Rating: 
Summary: Haynes writes with a formidable passion and humour.
Review: I became familiar with Melinda Haynes's work a few years ago when I picked up the challenging Mother of Pearl. I can't say that I enjoyed Mother of Pearl, so it was with some trepidation and a certain amount curiosity that I picked up a copy of Willem's Field. I was really surprised how much I enjoyed this novel, and I'm shocked that's it's not getting more notoriety. This is wonderfully eloquent piece of work - just gorgeous. Haynes has a beautiful, rolling lyrical style that just melts over the page - you can tell that she's just passionate about the South. There is so much attention to detail here, and just so much to take in that a second reading would certainly do this book justice. Willem's Field is far more character driven than plot driven, but this doesn't detract from the story at all. Haynes beautifully weaves both plot and character to satisfying effect. She has an ear for natural dialogue and is also able to portray intimate details of small town life, along with the environment - fields sounding the town of Purvis, Mississippi - and the major characters' intimate domestic habits. The dialogue will have you laughing and crying - moving from the absurdly acerbic and funny to the sad and heart rendering; this is a real achievement for Melinda Haynes. The characters are startling in their three dimensionality: the aging Eilene, lonely and bitter over her "lot" in life and resentful of her fat lazy son, Sonny; Eilene's eldest son, Bruno, suffering a spinal injury from the Vietnam war, caught in an unhappy and discontented marriage to his wife Leah; and Leah herself, feeling deserted and alone, left to care for the farm and ponder with bitterness the dysfunctional relationship she's had with her eccentric parents. And then there's Willem, old, tired and suffering terminal panic attacks, and returning to Purvis from Colorado, to reconnect with his old life and search for home and happiness. There are many wonderfully eccentric and "real" characters and all of them, both major and minor, are searching for acceptance while trying to get by in a world that seems harsh and distant. The depiction of these characters is so authentic that you can imagine knowing these people or having them live next door to you, and it was such a wonderful opportunity to spend some time with them. Willem's Field is also a great depiction of the 1970's, deftly recreating an era of Nixon, rock music, bell-bottoms, and the innocence of a country rocked by the effects of the Vietnam War. This is definably one the best books of the year, and Melinda Haynes's finest and most nuanced book to date. Five stars. Michael
Rating: 
Summary: I'd like to sit and have coffee with these people!
Review: I found this book a joy to read. Original characters that pop off the page and sit down and have coffee. Now retired and in his twilight years, Willem Fremont hasn't been back to his home town of Purvis, Mississippi since he left at age nineteen. Certain he will find answers there, he journeys back in search of the source of his panic attacks. What unfolds is a finally crafted quilt of the interrelated lives of family and friends in all their heartwarming, hilarious glory that is as true in the South as it is in the Midwest and New York City. Set in the 70s, it brings together many of the social and political problems, gets under them and puts a human face on them. I don't want to spoil any of the fun of turning these pages, but I will promise there will be at least one moment you'll chuckle and say, "This writer's been to my house!" I've not read Melinda Haynes first two books, Mother of Pearl and Chalktown, but I will. A strong character driven story, this would make a good independant film.
Rating:
Summary: I'd like to sit and have coffee with these people!
Review: I found this book a joy to read. Original characters that pop off the page and sit down and have coffee. Now retired and in his twilight years, Willem Fremont hasn't been back to his home town of Purvis, Mississippi since he left at age nineteen. Certain he will find answers there, he journeys back in search of the source of his panic attacks. What unfolds is a finally crafted quilt of the interrelated lives of family and friends in all their heartwarming, hilarious glory that is as true in the South as it is in the Midwest and New York City. Set in the 70s, it brings together many of the social and political problems, gets under them and puts a human face on them. I don't want to spoil any of the fun of turning these pages, but I will promise there will be at least one moment you'll chuckle and say, "This writer's been to my house!" I've not read Melinda Haynes first two books, Mother of Pearl and Chalktown, but I will. A strong character driven story, this would make a good independant film.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful!
Review: I just read a strange review of Willem's Field in the Washington Post and wondered if the reviewer had read the same book I did. The first thing she did was type-cast Haynes as a woman's writer. (Her evidence was that Haynes first book was an Oprah selection). After reading my third Haynes book in Willem's Field, I wonder how the reviewer came up with that soubriquet. By her standards Pat Conroy is a military brat writer and Amy Tan is a Chinese immigrant kid's writer. It totally ignores what raises Haynes to the level of outstanding writer. Though Haynes sets her books in the South, I don't find her a genre writer. If she has a genre it is like that of Walker Percy's -- redemption in the face of everyday repression.
One of the worst things that one can do about Willem's Field is to judge it by synopsis as the Post writer did. I don't know any artist who would survive such a judgement; Melville, Faulkner (a frequent victim of the technique in his lifetime) and Twain couldn't survive such a spiritless scrutiny.
Willem's Field is a seductive work. It blends a field (pun accidental)of black humor with a deep introspection. Haynes does it with her greatest gift, her canvas of words. And one of the amazing things is that in situations where you can feel like laughing outloud, but still feel emotionally tied to the characters. Haynes loves all her characters. With one noticeable exception. And she has you grinning with nasty, gloating justice when he meets a gruesome and most unladylike end.
One caveat: Willems Field requires an enjoyment of reading for the sake of reading, with reading being a creative experience of its own. Is is a seductive process. The opening chapter of the book works because she draws the reader into this creation, which sets off a panic attack by an old man whose life is being destroyed by the affliction. It could have been off-putting, but Haynes makes it something special by treating panic disorder that is also a part of her own life with that dark humor. She can be rough and raunchy at times. She writes from life.
I loved the book, and find it the best of her three. There is a growth in her fiction that is delightful.
Rating:
Summary: A dark book with a happy ending
Review: Melinda Haynes has written a wonderfully simple, yet delightfully complicated book about how ordinary people can overcome seemingly debilitating social and familial malaise. The reader is left wondering how Haynes recreates the panic disorder scenes without suffering from the affliction herself. The ease with which she writes about Willem's episodes leaves you with understanding and empathy for a condition that is not present in everyday life, for most.
However, she also confronts an affliction that is all too common in many families - the consequence of living generations without communicating. Circumstances conspire against the characters, bringing them to a point where either violence or clarity will emerge. And until the end, you're never sure which it will be. All those who are stuck in the rut of everyday life, that are unhappy with their boring, monotonous lives, will read this book and be thankful for the simple things that can bring them happiness. For these characters, their happiness was just below the surface, the last place they were all looking. And by persevering, they survived. "Willem's Field" is a commentary on the lives of ordinary people, looking for happiness. And a message that life's purpose may be right under our noses.
Rating:
Summary: A dark book with a happy ending
Review: Melinda Haynes has written a wonderfully simple, yet delightfully complicated book about how ordinary people can overcome seemingly debilitating social and familial malaise. The reader is left wondering how Haynes recreates the panic disorder scenes without suffering from the affliction herself. The ease with which she writes about Willem's episodes leaves you with understanding and empathy for a condition that is not present in everyday life, for most.
However, she also confronts an affliction that is all too common in many families - the consequence of living generations without communicating. Circumstances conspire against the characters, bringing them to a point where either violence or clarity will emerge. And until the end, you're never sure which it will be. All those who are stuck in the rut of everyday life, that are unhappy with their boring, monotonous lives, will read this book and be thankful for the simple things that can bring them happiness. For these characters, their happiness was just below the surface, the last place they were all looking. And by persevering, they survived. "Willem's Field" is a commentary on the lives of ordinary people, looking for happiness. And a message that life's purpose may be right under our noses.
Rating:
Summary: Definite winner
Review: Similar in voice and rich, deep characterization as her other novels (Mother of Pearl and Chalktown), this book will not disappoint. Touched to the depths of my soul, I look into a mirror when I read Haynes' work; I promise that Willem's Field will enlighten while it entertains, evokes and perplexes. Great read!
Rating:
Summary: Definite winner
Review: Similar in voice and rich, deep characterization as her other novels (Mother of Pearl and Chalktown), this book will not disappoint. Touched to the depths of my soul, I look into a mirror when I read Haynes' work; I promise that Willem's Field will enlighten while it entertains, evokes and perplexes. Great read!
Rating:
Summary: True and Honest People.
Review: These people could be my neighbors! Haynes' characters were placed and portrayed in such a way that I felt like I was watching this whole sensitive and serious, yet incredibly humorous story right from a house next door. The Writer has a way of 'curling a statement,' causing me to re-read certain sections for my own pure enjoyment. Willem's Field is a cleverly orchestrated story that left me fervent to find out what outlandish thing would happen next. My favorite chapters were 'Willem and the moles,' which comforted not only an old man in an impossible situation, but me as well; and 'Sonny and Conchita and the tap shoes,' which I dare anyone to read with a straight face. Melinda Haynes has a style I thoroughly enjoy, and she's placed it in a book I couldn't put down. I highly recommend this great read.
Rating:
Summary: Melinda Haynes has done it again
Review: When I find an author that I love to read, I wait for them to bring us another book. I was certainly not disappointed by Ms. Haynes third book. As I read her work I am in awe, how does she come up with these storylines? Between the brothers, the mother and Willem, we are given a cast of true characters. this is a must read.
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