Customer Reviews

A Map of the World

5 star:		(112)
4 star:		(82)
3 star:		(55)
2 star:		(52)
1 star:		(74)

 

 

I was hesitant to pick this book after reading some reader reviews describing it as boring, too wordy, and turned off by the death of a child.

On the contrary, I found it very rich, textural, and complex in a very human way. I was never bored and whipped through this in less than a week. I found it fascinating. I loved the way Alice narrated it at first, then Howard, than back to Alice again.

People are very fallible, complex characters and this book finds the perfect pitch to tell that story. It is about surviving trageday, and ultimately, forgiveness.

While this is not a "happy" read, I was not depressed by it either. I get so tired of people complaining about subject matter being depressing and therefore, throwaway. It is through pain we often find joy. For me, a good book, or movie is something that grips me and holds my attention, whether it be happy or sad or both.

This is one of the better books I have read in a long time. I will read more by Jane Hamilton.

I read this book a few years ago shortly after it was released in paperback. Jane Hamilton is a beautiful, insightful writer with a keen ability to paint realistic characters experiencing very believable emotions. Although I appreciate her immense talent, this book left me feeling empty and sad, rather than enraged, embolded or inspired, as she may have intended. This is a well-written book that deserves all its praise, but reading an emotionally draining book, with little levity to break up the mood, is simply not how I like to spend a rainy afternoon.

Alice Goodwin is a troubled woman living on a dairy farm in Prairie Center, Wisconsin. The mother of two girls, Emma (6) and Claire (3), she is struggling to get her life together. When her husband Howard decided to pursue his dream of being a dairy farmer, she went along with him, but they have been trying to make ends meet. Alice is the school nurse at the local elementary school, and after the terrible drowning of the two-year old neighbor who was in Alice's care, she is suddenly faced with sexual harassment charges from one of the students at the school. While she is in jail Howard desperately tries to keep the family from falling apart, which proves very difficult, and everyone's breath is held leading up to and during the trial. I liked this book, because of the strong emotions and sub-plots. The reader really feels as if he/she is experiencing the unfolding of the carefully planned plot, riding along with the family as they dodge all of the ruts in the road of life. It is amazing to read the story through the eyes of both Alice and Howard. I would recommend this book for most people ages 13 and older.

I can see the funeral in my mind's eye as I write. I have read Hamilton's other books and found them a bit dull. But, my God, this book will rip your heart out. I actually told the story to my husband on a car trip. We were crying so hard we had to pull over. Astounding piece of fiction.

I was intrigued at the efficient way the author lets us in on the most personal thoughts of these characters, their lives and how their whole world so suddenly changes direction. It is a reminder to all of us that life is not to take for granted and that we can all fall from grace.

I read A Short History of A Prince last year and I was incredibly impressed with Hamilton's work. So when Oprah picked A Map of the World for her Bookclub I was anxiously anticipating a good read. I must say that I was far from disappointed for the novel which traces the fall and rise of a farm workers family is indeed a sharply beautiful and elegant work. I feel that the triptych like structure is an excellent way of highlighting the different points of view - Alice, her husband Howard and then back to Alice for the final court room scenes. The psychological descriptions of Alice's inability to cope with Lizzie's drowning are riveting. Also, masterful are the decriptions of her husband Howard as he tries to hold up the "home front" when Alice is incarcerated for suspected child abuse. Hamilton's eye for natural detail is great and her use of metaphor terrific. She has a keen ear for natural dialogue and a remarkable capacity to present wonderfully complex three dimensional characters. She really makes us feel Alice, Howard's and Teresa's pain and hurt. The novel works on many levels: as a "map" of family life which slowly disintergrates; a psychological analysis of death grief and loss; and also as a cinematic court room drama (I can't wait to see the film!). The fragilities of economic circumstance are also explored. Nothing in life is ever guaranteed. Hamilton shows the closed mindedness of small town life: the Goodwins were percieved as different, eccentic and hippyish. They didn't fit in and the "god fearing" citizens of the town new it. By writing this novel Hamilton is perhaps making us not only aware of the shortcomings of being different in a homogenious environment but also the pitfalls of trying to build a life in such an insulated and ultimately prejudiced community. A great, important work of literature.

Michael Leonard

I must admit that I was skeptical in picking up this book because I did not enjoy The Book of Ruth, a book in which I just could not relate to any of the characters or their life choices. And yet, I was blown away -- I found this work to have such depth of character and so much meaning. Ms. Hamilton writes so beautifully that the characters come alive and you experience their tragedies just as if you were a close friend. Just as one reviewer said, you can't put it down, but you tremble as you turn the page, terrified of what may happen next. It is an amazing story of the power of forgiveness, and surviving (but not triumphing over) adversity.

I enjoyed this book even though it was so sad. I do not feel that anything was resolved by the end of the novel. In fact, I believe that things will never be resolved for these characters. It is so true to life -- you pay the consequences for your actions, good and bad, and you just have to deal with it and go on. I think Alice, Howard, Theresa, Emma and Claire will all pay the price for the rest of their lives. You can never go home because home doesn't exist as it did before. The book is so well-written, however, from a different perspective than most fiction. The story is told subjectively through the eyes of Alice and Howard, rather than objectively. It's not a book that moves along quickly from one event to the next. It's more about the feelings and emotions of the characters. As you read the story, you feel as though you are going through the events through the eyes of the characters.

I was prepared not to like this book as I hadn't cared for the previous one. But I promised someone I would read it and was rewarded. This book deals with hard but everyday issues and I don't mean idea of middle-class sexual abuse. I mean the crippled friendship that maintains its intent, its good will, if not its life. The perhaps permanently hobbled marriage that struggles forward without being able to see where its going. The uttererly rejected potential of an irreparably damaged, but skillfully manipulative child to conceive and execute evil. The impersonal malice of authoritative bureaucracy and righteous community that can destroy lives, dreams and ideals then pat its systemic self on the back for achieving justice. Of significant resonance was the manner in which Alice could stand both inside and outside an experience, cataloging all the while the most bizarre extremes it could reach, always without imagining the closer, more perilous reality. It was intrinsic to her character to note and ridicule absurdities. She was a born outsider who thought she was thereby isolated from the gods, the powers that be. Alice's experiences in jail were the frighteningly small and real. A place where it is imperative to hold some important piece of yourself aloof and untouchable. A place where you become aware of an otherworldness that coexists and after which you forever know that it is not possible to trust in the eventuality of justice, or even its sporadic existence. I have great admiration for anything written so close to the bone. I will try whatever Hamilton's next book is when published.

In A Map of the World, Alice and Howard Goodwin own a family farm in a northern midwest town called Prarie Center. They have two daughters and are close to another family with two girls of similar ages, although they are shunned by the rest of the mainly suburban community. Despite their dreams of a simple life, they encounter two serious tragedies that dramatically change their lives, one a terrible accident in which one of the girls dies and another a terrible injustice that lands Alice in jail, accused of child molestation. The book is about how the two families and the community reacts to and copes with the events.

I loved this book. I was on a business trip and hadn't brought a "backup book," and it was a struggle to keep myself from reading too much so I'd have enough to last the cross-country flight home. I loved the book because it was compelling on so many levels. Told from both Alice's and Howard's perspective, it delves into their complex reactions to the events and how it affected their understanding of themselves. It also characterizes the effect it has on their relationship with each other, with their children, and with their friends. It is also an insightful if painful commentary on people's reaction to sexual abuse and how they treat those who are accused vs. the children who accuse them. It richly describes Alice's time in jail and her reaction to the mostly lower-income women who share her "pod." And it has an intriguing description of how the case makes it way through the legal process, culminating in a compelling courtroom drama. At all these levels, nothing seemed contrived or predictable. Even though I don't think I'd react the way these characters did, their behavior always seemed true and genuine, and I felt I learned something as I read about how they handled and came to accept their situation. Usually I find it difficult to read about great misfortune, especially unjust misfortune. But this book was so rich in its understanding of how people deal with such problems that I found it cathartic to identify with the characters and live through it with them. If you like books with rich characters and relationships, and complex social situations, I'd highly recommend this book.