Maiden Run

Joan L. Cannon
Cambridge Books (2010)
ISBN 9781594318016
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (04/10) 


Julia’s visit to her home after many years of absence launches her desire to record the momentous events which started in June of 1935 and which forever changed her life as well as the life of her entire family. While doing so, she realizes that sometimes seeing things from a distance of some three decades makes many an event clearer and many an intent much more understandable. Recounting the tale of that faraway summer, she introduces her family as it was at the time. Her widowed, ailing father thinks it’s time that the children take over the reins of the family farm and decide what its future should be, since the times are tough and a mining company has sent over two representatives to investigate the possibility of mineral riches in the area. The three siblings, Tom, Estelle and Julia, could not be more different in their approach to the land. Tom loves it above all, and wishes to preserve it exactly as it is. His desire is strengthened even further by what the young woman, with whom he fell in love, Marian, feels for the land. Estelle is the Bohemian, rebel youngest child, who feels no attachment to the land and would dearly welcome some serious money if it could be obtained by selling the mining rights to the developers. Julia is resigned to what she sees as her duty, namely staying on the farm and taking care of her family, although her desires clearly lay elsewhere. Who will prevail and what will the consequences be for the Adams family?

“Maiden Run” is a charming and nostalgic novel of much slower and much simpler times and a wonderful snapshot in time of a slowly disappearing rural America. It is a novel about the importance of having roots and a place to call home, about respecting nature and living in harmony with it, about value of hard, honest work and strong family value and above all, a novel about many facets of love. Although moving somewhat slowly in parts, it is a powerful and meaningful book, which will remind the reader of the things that really matter and the values that endure. Finely crafted characters, intelligent dialogue, lyrical descriptions of nature and valuable thoughts on change make this a book that will stay with the reader for a good while. My only significant criticism would be along the lines of “sometimes less is more.” While I certainly appreciate a writer with a rich and extensive vocabulary, sometimes using a simpler word might have just felt more appropriate. Take for example the following sentence: “The notion occurs to her that such narratives might grow like accretions in a stream, taking shapes that look more random than perhaps they are.” Particularly for a book set in simpler, gentler times, this seemed to be unduly convoluted.

“Maiden Run” should appeal to a wide circle of readers, particularly those who are not seeking a cheap thrill but a more thought-provoking book.

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