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.
"Though Mac suggests there are "gothic possibilities" in his parents' story, the Macivers' passions remain tepid and unresolved, and Julia remains an enigma to her son." - PW.
"Hamilton is exquisitely observant and unfailingly generous to the characters she creates: every life has weight and dignity." - Kirkus.
"While Hamilton gives the political climate of the Sixties considerable attention, her story is more about how people, by bonding together, can transcend tragedy and loss with love, tolerance, and humor." - Library Journal.
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Jane Hamilton lives, works, and writes in an orchard farmhouse in Rochester, Wisconsin. She is the author of five novels. Her first novel, The Book of Ruth, won the PEN/Ernest Hemingway Award for best first novel and was a selection of the Oprah Book Club. Her second novel, A Map of the World, was also a selection of the Oprah Book Club and became an international bestseller. Her other works include, The Short History of a Prince (1998), Disobedience (2000), When Madeline Was Young (2006), and Laura Rider's Masterpiece (2009).

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