Miller's Valley
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4.3 • 3 Ratings
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
~The New York Times bestselling novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer~
‘Miller's Valley reads like a companion to Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge’ Elisabeth Egan, author of A Window Opens
Mimi Miller’s family have lived in Miller’s Valley for generations and at times it feels like nothing ever changes – until now when the town is under threat. But as Mimi looks back on the span of her life in this place, she confronts the toxicity of secrets, the dangers of gossip, the flaws of marriage, the risks and inequalities of friendship, loyalty and passion. Home, she acknowledges, is somewhere it’s just as easy to feel lost as contented.
A captivating, beautifully crafted story of family and memory that recalls the work of Anne Tyler or Elizabeth Strout, 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 for ever.
'Qualities and shades of love are this writer's strong suit, and she has the unusual talent for writing about them with so much truth and heart that one is carried away on a tidal wave of involvement and concern' Elizabeth Jane Howard
'Mesmerizing. Quindlen makes her characters so richly alive, so believable, that it’s impossible not to feel every doubt and dream they harbor . . . Overwhelmingly moving’ New York Times
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Quindlen's latest novel, following Still Life with Breadcrumbs, is a moving exploration of family and notions of home. Mimi Miller recounts her life beginning in the 1960s in Miller's Valley, a small Pennsylvania town where her family has been firmly rooted for generations. Government officials warn that a flood could drown the family farm, and Mimi observes her community's reactions while trying to reconcile her own ambitions with her loyalty to home. Her father refuses to relocate, and seeing his stubbornness, Mimi begins to understand her mother's own unrealized dreams. She also wonders about her reclusive aunt, who lives in a small house on their property and never ventures outside. She watches as her brother, Tommy, tries to escape a feeling of stagnancy by enlisting in the military, only to find himself more trapped than before. Meanwhile, she forges her own escapes into school, romance, and sex. Though the pacing is somewhat uneven, Quindlen's prose is crisp and her insights resonant. This coming-of-age story is driven as much by the fully realized characters as it is by the astute ideas about progress and place.
