Leo is able to confirm that the information provided by Josef was accurate, though not enough to prove that Josef is who he says he is. Over time Sage is able to gather bits and pieces of information (photographs, dates, people, places, documents) from Josef and she gives it to Leo. Leo investigates 'Josef Weber' and finds that no such SS guard by that name existed, but under much coaxing from Sage, Josef confesses his real name was Reiner Hartmann, who was indeed an officer at Auschwitz.

Leo is also skeptical of Sage's story as he does not believe that a Nazi would simply confess his crimes 70 years later. Leo, who is immediately attracted to Sage, tells her how difficult it will be to verify that Josef is actually telling the truth, and that it will be exponentially more difficult to convict him of his crimes. Department of Justice, and is directed to Leo Stein, the individual in control of Holocaust-related things in the U.S. Sage is conflicted by the request, and after much deliberation, she calls the local police department, and tells them she has discovered a Nazi. Josef tells Sage that he committed horrific crimes and killed many people. After Josef and Sage become close friends, he reveals a secret about his past he was a Nazi commander in the Holocaust at the Auschwitz concentration camp and asks Sage if she will help him die. Josef is seen by many in their town as a model citizen, as he was the long time German teacher at the high school, as well as the baseball coach. He and his wife lived in Westerbrook for 40 years, though his wife recently died. Josef is widely known around town for being a kind and generous man. Sage, recently began attending a grief group, where she meets an elderly man, Josef Weber.

Initially, Sage seems to be fine with their arrangement, as it allows her to live independently.Īlthough Sage's family is deeply Jewish, she refers to herself as an atheist. Sage is in a relationship with the local funeral director, Adam, who also happens to be married.

Her best friend is Mary D'Angelis, an ex- nun who owns Our Daily Bread, the bakery where Sage works. Sage believes that her sisters, Pepper and Saffron, blame her for their mother's death, so she actively avoids contact with them. Sage works nights, alone, as a baker, as she believes that she deserves a lonely life. Sage is self-conscious about her facial scar, and chooses to wear her hair across her face in order to hide it. Sage's mother was killed in the crash, and Sage was left with a large scar across her cheek, which is a constant reminder that she was responsible for her mother's death. A couple of years before the story began, Sage and her mother were in a car accident while Sage was driving. Plot Ģ5-year-old Sage Singer lives in the small town of Westerbrook, New Hampshire. The Storyteller is the twenty-second novel written by the American author, Jodi Picoult.

The storyteller book jodi picoult