Wish You Were Here: A Novel

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.

I was affected personally by the pandemic as was most of the world. But I have a brother, who was diagnosed in March of 2020 with Covid. He was a very young 60 year old in great shape and with no comorbidities. However, he wound up in the hospital for five weeks. Three of those weeks were spent in ICU and eight of the days he was intubated. He was one of the VERY fortunate few who survived being intubated. At the time he was discharged from the hospital I believe he was the only one who had made it.

As a retired Registered Nurse, the description of the horror that the medical personnel and patients were experiencing was so very accurate. Especially since I had a brother who was fighting for his life. Like several of the patients who survived intubation, he experienced several things while intubated that felt very real to him. Some were positive and others were terrifying.

This book was an excellent representation of what was happening in hospitals all over the world. This was an historical novel that read like very recent history. I loved the characters who were very well developed. I also liked the twists and turns which are common in Jodi’s novels. I highly recommend this book.

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.

Well when the book took a turn to the left and the whole first half was a dream, I had to put it down for a few minutes I was in such shock. I hated that she broke up with her "real" boyfriend, but was very glad she got the time she needed to make things right with her mom. You don't hear much about Covid these days, even though my best friend and her husband just got it. Probably from a hospital her 86 year old mother was in for a heart attack. I have been so blessed. Even though I volunteered at a food bank during the whole Covid time and interacted with many people every day, I never did get it. I got breast cancer instead. As did my daughter. But we are both one year cancer free and looking forward to a long life.