A Northern Light Review
Two parallel threads comprise this story. One begins with Mattie's life on the farm, and the other starts when Grace's body is discovered, unleashing an investigation. This is an incredibly rich novel. It's a compelling coming of age story about a gifted young woman struggling to choose between her dream of becoming a writer, her duty to her family, and her desire for love in an era of one-dimensional gender roles. It also explores a spectrum of other issues. It probes into the fate of married women who step outside the bounds of marital expectations. It also explores racism, the Comstock Act, which triggered a flurry of censorship in the early 20th century, and many other issues. And bibliophiles and logophiles will relish Mattie's love of words and the wealth of literary allusions in this book.
This novel explores a fascinating period of time, an era on the cusp of tremendous change. We see a rural, pioneer-type lifestyle, with horse-drawn wagons and simple lifestyles, converge with the urban world described by Edith Wharton and Theodore Dreiser, a society that is tipping toward the roaring twenties. Mattie's family life is deeply rooted in the traditions of the past, and her teacher, Emily Wilcox, gives her a glimpse into the possibilities of the future.
I really enjoyed the period detail, despite a few anachronisms. For example, we see the well-loved "Serenity Prayer", which probably wasn't written until the 1930s. The book is a little edgier than some of the literature from which it draws inspiration. The sensibilities of the narrator struck me as somewhat modern. However, this didn't diminish the novel's historical accuracy; it fit the theme of living in a world which isn't always as it's portrayed in novels and is quickly moving into a future which will bring radical social changes.
In addition to celebrating words and literature and offering rich fodder for discussion about social and historical issues, this novel is a captivating read. I fell in love with many of the characters, especially Mattie and Weaver, and I was sad to say goodbye to them after I closed the book for the last time. Ms. Donnelly, might there be a sequel? :-D The complexity of the plot, the twists in the story and the vivid dialogue and character development all made this novel, which I think will appeal equally to adult and young adult readers, difficult to put down.
A Northern Light Overview
Sixteen-year-old Mattie Gokey has big dreams but little hope of seeing them come true. Desperate for money, she takes a job at the Glenmore, where hotel guest Grace Brown entrusts her with the task of burning a secret bundle of letters. But when Grace's drowned body is fished from the lake, Mattie discovers that the letters could reveal the grim truth behind a murder.
Set in 1906 against the backdrop of the murder that inspired Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, Jennifer Donnelly's astonishing debut novel effortlessly weaves romance, history, and a murder mystery into something moving, and real, and wholly original.
Includes a reader's guide and an interview with the author.
A Northern Light Specifications
It's 1906 and 16-year-old Mattie Gokey is at a crossroads in her life. She's escaped the overwhelming responsibilities of helping to run her father's brokedown farm in exchange for a paid summer job as a serving girl at a fancy hotel in the Adirondacks. She's saving as much of her salary as she can, but she's having trouble deciding how she's going to use the money at the end of the summer. Mattie's gift is for writing and she's been accepted to Barnard College in New York City, but she's held back by her sense of responsibility to her family--and by her budding romance with handsome-but-dull Royal Loomis. Royal awakens feelings in Mattie that she doesn't want to ignore, but she can't deny her passion for words and her desire to write.
At the hotel, Mattie gets caught up in the disappearance of a young couple who had gone out together in a rowboat. Mattie spoke with the young woman, Grace Brown, just before the fateful boating trip, when Grace gave her a packet of love letters and asked her to burn them. When Grace is found drowned, Mattie reads the letters and finds that she holds the key to unraveling the girl's death and her beau's mysterious disappearance. Grace Brown's story is a true one (it's the same story told in Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy and in the film adaptation, A Place in the Sun), and author Jennifer Donnelly masterfully interweaves the real-life story with Mattie's, making her seem even more real.
Mattie's frank voice reveals much about poverty, racism, and feminism at the turn of the twentieth century. She witnesses illness and death at a range far closer than most teens do today, and she's there when her best friend Minnie gives birth to twins. Mattie describes Minnie's harrowing labor with gut-wrenching clarity, and a visit with Minnie and the twins a few weeks later dispels any romance from the reality of young motherhood (and marriage). Overall, readers will get a taste of how bitter--and how sweet--ordinary life in the early 1900s could be. Despite the wide variety of troubles Mattie describes, the book never feels melodramatic, just heartbreakingly real. (14 and older) --Jennifer Lindsay
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Customer Reviews
Condition better than expected - Donna - Bellingham, WA USA
Product arrived quickly and in much better condition than I expected for the price I paid. Would do business again with this seller. Great Amazon experience
Thematic warning - Sarara - Orem, Utah
I love historical fiction, so I expected I would love this book. It sounds a little like Anne of Green Gables crossed with a real-life murder mystery. What's not to like?
The book is very well written. I loved the word duels. But I didn't like the book overall, because I strongly disagree with the theme. It is dark, darker than I would have wanted to read as a young adult. The theme is that marriage and motherhood are soul-killing. This theme is supported by graphic depictions of a difficult birth, a horrible depiction of breastfeeding and postpartum depression, and a dearth of decent gentlemen. Mothers who are happy in motherhood should be forewarned before passing this book to their daughters.
Wonderful - Tracy C - Virginia United States
What an engaging novel - I was pulled into the story from the beginning. The writing is beautiful and the author gives just the right amount of detail (enough that you can imagine the story but not so much that you start to tune out). The plot is woven brilliantly between the factual story of Grace Brown and the fictional story of Mattie Gokey and never feels contrived.
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 09, 2010 12:25:06
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