Book number one I am afraid to admit is an Oprah's Book Club pick. Oh the horror. I vowed I would never subject myself to that particular form of literary torture after having read some of her previous picks and finding them lacking. I find that the more books from the Oprah Book Club I read, the more the books blend together and become a singular mass of stories about a tragedy in a woman's life and then her subsequent time spent dealing with the aftermath.But--I am not here to complain. Jane Hamilton's A Map of the World was a peculiar read. It had that essential tragic ingredient necessary for its placement on the Oprah list, but there was momentum to the story. While there was stagnation at the beginning mostly due to Alice's subsequent depression after the death of her best friend's daughter in the pond, the novel only stood still for a few chapters before Hamilton threw us another surprise. The descriptions of the farm, of Alice's emotions, of the other character's emotions are gritty and make you clench your teeth in some parts.
One of the saving graces of this novel, though, that spared it the monotony and unbearable ravings of a depressed woman that are so often the case with Oprah books, was how Hamilton told the story in three parts. Alice narrates up until her arrest, but then the story is given to her husband, Howard. His voice felt very real and it was refreshing to hear the portion of time Alice spent in jail from the other side. We only get Howard for one section, but it is probably the best section and the reason the novel works.
I also just found out that they made the book into a movie back in 1999. And although I didn't rent it, I don't think I would want to, I found their casting choices interesting. Can't say that I saw Sigourney Weaver as Alice at all. Julianne Moore I suppose is all right for Theresa, but Howard should have been beefier, or at least that is how I pictured him.
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