A Map of the World

Rating:
Summary: Depressing AND Boring - a losing combination
Review: This is the first book I have ever read where I could not identify with a single character. The protagonist, Alice, is so prickly, self-pitying and unlikable that you find yourself hoping she WILL be convicted. Don't waste your time with this book!

Rating:
Summary: riveting, thought provoking
Review: This was a compelling story... I found myself questioning the narrator's honesty (Alice). I wasn't sure she was disclosing all she knew to the reader... I didn't trust her. And I think her long-suffering and saint-like husband doubted her, too. The book suggests he betrays his wife through her ordeal... but I don't see it that way at all. I think Alice is married to a saint. A fascinating look at marriage... motherhood... truth and the meaning of life.

Rating:
Summary: Just more dysfunctional people
Review: Here we go again. This book follows the lives of the most dysfunctional set of characters I've met in a long time. It was difficult to relate to or feel sympathy for any of them. The main character seems to be in a self-indulgent daze throughout. Her children are obnoxious and neglected. Why her husband sticks by these people through all their troubles is beyond me. Are we supposed to love people so unconditionally that we never question their motives or actions? The book was extremely disappointing after Ms. Hamilton's far more successful Book of Ruth.

Rating:
Summary: Unable to finish this book.
Review: I purchased "Map of the World" about 3 weeks ago ready to sink into another "Oprah's Book Club" recommendation. I've loved the last few I read, "Home Is Where The Heart Is", "The Pilots Wife", "She's Come Undone", but I am very disappointed in this book. I've picked it up serveral times only to feel very disconnected with the story and I lay it back down. I've caught myself actually day dreaming while reading, unsure of what I read. Her style of writing seems too wordy and difficult to follow. I've yet to be struck with the excitement of being unable to put this book down. After my third attempt I've decided that this book is just not for me.

Rating:
Summary: Boring....
Review: This book is the worst I have read in a long time. The initial event bears little relevance to the plot, which is a very dull trial. I got bored with the writing style, the lack of action, and the lack of verbal dialog. I am losing faith in Oprah's selections. I also cannot imagine how they are drawing people to the theater to see a 2 hour movie of this book.

Rating:
Summary: HAUNTING & UNFORGETTABLE
Review: [e-mail] I read this book because it was Oprah's choice for December. I finished it a month ago but it's still haunting my thoughts and dreams. But for the Grace of God go I. It's scary when I remember the many times I baby sat other people's children at my home, took them swimming, to the zoo, libraries, museums, church, parks...All with no untoward incidents other than mosquito bites and maybe a splinter.

Lessons to be learned from A MAP of the WORLD:

· When responsible for others who are dependent on you for protection, stay alert and in the present. Don't get sidetracked with daydreams.

· Never threaten others, not even when they deserve it. Example: Alice threatened Carol Mackessy with calling the authorities and it backfired. Carol had Alice called before the authorities, taken away from her family, jailed, beaten unconscious by a cruel, mentally deranged prison inmate, lost her farm and almost lost her familly.

· If you find you're having trouble being in charge of yourself and the path of your life, get yourself into therapy before tragedy strikes. Alice obviously had self-awareness-identity problems. It's' too bad someone, she or her hubby didn't' recognize that fact and get her into therapy before the unimaginable incident came to pass.

· Forgiveness. How to forgive the unforgivable. I don't know how the mother of the drowned child could do it so completely and immediately, without questioning or demanding some sort of payment or special favor.

· People, lives, and apparent everyday situations and circumstances are far more complex than first glance might indicate. Never take routine for granted. Be alert for the unimaginable, the unthinkable, and the unexpected! Especially when helpless little ones are in your charge.

I guarantee A MAP of the WORLD provides fuel for lively, enlightening discussions and haunting dreams.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Written Book
Review: I thought this was a beautifully written book. Although the subject matter and story-line was quite depressing and upsetting, I was rivoted to the story. It was an excellent book.

Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking!
Review: A wonderful book on the theme of LOVE as the Map of the world. Very good in organization though the changing of narration can sometimes get tricky and confusing. Other than that, i would say that the plot is : Thumbs uP!

Rating:
Summary: I'm also struggling to finish this book
Review: I agree with the reader from New Jersey. I'm still reading the book and I'm having a hard time getting interested also. I usually read a book within a couple of days and I'm struggling with this one. It's written in a very boring manner.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting read, but very overrated.
Review: The first part of this novel, narrated by protagonist Alice, really grabbed me. The basic scenario begins as Alice, living as an oddball in small-town Prairie Center, loses sight of her best friend's 2-year-old for a moment too long resulting in the child's death by drowning. The depession and emotional self-torture that Alice goes through is palpable. Then the worst happens: Alice, a part-time school nurse is accused of child abuse involving a young boy, then another...and another. Like a modern-day "Crucible" Alice is incarcerated to stand trial. The the story begins unravelling. Author Hamilton gives us over to another narration by Alice's husband, Howard, who vaccilates inexplicably between cold indifference and sudden concern. Alice, as seen through the eyes of Howard, also undergoes an indefineable transformation, changing from obsessive grief to staunch martyr in one fell swoop. Things get back on track again when Alice resumes the third and last narration as undergoes trial. But the characters remain inconsistant, and Alice, who we always know has something much deeper holding onto her from her past, ends as she starts: in a vague mystery. The Big Question is this: Why does Oprah pick such relentlessly dark and depressing books?