Wish You Were Here: A Novel by Jodi Picoult

Al principio no me gustó, incluso me aburrió, pensé que era una novela americana gastada, lo mismo, lo mismo, hasta la imaginaba en película de Hollywood. Después ya pude ver mejor la intención de la autora y me pareció una interesante forma de rescatar las difíciles experiencias vividas durante la pandemia, de las cuales en lo personal viví y siempre quedé con muchas dudas.

Not only did this book bring back COVID memories but also the sacrifices nurses and doctors made. Wish you were here had a great story and character development. You feel like you know everyone. I will be reading more books by Jodi.

My first read of 2023 and a fresh plot with a completely new and different twist.
Left me wanting for more when the narration ended.
A 5star rating from me.

Jodi Picoult is known for taking current events and making them into interesting and intimate stories. In this book, she covers the Covid pandemic.
Diana works at Sotheby’s in acquisitions, while her boyfriend Finn is a resident doctor at an NYC hospital. They’ve planned a trip to the Galapagos Islands when a few cases of Covid hit the city. Finn has to stay but urges Diana to take the non-refundable trip. She arrives only to find she’s stranded there on Isabela Island with iffy wi-fi and everything closed down, including her hotel. She’s taken in by a lovely lady who only speaks Spanish while Diana doesn’t, and the first half of the book is Diana reevaluating her life as she struggles to keep in touch with Finn while acclimating to island life. Then there’s a huge twist, but no spoilers.
Diana and Finn have been perfect for each other, long-term planners and A-types, so life on the island alone with lost luggage and little money is a big adjustment for Diana. At the same time, she gets periodic emails from Finn describing the progress of the pandemic in his hospital. Most of this is familiar information if you paid attention during the worst of Covid, but it still hits hard, especially contrasted with Diana’s hiking and swimming days.
The twist halfway through the book changes everything and almost turns this into a different but still interesting story. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the Galapagos and, in a different way, the compelling stories of the pandemic. Some political commentary won’t please every reader, but I found it factual and well-researched. A very thought-provoking book.

I powered through and read this very engaging novel and could barely put it down until its completion. The tale is more than just living through the throes of the worst facets of the pandemic, it also touches on life’s plans and life’s curveballs. From personal experience having worked in healthcare during the pandemic, the atrocities and mental anguish that Finn was experiencing was palpable. To this day, in 2024, I still tell others that the horrors spoken from health care workers were true, and somehow people, although moving forward, have short term memory of life with Covid. Thank you, Jodi Picoult, for memorializing it in such a poignant fashion and without the political strife that accompanied Covid’s journey. Covid is the main undertone of the novel, but there is also an alternate reality going on with the consciousness of the main character, Diana, while she (spoil alert!) lay in limbo between life and death in an ICU in NY. As Diana recovers, she reimagines and redefines her life’s plan. Although I have not traveled to the Galapagos Islands, the descriptions of a small secluded island without the modern conveniences were vividly described. But life’s modern conveniences were incidental when you consider droves of people were dying. The contrast between Finn’s narratives and the islands solitude was a wonderful juxtaposition and word crafting. Covid did indeed change the lives of many, if not all of us, in many ways. In some ways clinically or physiologically, for others psychologically, and for all of us who do not have short term memory of the atrocities and tragedies, it changed the way we live and behave as humans and treat ourselves and others. Life’s plans changed drastically for Diana and Finn as a fallout from her near death experience. Much appreciated perspective from the eyes of Diana and Finn, as well as Rodney and others.

One of the best written books I’ve read in a long time. Clever story. Made me want more—like a Wish You Were Here book 2.

I am a fan of Jodi’s books and this one was surprising and wise. Karen Briscoe, author