''The Tenth Circle'' (2006) is the thirteenth novel by the American author,

Jodi Picoult Jodi Lynn Picoult () is an American writer. Picoult has published 28 novels, accompanying short stories, and has also written several issues of Wonder Woman. Approximately 40 million copies of her books are in print worldwide, translated into 34 ...

. The novel deals with

date rape Date rape is a form of acquaintance rape and dating violence. The two phrases are often used interchangeably, but date rape specifically refers to a rape in which there has been some sort of romantic or potentially sexual relationship between ...

, and father/daughter relationships. The novel heavily references Dante Alighieri's ''

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...

''.

Plot

When freshman Trixie Stone accuses her ex-boyfriend, Jason Underhill, of

raping Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or a ...

her at a party, students and townspeople, alike, are quick to take Jason's side when he claims that their intercourse was consensual. Trixie's parents, Daniel, a mild-mannered comic book artist from a rough upbringing, and Laura, a college professor having an affair with one of her students, become involved, and Jason, whose life is supposedly ruined by Trixie's accusation, leaps from a bridge, dying by suicide. Although Jason's death was first presumed to be suicide, Trixie is quickly turned to as a suspect, accused of pushing Jason off the bridge. Trixie then flees to the

Yup'ik The Yup'ik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Central Yup'ik, Alaskan Yup'ik ( own name ''Yup'ik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an I ...

region of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

where her father grew up. Daniel and Laura eventually find Trixie in Alaska. At the end of the novel, Laura confesses to Daniel that she was present when Jason died. Jason, who was intoxicated, lunged at Laura because her daughter Trixie was ruining his life. Laura pushed Jason off the bridge but he held onto her. Laura reached to his hand, but then let go, thus revealing that Trixie is innocent, but Laura is not. The novel concludes with the final chapter with Daniel's latest comic, showing a father reunited with his daughter, after saving her from the depths of hell. The main plot and subplots are juxtaposed throughout the book with Daniel's latest comic, entitled ''The Tenth Circle'', which parallels with Daniel's life and the novel itself. In the comic, inserted into the book, there's a hidden message. The message, “Nothing is easier than self-deceit, for what each man wishes that he also believes to be true” – DEMOSTHENES

Title

The title, ''The Tenth Circle,'' is a reference to the first canticle, ''Inferno'', of ''

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

'' by Dante.

Main characters

Trixie Stone: Protagonist, ninth-grade high school student, who accuses Jason Underhill of rape. Daniel Stone: Trixie's father, a comic-book artist from Alaska. Laura Stone: Trixie's mother, a college professor. Jason Underhill: Trixie's boyfriend, accused of raping her, fell to his death from the bridge in town. Zephyr Santorelli-Weinstein: Trixie's best friend. Moss Minton: Jason's best friend, and casually dated Zephyr, Trixie's best friend.

Adaptations

The novel was made into a

Lifetime Network Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared toward ...

movie, which premiered June 28, 2008 at 9pm Eastern. The film starred

Kelly Preston Kelly Kamalelehua Smith (October 13, 1962 – July 12, 2020), known professionally as Kelly Preston, was an American actress. She appeared in more than 60 television and film productions, including '' Mischief'' (1985), '' Twins'' (1988), ...

as Laura Stone,

Ron Eldard Ronald Jason Eldard (born February 20, 1965) is an American actor. Early life Eldard was born on Long Island, New York. He is the sixth of seven children, and has four sisters and two brothers. He is of Irish and Scottish descent. Eldard's mothe ...

as Daniel Stone, Haley Beauchamp as Zephyr Santorelli-Weinstein,

Jamie Johnston James Michael Johnston (born July 7, 1989) is a Canadian actor and singer-songwriter. He is best known for his role as Peter Stone on '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. Personal life and career Johnston was born July 7, 1989 in Toronto, Onta ...

as Jason Underhill, Geordie Brown as Moss Minton, and Brittany Robertson as Trixie Stone from

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainm ...

References

External links