Wonderful Wisconsin!
By Kristen on Mar 27, 2008 in 50 States 50 Books
I had hoped to wait for Melanie Jones’ choice this week, but I am flying to Denver this morning and wanted to get my Thursday 50 States, 50 Books post ready to go, so I will respond to Jones’ pick when I return. Apparently we will not have internet access where we are heading, so I’ve set up my Sunday News and Monday’s Book Club Favorites posts ahead of time and hope there aren’t any technical difficulties before I return on Monday! My cousins host a week of skiing in Aspen every spring and this is the first year I have been able to attend (since I’m not tied to a specific spring break for the first time in 15 years!). Neither my husband nor I ski very often, so we are hoping to get up and down the mountain without injury… At least the scenery will be stunning!
Speaking of my husband, this week’s post is dedicated to the great state of Wisconsin — one of my personal favorites! My husband was born and raised in the Milwaukee area and we have a cabin in Rome (exact center of the state). The cabin is where he proposed and is my favorite place to read, since it does not have phone, internet or cable access. The drive from the Twin Cities to Rome is just beautiful, too, as is much of the state. (The photos with this post are from around our cabin…).
So, who to choose to represent one of my places? Jane Hamilton! I have read two of her novels — The Book of Ruth (one of Oprah’s first picks, I think?) and When Madeline Was Young. I have been meaning to read Map of the World, but haven’t yet. I wanted to choose The Book of Ruth because it was so well-written — stunning, in fact. But it is also so disturbing and violent that I hated to choose it as the representative of a place that I love for its peaceful woods. So, I will choose When Madeline Was Young — which is also a bit disturbing, but not as violent. Here is a summary from Hamilton’s website:
When Aaron Maciver’s beautiful young wife, Madeline, suffers brain damage in a bike accident, she is left with the intellectual powers of a six-year-old. In the years that follow, Aaron and his second wife care for Madeline with deep tenderness and devotion as they raise two children of their own.
Narrated by Aaron’s son, Mac, When Madeline Was Young chronicles the Maciver family through the decades, from Mac’s childhood growing up with Madeline and his cousin Buddy in Wisconsin through the Vietnam War, through Mac’s years as a husband with children of his own, and through Buddy’s involvement with the subsequent Gulf Wars.
Jane Hamilton, with her usual humor and keen observations of human relationships, deftly explores the Maciver’s unusual situation and examines notions of childhood (through Mac and Buddy’s actual youth as well as Madeline’s infantilization) and a rivalry between Buddy’s and Mac’s families that spans decades and various wars. She captures the pleasures and frustrations of marriage and family, and she exposes the role that past relationships, rivalries, and regrets inevitably play in the lives of adults.
Interested in who represents the other 49 states? Click here!
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