A Map of the World

On February 2, 2003 I wrote in my book journal:

I read this book because I had read another book by Jane Hamilton last year called The Book of Rugh which I thought was an inredible novel. The cover of this book states :Jane Hamilton has removed all doubt that she belongs among the major writers of our time." I'm not sure what that means. I didn't know there was any doubt. Her first book was fabulous and so was this one.

There is something about her writing style that captivates me. She develops her characters very well and the stories are not so far removed from reality that they could happen to you. This book was about Alice and her family. They lived on a farm and while babsitting her friend's daughters, one left the house and drowned in their pond. While Alice was trying to recover from the guilt of this trafedy, she was accused of sexual abuse of 4 boys who attended the school where she worked as a nurse. Clearly brought on by the fact that a neighborhood child had drowned while in her care.

While the death of her friend's daughter and the accusation were the main events in this story, the book is really about relationships and forgiveness. While in prison awaiting trial, she explores her feelings for her husband, friend and children and learns to accept them and forgive them for their flaws. She also learns to appreciate what used to irritate her about them. Her daughter's temperment, even her husband's smell. She was eventually acquitted but although her friend had forgiven her they lost touch.

I think the moral of this story is that even in tragedy, a stronger, better person evolves. Like I said before, the story was very "real" which makes it heartbreaking. The fact that it all worked out well in the end is what distinguishes is from reality.