House Rules is the story of 18 year Jacob hunt, who is diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of high functioning Autism. Jacob is often turning up at crime scenes, thanks to the police radio he has, and is a pro at solving the crimes single handed due to his obsession with forensic analysis.
In fact Jacob is known to set up pretend crime scenes for himself and others to solve, paying close and strict attention to every detail. However when his personal tutor is found dead under suspicious circumstances, his obsession with forensic analysis and difficulty in social interaction comes under scrutiny.
What Would You Do?
Picoult’s talent for producing thought provoking literature is at its peak in this book, as we delve deeper into the character’s lifesyles, along the way learning about Asperger’s and Jacobs unpredictable behaviour, readers hit a major disruption when Jacob is arrested for the murder of Jess Ogilvy.
After having admitted to moving the body of Jess to create a crime scene for the cops to solve, the initial assumption played upon is that Jacob is indeed a killer. However as the plot unfolds and other elements of the situation come into play, we begin to see a different side to Jacob causing us to question our first impressions on this case.
In fact as readers we are predominantly put into the shoes of Jacob’s mother Emma Hunt, is she is also forced to question the loyalties and good will of her son as the situation he has gotten in develops. The twists and turns of the novel and the variety of different perspectives the book is written through really pushes you to think “what would you do” if in the same situation, delving into circumstances we wouldn’t even dream of hitting close to home.
Family Dynamics:
The novel also proves accurate in exploring the certain dynamics and dysfunctions within family life, confronting not only the difficulties Jacob faces as a sufferer of Asperger’s, but also the overshadowed brother Theo Hunt.
Theo is presented almost as the forgotten child, as Jacob’s specific needs tend to outweigh his own. This exploration into how Asperger’s can affect the whole family and not only the sufferer is an element which is often overlooked. The character Theo, and the idea that he is often unnoticed as a child is cleverly used in displaying one of the main twists in the plot, which ironically can be spotted or guessed at early on in the novel, providing Theo’s chapters are not overlooked.
Overall the book successfully delves into web of emotion and social turmoil, which amongst all the drama still manages to keep a tasteful splash of humour, and light heartedness between the pages.
Jacob: “I have a joke: Two muffins are in an oven.
One muffin says, “Wow, it’s really hot in here.”
The other one jumps and says, “Yikes! A talking muffin.”
> Picoult. J., House Rules (Published by Washington Square Press in 2010)
Helen Reakes - As a student studying English Literature at Swansea University, I have embraced my passion for detangling and analysing literature, and ...
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