Miller's Valley

Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen

Beautifully written, emotionally charged, and remarkably poignant, Pulitzer Prize winner Anna Quindlen once again tells a moving story that readers will find impossible to forget.

Mimi Miller narrates her story beginning as a young girl living on the family farm in the rural Pennsylvania town called Miller's Valley. It's a place on the verge of a major upheaval, though the locals refuse to acknowledge the inevitable. Government officials start with gentle persuasion, attempting to sway the people to come around to their way of thinking about turning the flood-prone valley into a reservoir. Offers of relocation are met with skepticism and downright refusal, especially by Mimi's father, Buddy. His farm has been in the family for generations. He can't imagine living anywhere else.

Mimi's mother, Miriam, is a respected nurse at the local hospital, admired for her no nonsense, practical approach to life. She valiantly struggles to raise her three children to achieve contentment in life that has alluded her. Mimi's two brothers are decidedly different in nature; Edward, staunch and dependable, Tommy, charming and gregarious. But it's Mimi, with her superior intelligence, that Miriam hopes will escape the confines of  Miller Valley. Aunt Ruth, Miriam's sister, lives on the Miller property, too, She is an agoraphobic, refusing to leave her home and harboring a shocking secret she'll take to her grave.

Tommy returns a broken man after enlisting in the Marines and serving in Vietnam. Buddy suffers a debilitating stroke. And through it all, Mimi finds the strength to carry on with an unwavering belief in family. As she watches life in Miller's Valley begin to disintegrate, her wildest dreams begin to take shape, leading her back to where it all began.

If you are a fan of Anna Quindlen, a new release is always a cause for celebration. Much like her Still Life With Breadcrumbs (reviewed under general fiction in April, 2014), she writes with passion, humor, and empathy, creating characters that become so real, it's often hard to believe it's fiction.

Her keen observation of the human spirit is outstanding. Her ability to tell a touching story that holds the reader's interest is a gift.

Wherever life takes you, "maybe everyone stays the same inside, even when their life looks nothing like what they once had, or even imagined".