by Vanessa Cumber

Created on: March 04, 2007   Last Updated: May 08, 2007

Much of the plot is discussed in this review, so if you have yet to read this novel and are planning to, you may not want to read any further.

Map of the World by Jane Hamilton fits appropriately as an Oprah's Book Club selection, for it is wrought with emotion, and is for the most part a depressing read. The main character, a female, is faced with a hardship (or, in this case hardships) that she must overcome, and by the end of the book small triumphs are clouded by the near life-shattering events that had taken place.

Alice, the main character, is a woman that does not fit the stereotype of the farm wife that she happens to be. During the course of the story, we come to see Alice as a fairly complex individual even though at first she seems to be a weak woman, unstable and ruled by raw emotion. Her husband Howard comes to be a tower of strength for Alice, although on the inside he is as lost as can be, even turning to Alice's best friend Teresa for comfort while Alice is locked away in a jail cell.

Along with their two children Emma and Claire, Alice and Howard at first seem to have the perfect life, even if for them a life in which routine has replaced the gratefulness that they should feel. One major event, a drowning, changes all of that, shifting the earth under their feet and throwing their lives into turmoil. The drowning occurs while Alice is watching her best friend Teresa's daughters, one of which slips out the screen door and out of their lives forever.

From this point, Alice, while on the surface acting erratically, inside is being eaten alive by guilt, and cannot forgive herself for what has happened. Feeling personally responsible sends her into a downward spiral of dark depression. She is no longer able to function normally in her job as a school nurse or be whole for her family, and her actions, misinterpreted by the townsfolk (and the reader, at first), gives them the fuel they need to send the next big wave of bitterness in Alice's direction.

She becomes the target of their disdain, and is wrongfully accused of committing unlawful acts upon minors under her care as school nurse. This actually becomes the focus of much of the story, and the drowning lingers mournfully at the edges of the memory. The reader becomes aware of how fragile life is, and how quickly a turn of events can shatter the illusion of security forever. It is amazing how one event can cause a shockwave and equally amazing how it can cause people to turn or act in ways that they

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