A Map of the World

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Summary: Unlikable Characters
Review: I just don't understand how so many people can love this book so. I felt none of the characters were likable especially Alice. Howard would have been better off without her--I would have been just as happy if she had had to stay in jail. Way too wordy and depressing. As a mother of young children, it didn't bother me at all to read this. It was too lousy even to care about. As for Oprah's picks, I am surprised. Midwives is the only other one of her suggestions I have read, which also left me annoyed with the main character and the story as well. I'll give Oprah one more chance.

Rating:
Summary: Too wordy
Review: This book starts out slow and is difficult to get into. The last chapters are the best but too bad you have to read the others first.

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Summary: This is one story I will reread
Review: If you have ever lost love - you must read this. I read this book on a 7 hour plane flight to see my daughter, I cried not at the end - but as the story unfolds.

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Summary: perception is everything
Review: In Map of the World you come to understand that what you perceive as truth, is true to you but may not be true to another person. Filled with feelings and imagery for emotions, this book is thought provoking and uncommonly sad. It is worth reading, but is a bit wordy.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional
Review: I read this book a while ago, before I had a child and still remember it vividly. I was moved to tears as well as intrigued by Ms Hamilton's ability to show how different situations can be perceived, depending on how you look at it and what you want to believe. Reading this book was an emotional roller coaster, but well worth it. Ms Hamilton provides some valuable insights into human nature.

Rating:
Summary: Worth Reading
Review: I enjoyed this book even though it was so sad. I do not feel that anything was resolved by the end of the novel. In fact, I believe that things will never be resolved for these characters. It is so true to life -- you pay the consequences for your actions, good and bad, and you just have to deal with it and go on. I think Alice, Howard, Theresa, Emma and Claire will all pay the price for the rest of their lives. You can never go home because home doesn't exist as it did before. The book is so well-written, however, from a different perspective than most fiction. The story is told subjectively through the eyes of Alice and Howard, rather than objectively. It's not a book that moves along quickly from one event to the next. It's more about the feelings and emotions of the characters. As you read the story, you feel as though you are going through the events through the eyes of the characters.

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Summary: DON'T READ THIS IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN
Review: This book was both depressing and boring. Why people enjoy reading about dying children baffles me.

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Summary: The most powerful, emotional book ever...
Review: I was amazed by this book. So much so that when I saw it here I had to make some comment. The emotions the women in this book go through is so visually powerful. There were parts where I cried and was taken in to a world where I could not escape. This is one of the few books I read in one night. Excellent choice for something when you can't sleep.

Rating:
Summary: Alices map of the world
Review: I just finished this book for the second time. It is an excellent book, Ms Hamiltion is truly a wonderful author. I did not like Alice at all. She is so self-absorbed, in her own world. If she had been paying attention Lizzy would not have drowned. Howard was my favorite charcter. I was secretly in love with him when he said he 'milked golden gurnseys because he liked the way it sounded'. He was way too good for Alice, he should have had someone who cared as much for the land as he did. When he sold it, he lost a piece of his soul. I wish he had not sold it, Alice could have stayed in jail. She drove me crazy. Howard had such a real sense of farm life and heritage. How he cared about the trunk in the attic and the kitchen table. He 'knew' what life was about. I have read all of Ms Hamilton's novels. They are excellent.

Rating:
Summary: Oprah Sure Can Pick 'Em
Review: Reading this book, I never wanted to put it down. I'd read a bit at night, and then not want to put it down to go to sleep. The characters are well written, and in general, the book is so well written I could picture all the action as it was happening. I could really feel for Alice and Howard. It was an absolutely amazing book.