Book Review on Jodi Picoult's Small Great Things

I recently read Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things as it was our book club choice. I was actually reading it on the plane coming back from a conference in Amsterdam and ended up having quite the chat with my neighbour. She described Jodi Picoult as “schmaltzy,” which I’m not completely sure about, but I think she meant a bit naff or cheesy. I don’t think that’s a fair reflection of the book at all.

Here’s what I thought. While it didn’t completely grab me, it was an important book, but I wouldn’t call it a page-turner. For me, it was a bit too long—I felt I could have got the message much quicker. Though, to be fair, I do have a bad habit of jumping to the end to see how things turn out.

The story follows Ruth Jefferson, a nurse who has always played by the rules and gone that extra mile to overcome the unconscious racial bias we all have. She is the daughter of Laverne Jefferson, who worked as a maid for a wealthy family, and from early on, the novel makes it clear how subtle but deeply ingrained racism can be.

In brief, the plot revolves around Ruth being taken to court by white supremacist parents, Turk and Brittany Bauer, accused of causing their son Davis’s death after a routine circumcision operation goes wrong. Ruth had been explicitly instructed not to touch the baby—the white father didn’t want a Black nurse attending to his child. However, when the baby stopped breathing while Ruth was left supervising, she found herself in a no-win situation: damned if she did intervene, damned if she didn’t. She hesitated momentarily but then attempted to resuscitate the baby, though she initially kept quiet about this as she had technically broken the rules. Something, of course, that could be used against her in court!

She is represented by a well-meaning white defence lawyer, Kennedy McQuarrie, who claims not to see colour. The novel follows the case and explores the relationship between defendant and lawyer. This dynamic is used to make the reader confront their own unconscious biases—well, that’s how I saw it. Perhaps it’s a little more nuanced than that, as Ruth herself arguably holds biases against her sister, Adisa, who leads a very different life in a rougher part of New Haven.

I guess what I took from the novel is that race is complex and complicated, and that we all get things wrong sometimes. The message was important, though at times it felt a little hammered home. In terms of storyline, things took a turn towards the end when we learn the true identity of Marie, the mother of Brittany Bauer. I didn’t see it coming (I never do!), but I imagine a lot of readers did. This is where the novel finally felt more like a story, as before that, it had leaned more towards a didactic lesson.

That said, the characters were well-drawn and likeable enough. The themes were important, there was a plot twist, and the characters were well-portrayed. It would make a good TV series. I wasn’t riveted by it, and it took me too long to read. I was tempted to skim parts just to find out what happened. But it definitely had emotional resonance and power.

I don’t really need to write my own book club questions, as there were some at the back of my edition, but I will anyway—I like to write mine before looking at someone else’s.