A Map of the World

Jane Hamilton's novel of a young family's move to a rural, midwestern community keeps the reader on the edge of his seat. Told by dual narrators, the voices of Mary Beth Hurt and David Strathairn alternating as the voices of Alice and Howard Goodwin, provide good contrast. Both narrators convey strong emotional timbre as the story moves from the pain felt at the death of a child by drowning on the Goodwin farm, to horror at the charge of child abuse leveled at Alice. This excellent narration takes the reader from heated courtroom scenes to the insides of two people trapped by circumstances in a circle of pain. I.Z. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


C.J. Critt and Frank Muller, two outstanding readers, share the spotlight in this rare story of Wisconsin dairy farmers. A bizarre interpretation of events tears their life apart when police arrest Alice Goodwin. Frank Muller reads a portion of the story from the perspective of Howard, Alice's steady, compassionate husband. Muller conveys Howard's confusion as he abandons farming to care for their girls and help free Alice. Critt, as Alice, narrates most of the text, conveying her evolving peace amid confusion. Critt has a gift for vocal distinction, which is critical during Alice's trial. As attorneys and witnesses spar, characters jailed with Alice carry on a dialogue in her mind, guiding her with their street-smart ways. Both Critt and Muller pace the story slowly, drawing out the drama with long pauses. They carry the listener through the Goodwins's anguish to the beginning of healing. Though long, every minute of this audiobook is unforgettable. D.W.K. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

May 4, 1992
PW's boxed review called Hamilton's second novel "a piercing picture of domestic relationships under the pressure of calamitous circumstances."