Miller's Valley - Anna Quindlen

Miller's Valley

By Anna Quindlen

  • Release Date: 2016-04-05
  • Genre: Literary Fiction
4.5 Score: 4.5 (From 298 Ratings)

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In a small town on the verge of big change, a young woman unearths deep secrets about her family and unexpected truths about herself—an emotionally powerful novel you will never forget.

“Overwhelmingly moving . . . In this novel, where so much is about what vanishes, there is also a deep beating heart, of what also stays.”—The New York Times Book Review

For generations the Millers have lived in Miller’s Valley. Mimi Miller tells about her life with intimacy and honesty. As Mimi eavesdrops on her parents and quietly observes the people around her, she discovers more and more about the toxicity of family secrets, the dangers of gossip, the flaws of marriage, the inequalities of friendship and the risks of passion, loyalty, and love. Home, as Mimi begins to realize, can be “a place where it’s just as easy to feel lost as it is to feel content.”

Miller’s Valley is a masterly study of family, memory, loss, and, ultimately, discovery, of finding true identity and a new vision of home. As Mimi says, “No one ever leaves the town where they grew up, even if they go.” Miller’s Valley reminds us that the place where you grew up can disappear, and the people in it too, but all will live on in your heart forever.

Reviews

  • Slow paced novel!

    2
    By Kris Anderson, The Avid Reader
    Miller’s Valley by Anna Quindlen is told from Mary Margaret’s (Mimi) point of view. Mimi is a young girl growing up in Miller’s Valley where the government wants to move everyone out the valley (where it floods the homes when it rains) and flood it creating a reservoir. We get to see how Mimi grew up, her family, and her home life (the book starts when she is eleven years old). Mimi’s Aunt Ruth lives in a cottage behind the main farmhouse. Aunt Ruth never leaves her cottage. She does not do cooking and expects meals to be brought to her. She also has to have someone do the shopping. Mimi’s mother, Miriam is a nurse and her father, Buddy runs the family farm. Her brother, Tommy goes off to fight in the Vietnam War and returns a different man. We get to see Mimi grow up in Miller’s Valley, live her life, go to school, get married, and then, ultimately, come back to Miller’s Valley. I thought Miller’s Valley would be more than the life of one girl growing up in a small town. I found Miller’s Valley to be boring. The story is told in the first-person perspective (which I really dislike). It was more like reading a diary than a novel. I had a very hard time staying awake to read it. There is no depth to the book. The book is simple and easy to read, but there is no spark. This book does not leave with any impression when you are done reading it (except glad it is over). I give Miller’s Valley 2.5 out of 5 stars. I received a complimentary copy of Miller’s Valley from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of the novel.
  • Miller's Valley

    4
    By Tenth Avenue
    I am an avid reader and I have never written a review. But Miller's Valley touched upon so many emotions that I cried through the entire last chapter. I just have to share my opinion of this book. I didn't give it a full five stars because I thought (I don't want to give too much information away) that one sad incident in Mimi's life was not handled very well. But kudos to the author for bringing a flawed but colorful family into our hearts.
  • Wonderful!

    5
    By ladybug 5252
    This is a beautifully written story. It grabbed me from the first page and I couldn't put it down. A must read!
  • I loved this book

    5
    By Pthelp
    A coming of age tale of a young woman determined to become someone other than a small town girl, and to have a plan, instead of having life just happen to her.

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