Picture Perfect (novel)
 First edition | |
| Author | Jodi Picoult |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Family saga novel |
| Publisher | Putnam |
Publication date | April 1995 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 369 pp |
| ISBN | 0-399-14040-9 |
| OCLC | 156344828 |
Picture Perfect (1995) is a novel by Jodi Picoult about a female anthropologist and the history of abuse she receives from her celebrity husband.
Plot summary
Cassie Barrett, a renowned anthropologist, awakes lying atop a grave, suffering from amnesia and unable to recall any details about herself or her situation. She is taken in by Will Flying Horse, a half-Lakota Los Angeles police officer, until she is retrieved by her husband, Alex Rivers, a Hollywood celebrity. As she returns to her Bel Air mansion, it would appear she lives a picture perfect life, until memories gradually return to her. She remembers their whirlwind romance in Tanzania, her deep and unconditional love for Alex and the beatings she received from him.
She tells us the story of her and Alex's relationship and unfortunately, it's not even close to the perfect picture she had been led to believe. After finding a positive pregnancy test in her bathroom, she remembers why she left before (to protect her baby) and flees to Will who hides her on the Lakota reservation in South Dakota. She grows to love the Reservation and the people there. Meanwhile, Alex's life is falling apart. He is lost without Cassie, and even after winning three Oscars, he can't live without her. Rumours fly around concerning Cassie's disappearance, tarnishing Alex's reputation.
On the night of the Oscars, Cassie calls to tell Alex she is proud of him. A while after giving birth, she calls Alex again and tells him where she is but that she isn't coming home for another month. She makes him promise he won't come for her yet. He breaks his promise and shows up outside the Flying Horses' house two weeks later. They reunite and Cassie tells Alex of their son, Connor. Cassie tells Alex she only left to protect their baby, that she would never have left because of Alex. Cassie agrees to go back to LA with Alex and Connor if he promises he will see a therapist and won't ever beat her again. Alex promises and they return home together with their son, returning Alex's perfect reputation. However, their happiness is short-lived.
Alex stops showing up at therapy, and more rumours fly about Cassie's whereabouts and whether Alex is truly Connor's father. After finding out about the rumours, Alex beats Cassie. Later that night, Alex begs Cassie not to leave again. He says he would do anything and she replies that she knows this. After he says he can't let her go and Cassie agrees that he can't. Cassie finally realizes that she can't stay with Alex at all, even though she loves him. She knows she has to do more than try to leave, as he won't let her go. She realises she has to do something to make him hate her, so that they can both be free.
Cassie holds a press conference, announcing she is divorcing Alex on grounds of extreme cruelty. She knows this will ruin Alex, and kill her as she is forcing Alex to stop loving her but she can't stop loving him. She sees him in the crowd of reporters and when a reporter asks if she could say anything to Alex right at this moment, what it would be, she says 'I'd say what he always said to me. I never meant to hurt you."
