Willem's Field : A Novel

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: 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!