Jane Hamilton celebrates families in her own special way
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Wisconsin-based author Jane Hamilton is known for her literary style. Yet she describes her plots as being the stuff of "Monday night movies."
MPR Photo/Euan Kerr
Early on in Jane Hamilton's new novel "When Madeline was Young," Mac the narrator discovers what he thinks is a family secret.
He'd always assumed that the glamorous but brain-damaged woman living in their home was an aunt. It turns out that Madeline is actually his father's first wife, who had been injured in a bicycle crash. As in her other novels, "The Book of Ruth" and "Map of the World," Hamilton weaves a tale of family love and conflict.
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