Rating: 
Summary: Over rated!!
Review: I was very excited to read this book because I had heard so much about it. I'm starting to think that I did not read the same book as most reviewers. I found the descriptions drawn out so much that they were boring and I felt absolutely no sympathy for the main character at all. Howard was her God sent, but she treated him terrible. I actually got to the point that I wished he would just leave her in jail and be done with her. I would only recommend this book if it was the absolute only thing to read. Don't waste your time or money!!
Rating: 
Summary: Changed my Life
Review: Okay, so the book is a bit contrived and not Shakespeare. However, not a day goes by I don't think about this novel. I read it nearly two years ago and I am still haunted by its realism. As a teacher, I can so clearly see how one woman could find herself accused and go crazy because of the false accusation. Nobody knows what goes on behind our closed doors. I teach Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" and each time I read it, Hamilton's novel comes to mind. If you haven't read this novel yet, but it, borrow it, do whatever you have to do today.
Rating: 
Summary: Half and Half
Review: The story idea was great and there were parts when I was unable to put this book down but there were some parts where this book seemed to drag on a bit. I believed what happened to Alice could happen to anyone, yes she should have been watching the girls more closely but it was an accident. What surprised me was the way Theresa was able to forgive her that soon. Alice was her own worst enemy in this story, but I think it was important to the story to show that Alice was not just a goody two shoes that was wrongfully accused of Sexual Abuse. The descriptions of someone going through a nervous breakdown and the ordeal in jail were well written and I would recommend reading this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Finding Her Way
Review: Life kept getting worse for Alice Goodwin as big issues like depression, responsibility for a death, and child molestation accusations were thrust in her direction in Jane Hamilton's A Map of the World. Barely coping with the negligence that caused the death of her best friends daughter, Alice Goodwin is unexpectedly forced to stand trial for allegedly molesting a child while on duty as a school nurse. Switching narration from Alice to her husband in mid-novel, provided the reader with two sharply contrasting outlooks on the situation, allowing the reader to develop her own opinions. After the negligent death of her friend's daughter, Alice portrayed her depression as the only logical response to her negligence in the death of a child. However, her husband disagreed, saying, "Alice was born exaggerating" (120). Even this backstabbing between spouses served a purpose in that all the characters were realistically portrayed. Just as the reader became sympathetic towards Alice, she took out her temper on her five-year-old daughter when she "grabbed Emma...and shook her"(111). Although the complexity of the characters was fully developed, crucial events in the novel were merely stated and never analyzed. During Alice's trial, there were pages exclusively of dialogue between a lawyer and a witness on the stand. The reader gained little perspective as to the gravity of the situation because there were scarce intervals in which character insight was provided. Nevertheless, Hamilton was still able to project an overall uplifting tone, as the characters struggled to survive through the most difficult of circumstances. As a child, Alice had designed a map of a fantasy world unobtainable to her, but after her pivotal testimony at trial, Alice expressed her contentment, saying that if she could design a fantasy world it would include her two daughters and husband (382). Overall, this is an inspirational novel for readers curious as to how a family is profoundly altered by one event blown out of proportion by a community.
Rating: 
Summary: Unable to Connect...
Review: with this book. It never grabbed me. Some books get to me immediately, this one I had a tough time connecting with. So much so, that I rented the video to see if I was missing something. To which I found that I wasn't.
Rating:
Summary: Emotional disconnect
Review: I received this book as a present and immediately dreaded reading it because of the "Oprah's Book Club Award" on the cover. Sure enough, it had the slow-paced, overly descriptive style drowning in emotional prose and overly ponderous characters I tend not to appreciate. HOWEVER, I do understand that it does appeal to many people and have this to offer as more obejctive criticism:The book begins in the voice of Alice, then switches to the voice of Harold, her husband, then back again. What disturbed me was the fact that I could find little difference in their voices even though they were two vastly different characters. Harold's descriptions of his thoughts and surroundings were so detailed and analytic of his emotions that I thought I was reading the thoughts of a woman not a nature-loving burly farmer (no matter how mild-mannered and soft-hearted he is). Moreover, I agree with the reviews that these character were incredibly difficult to connect with. They were supposed to have been depicted as flawed but still worthy of love. But they failed to elicit such emotions because of their own emotional disconnect. They spoke vividly about their emotions, but did so in a way that made it seem as if they were merely reading them off of a script. I could not feel that they were in fact feeling those emotions. And though I realize that the book aims to depict their own emotional disconnect because of the traumatizing nature of their predicament, I was so detached from the characters that it took me close to half the book to be able to remember what their names were. I short, while the prose was at times elegant and the themes at times interesting, this novel didn't engage me as emotionally believable on many levels.
Rating:
Summary: Boooring! Don't waste your money with this book.
Review: I found this book to be very dull. There was no flow to it and there wasn't enough emotion in the writing. I felt that there could have been a little more pizazz to it. The two different viewpoints was a cool idea but the overall story and the outcome at the end was just too BOOORING! I felt like I wasted my time with this one.
Rating:
Summary: A Strong Read
Review: I liked it! It was not at all what I thought it would be. The end was a bit anti-climatic but overall I thought it was worth the time. It could be a bit slow paced but it always picked up again. An enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling story - less than likable main characters.
Review: A Map of the world by Jane Hamilton is a disturbing and compelling book about child protective services misused by an individuals twisted needs. Hamilton is an author gifted in the use of prose. Her descriptions are beautiful and well worded. However her main characters Alice and Howard are not entirely likable people. This makes it hard to be totally in sympathy with their situation. There were several points in the story in which I would normally be quite moved, but felt little or nothing because of my distance from the characters. While the story was quite plausible and I appreciated the story line. There were parts of the story which did not ring true to life at all. Could any one be as forgiving as Theresa? Would anyone be so stupid as to talk to the police the way Alice did? The story is told in both Alice and Howard's voice. Which when you get right down to it do not sound that different. Alice is a little more flighty and Howard more disengaged. They both have trouble focusing and this just makes the book difficult to read. Their thought processes are atypical of anyone I know. Who thinks this way? Alice states when talking about her lawyer "I realize now that I always sense that quality in people about whom I feel rapturous." All in all I think this is a worthwhile book and an important story. I do wish it was told in a way that I felt some sympathy with the people involved.
Rating:
Summary: Heavy
Review: Map of the World is very intense and somewhat disturbing but a great read none the less. The premise stayed with me for a long time and I almost put off play dates where I had other chldren in my care for a few weeks after I read it. I wouldn't reccomend this as a light, vacation book, but rather a rainy day book where you are safe at home to shudder at the thought that anything can happen, even to good people.
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