The Hour

Jodi Picoult is renowned for her can’t put down, pull on the heartstrings novels that revolve around and expose issue which are under discussed  within society.

Having sold over 14 million copies of her books worldwide, Picoult’s fictions, which often have a shock ending that leave you pondering over the main issues of the book, have been lapped up by fans all over the world and extended to a new base of readers following the Hollywood adaptation of her novel My Sister’s Keeper.

House Rules is the newest addition to the popular collection and this novel, which centres on the misunderstood area of Asperger’s syndrome and the wider topic of autism, is set to spark many a reader into re-evaluating the public and legal systems reactions to this syndrome.

Speaking about her motivations behind tackling issues likely to spark controversy, she said: “I like to get people talking, I think if there is anything that is a measure of success with a book, it is somehow getting people to discuss a topic that really they would rather not acknowledge most of the time.

IN DETAIL

• The UK response to her 2009 release Handle with Care
• Keep up to date with Jodi on her website

“We may never all agree on something but I think that discussion is the first step towards a little bit more harmony.”

Famous for meticulously researching her area of focus, Picoult admitted that she was smuggled into an autopsy and shadowed the CSI for her latest book but also drew on some personal experiences to add an emotional dimension.

“I have a cousin who is profoundly autistic,” she said. “I remember when he was little and my aunt used to have to restrain him during meltdowns in public places and she would have the police called on her for allegations of child abuse.

“Now he is 30 years old, he weighs 225 pounds. He still has frustrated moments but now he puts his fist through a wall and he will have the police called on him.

“When it happens, he can’t really explain why he is frustrated and they don’t know how to interrogate them. You see a real breakdown in the legal system when you can’t communicate a certain way.”

She added: “That was really what I wanted to get to the heart of.”

Despite the success of transferring My Sister's Keeper to the big screen, Picoult retains that her priority focus is to her books and anything else is an added bonus.

“I don’t write thinking about a movie because I think when you do stuff like that, you are bound to be disappointed in some way. I never really pre-cast the roles although there are some interesting things that could be done with this book.”

“If it happens it is great, not because you always expect to have an accurate representation of your book on screen - certainly that wasn’t the case with My Sister’s Keeper - but because you find readers through the movies who wouldn’t normally know you are a writer.”