Change of Heart (novel) - Literary Significance and Reception

Literary Significance and Reception

Publishers Weekly in their review said that "Picoult bangs out another ripped-from-the-zeitgeist winner. Picoult moves the story along with lively debates about prisoner rights and religion, while plumbing the depths of mother-daughter relationships and examining the literal and metaphorical meanings of having heart." It also says that "The point-of-view switches are abrupt, but this is a small flaw in an impressive book", however, others say that the different viewpoints of the characters provide valuable insight to the story for the reader and abruptness is inevitable.

Donna Seaman reviewing in Booklist writes, it is a "a compulsively readable saga and dramatic critique of capital punishment". She compares Change of Heart to The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. Describing the novel as "Laced with intriguing musings on the Gnostic Gospels, Picoult's bold story of loss, justice, redemption, and faith reminds us how tragically truth can be concealed and denied."

Janet Maslin writing for the New York Times had several criticisms about the book. She wrote that Picoult wrote the novel on "authorial autopilot", as it has the "subtlety of a jackhammer" and was made needlessly long by scenes such as Maggie chatting with her pet rabbit. She says that June Nealon is "a wet hankie of a character, full of grief and anger, but otherwise lacking any distinguishing characteristics." She felt that Jodi Picoult missed her own chance at redemption, "had Change of Heart culminated in revelations that were truly plausible or unexpected, its vapidity might have been transcended. But there is no substance to the story's last surprises."

In terms of public reception, Change of Heart debuted as number one on the New York Times Fiction bestseller list. It remained at the number one position for two additional weeks, before being knocked from the number one position on April 13, 2008 by Jonathan Kellerman's Compulsion.