read. thanks

Long with bad narration

I listened to SECOND GLANCES because it was on an audible sale and I’ve read all Jodi Picoult’s books. I know I read SECOND GLANCES when it first came out, but had virtually no memory of the story. To make matters worse, the narrator sounded like Lester the Molester and worse when he voiced females. To make a Picoult work with the voluminous number of characters in her stories, I need multiple narrators or a great narrator who can do different, believable voices, definitely not a narrator where I can’t get that his voice sounds pedophelic out of my head. (I know abusers come in all shapes, sizes and voices. He’s probably a very nice man who’s not at all creepy.)