When Aaron Maciver's beautiful young wife, Madeline, suffers brain damage in a bike accident, she is left with the intellectual powers of a seven-year-old. In the years that follow, Aaron and his second wife care for Madeline with deep tenderness and devotion as they raise two children of their own.
Narrated by Aaron's son Mac, WHEN MADELINE WAS YOUNG chronicles the Maciver family through the decades, from Mac's childhood growing up in Wisconsin with Madeline and his cousin Buddy, through the Vietnam War, his years as a husband with children of his own, and his cousin's involvement in the subsequent Gulf Wars. Jane Hamilton, with not only her usual keen observations of human relationships but also her humor, deftly explores the Macivers' unusual situation as she examines notions of childhood (through Mac and Buddy's actual youth as well as Madeline's infantilization) and a rivalry between Buddy's and Mac's families that spans decades and various wars. She captures the pleasures and frustrations of marriage and family and exposes the role that past relationships, rivalries, and regrets inevitably play in the lives of adults.
Inspired in part by Elizabeth Spencer's The Light in the Piazza, Hamilton offers an honest, exquisite portrait of how a family tragedy forever shapes and alters the boundaries of love.
Written by Anonymous from Scottsdale, AZ
on September 23rd, 2008
Book Rating: 4/5
I really enjoyed this book. Jane Hamilton is a great writer and reader did a great job. The compassion of Julia and her kids for Madeline is something to admire. If you select this books you won't be disappointed
When Madeline Was Young
Written by Anonymous from Earlysville, VA
on April 12th, 2007
Book Rating: 2/5
Do not know what I think when this was all done; but I kept at it, thinking there would be a climax at some point.
