This book was like top 3 most depressing books of all time it was a lot but very well written. I liked the writing and was invested in the characters even though I didn’t like most of them

Just brilliant. Brilliant writing and character development, a plot that completely swallows you, every kind of emotion. Read, read this book!

As I began reading this book, I thought I would really enjoy it because the writing is wonderful and the story (a farm family trying to make it work as suburbia grows up around them, then the tragic drowning of a little girl in their pond) seemed good too. However, it started out as one story and transformed into a different one (the wife, a school nurse, accused of abuse by a student and the ensuing challenges) and I didn't see the point in the change. The last 1/3 of the book was almost drudgery to get through, but I kept hoping to find a point...one never appeared.

I liked this book. I'll probably forget that I read it because it wasn't necessarily... massively heart touching or anything but I enjoyed the read and the author's writing style. I'm also glad that I bought it... but just at a library book sale for $1.

A woeful tale of familial tragedy, community tearing asunder, neighborly emotional tumult and ultimately a wholesome round of forgiveness to shepherd in a moving on to a next wave in the sea of life as it is ….

Advice on novel writing wholeheartedly agrees that the protagonist needs to be a sympathetic character, as well as someone interesting and involved in some opening action that will grab the reader. I never liked that advice because it doesn't give an unlikeable character room to grow into someone likeable, or admirable, etc. Collective wisdom, however, is generally right, so, I tried to hold to that axiom in my own writing, with varying success, since some readers liked my characters, and some didn't. If the protagonist isn't compelling, then the story needs to be spectacular; I have no problem reading a fantastic plot, or exquisite prose with a boring protagonist....or so I thought.

The first section of this novel is from Alice's point of view. Having read the synopsis, I knew the story line and found it interesting enough to pick up the book. To my surprise, I really disliked everything about Alice. She was vapid enough to drive me crazy. The author showed her in all her damaged glory. She was a horrible mother, and an even worse wife; less of an adult than immature and spoiled adult. The romanticism of her thoughts left me cold. I really did not want to spend another minute in her head.

I planned to abandon the novel but decided to give it more time when the POV switched to Alice's husband. Howard's perspective picked up the sagging middle and saved the story. When Alice retakes the microphone, so to speak, she has changed. Not that I liked Alice, but Howard still made appearances, and other characters kept the plot moving. Had it not been for the first quarter of the novel, I would have rated it higher. The prose was lovely in places. The trial itself was interesting. All in all, Jane Hamilton is a very talented writer and I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another of her novels.

Alice Goodwin and her husband Howard have lived and worked their dairy farm “Golden Guernesy” for six years now. But they have never been accepted by their neighbors who view them as hippies foolishly trying their hand at farming. Owning a farm had always been Howard’s dream and the couple felt they had found a little piece of paradise on this land just outside of town in Prairie Center Wisconsin. Their dairy farm is one of the few remaining, as factories and residential properties continue to pressure those who want to continue this way of life. Farming is not easy, the routine work is physically draining and Howard finds it difficult to work the farm as well maintain their dilapidated farmhouse. Alice is determined to help Howard live his long held ambition, but she struggles with her two daughters Emma and Claire who often test the limits of her patience. Alice is a woman who lacks confidence, is a little quirky and is constantly questioning herself, appearing distracted and a little eccentric to her neighbors. But she does have Teresa, her one friend in town and the two exchange babysitting responsibilities.

As the story opens, Alice is struggling with Emma who has thrown another one of her temper tantrums, pushing Alice to the very edge of her tolerance. As she tries to calm Emma she notices her younger daughter Claire is eating pennies. And then Teresa arrives at the door with her two daughters. It is Alice’s turn to babysit on this hot day and she plans to take the girls to the pond on their property. After Teresa leaves, Alice is distracted for some time while she searches for her bathing suit and ponders her childhood drawing of a map, not noticing that Lizzy has already headed out to the pond ahead of her. Alice rushes to the pond, fearing the worst and finds Lizzie lying inert, face down in the water. Alice tries to revive her, but her efforts are too late and the little girl later dies in hospital.

This tragedy pushes the family even further from acceptance in the community and then allegations of abuse surface from an incident with a troublesome young boy at the school where Alice works as a nurse. It is only a short time before more children and their families come forward with accusations and soon Alice is accused of child molestation, is quickly arrested and jailed. Given the nature of the allegations, the judge sets a huge bail, an amount that Howard cannot meet. So Alice must stay in jail until her trial while Howard struggles to manage the farm and look after his daughters.

Teresa suffers from the loss of her daughter but forgives Alice for whatever role she played in Lizzy’s death. She offers to help Howard with the girls during the day so he can get work the farm and she even brings him meals when she delivers the girls back home in the evening. As the days pass, Teresa and Howard grow closer, each suffering from loss as well as loneliness. Their friendship comes to the brink of a different kind of relationship and both realize they must retreat from one another.

Meanwhile Alice experiences life in a jail populated largely by black women who have led lives very different from her own. The experience forces her to reassess her own life and she gains respect for what her cellmates have endured. She is not unhappy there, feeling she is suffering what she deserves for Lizzy’s death. Living in this difficult and often brutal environment serves as a kind of epiphany for Alice; it is an experience she will always remember.

Howard, mindful he needs money to pay for Alice’s bail and the lawyer who is mounting her defense, is forced to sell the farm and move his family to a small crowded apartment in town. Once the trial is over, the family moves from Prairie Center knowing their future will always be marked by the past events.

This story is well developed and the descriptions of farm life and the dialogue between Howard and Alice are hauntingly realistic. Although Alice’s experience in jail sounds credible, I found her reaction to that experience somewhat unconvincing.

The description of the trial is also well done and although the reader knows the outcome, it is fascinating to see Alice’s lawyer maneuvering as he prepares the case and cross examines the witnesses, making the scenes suspenseful and exciting.

Hamilton has artfully described the hysteria that can overwhelm a small town when someone new enters their closed circle of relationships. Suddenly a trivial incident unleashes a storm of criticism, complaints come from everywhere and people line up against their new neighbor who they have already judged and condemned.

Hamilton’s novel considers the varying capacity of forgiveness. Some who commit a wrong may never be able to forgive themselves, while those affected are able to extend compassion and exonerate those responsible. It is also explores the theme of love that binds a couple as Howard stands behind his wife, never really knowing whether the complaints of his neighbors are justified. And his willingness to give up his dream of farming also speaks to those invisible threads that tie individuals together in a family.

This book was a very enjoyable read and is highly recommended.

The book is incredibly well-written, detailed, and explores traditionally avoided topics and complicated emotions well. I also enjoyed the first-person narrator that wasn’t particularly likable or reasonable, but I struggled placing them amongst people that I know and understanding their motivations. My biggest frustration was that the author started too many threads that could have been developed into really meaningful commentary but were cut short and abandoned. Definitely a very heavy read.

I read this book a few years ago, but I still remember vividly how much it moved me. This was one of those books that I just couldn't stop thinking about for weeks after I read it and when I turned the last page I knew it was one of those books that's impossible to follow, so I shouldn't bother to try reading a book I'm expecting to be really good after it. Point in case- I don't even remember what it was I read right after this book.

I read this book many years ago. At the time I was a young mother of four active boys. Looking back, I think what I liked most about this book is that, like Stephen King said, “We make up horrors to help us deal with the real ones.” And Hamilton’s book is full of horror. Children drowning. (It happens.) A teacher wrongly accused and imprisoned. (It happens.) A descent into unchartered family land. (Frequent.)

I have read many of the negative reviews, and I can’t understand them. Depressing? Yes. Boring? No. Perhaps it’s because I live in Wisconsin where the story takes place. Maybe it’s being a teacher. But mostly I appreciated the story because I had imagined terrible things happening while raising four boys, and this book had far worse horrors than I could imagine. When I finished reading it, sitting by my parents’ house on the Oconto River, I remember how I walked into the house to find each of my sons. I felt like I could deal with my own life a little better.

The most outstanding thing about this books is the 'voice'. It's written in first person, mostly from the female POV, but there's a well done section from the voice of her husband. As a writer, I know how difficult first person POV is, which makes me doubly appreciate Jane Hamilton's skill.

The characters are the most well developed I've read in a long time. No cardboard, run-of-the-mill people. The story is emotionally intense and can be hard to read for some people. It might have been depressing if the writing had been mediocre, but the author's exploration of the character's mental state is brilliant.

I'm afraid my review will be too general to be of much help because it's hard to talk about the book without spoilers.

If you are a writer and want to study an incredible first person voice and brilliant writing, I recommended this book highly. I'd give it ten stars if they'd let me and I'm a very critical reader. A book has to squeeze even five stars out of me.

If you enjoy great writing and are hungry for something more than light reading, give A Map of the World a try.

So I'm not a huge fan of Oprah (or even a little one), but she sure knows how to pick a good book. Jane Hamilton is an author from (and still living in) Wisconsin where this book takes place. (Turns out her son just graduated from Lawrence this past year!)

Anyway... the book is about a woman whose life turns upside down in a matter of weeks. It is seriously some of the best prose I have read in a long time. The first and third parts of the book are written from the main character's perspective and the middle part is written from her husband's perspective. This was an interesting approach which I have never seen before (and really enjoyed).

While the book is certainly no pick-me-upper, it made me feel such real and intense emotions I honestly felt my heart aching at times.