On WKAR’s Current State, I reviewed the new novel by Anna Quindlen. I really enjoyed Miller’s Valley and it’s obvious to me why it is doing so well with the market (and readers).

You can listen to my review here: http://wkar.org/post/book-review-anna-quindlens-millers-valley

If you would rather read my review, you can do so below.

Hey, did you know Current State has a podcast? If you subscribe, you can download episodes and segments (and you can find me every other Thursday). Here is a link to find it on iTunes- https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wkar-fm-current-state/id594609653?mt=2

If you want to check out Miller’s Valley,  you can find it on amazon here. If you want to check out my other book reviews for WKAR’s Current State, you can do so via links on this page. 

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Book Review: Miller’s Valley by Anna Quindlen

There are many characters in Anne Quindlen’s very American family epic Miller’s Valley. But the most important is probably time itself.  Everyone, including even the valley where the novel takes place seem to be trapped in an hourglass, the sand slowing falling away until there is nothing left.

At the heart of Miller’s Valley, is Mimi Miller, who is the story’s narrator. We meet her when she is young and high-spirited. She is smart, creative and has a knack for saying things that might get her in trouble. This is her world and she is seen as royalty by the community.  The valley is known as Miller’s Valley because of the history and power of her family’s farm. While the farm is not as successful now as it was for her ancestors, everyone still remembers. Some are bitter about their influence, others are accepting.

We watch Mimi age, starting at 10 and ending when she is in her 60s. There are friendships that come and go, and good relationships and, of course, bad ones as well. We cheer the good decisions she makes in her life and squirm over some of the more tragic ones. The story begins in the 1960s, and time is starting to run out for the valley and its inhabitants. It floods often and the government wants to purchase all of the land so they can build a dam, erasing the only world that Mimi and her family have ever known. The residents fight against it, and try to go on living as if time wasn’t against them and everything they hold dear.

One of the brilliant aspects of Quindlen’s novel is the characters surrounding Mimi. Each character has a distinct voice and style and jump right off the page. From her eccentric Aunt Ruth who refuses to leave her small home to her brother Tommy, a charismatic soul that changes after returning from the Vietnam War, each character is full of life. After finishing this book my thoughts keep returning to Mimi’s mother. She is a nurse and very much the realist in the family. She is the rock for all of the Millers and does her best to hold everything together. We rarely see her breakdown, but when she does it is powerful.

When Miller’s Valley comes to an end, we share the ending with the author and her character Mimi, since it feels so emotional, not simply the turning of a page. It is masterful to watch the story slip away just like that sand in the hourglass, one grain at time. In a way, Quindlen truly gives time its due. If only are own endings could be told so brilliantly.

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New book! New book! New book!

My latest novel Permanent Spring Showers was just published by 5 Prince Books. You can find out more about my novel as well as my other books (including A Jane Austen Daydream and My Problem With Doors) and grab a copy via my author page on Amazon.com here.