The Storyteller

The Storyteller is a best-selling novel by prolific author Jodi Picoult. Published in 2013, it is Picoult’s 20th novel. Picoult is a prolific author known for tackling complex social themes and is the recipient of many awards, including the 2019 Hale Award and a lifetime achievement award from the Romance Writers of America. In The Storyteller, she weaves together several different narratives, delving into complex power dynamics and exploring themes of forgiveness, morality, and freedom of choice through the relationship between Sage Singer, the 25-year-old granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, and Josef Weber, a former SS officer who turns to Sage to carry out his euthanasia.

Please be advised that The Storyteller includes depictions of assisted death by suicide and features discussion of self-harm and disturbing violence related to the Holocaust.

Other works by this author include The Pact, Nineteen Minutes, and Vanishing Acts.

Plot Summary

Sage Singer is a reclusive woman with a large scar on her face, a relic from the car accident that killed her mother and left her orphaned. She lives in the small town of Westerbrook and works at a bakery attached to a religious shrine, where her late hours allow her to remain socially isolated.