Madapple

by Christina Meldrum

THE SECRETS OF the past meet the shocks of the present.
Aslaug is an unusual young woman. Her mother has brought her up in near isolation, teaching her about plants and nature and language—but not about life. Especially not how she came to have her own life, and who her father might be.

When Aslaug’s mother dies unexpectedly, everything changes. For Aslaug is a suspect in her mother’s death. And the more her story unravels, the more questions unfold. About the nature of Aslaug’s birth. About what she should do next.

About whether divine miracles have truly happened. And whether, when all other explanations are impossible, they might still happen this very day.

Addictive, thought-provoking, and shocking, Madapple is a page-turning exploration of human nature and divine intervention—and of the darkest corners of the human soul.

• ISBN10: 0375851771
• ISBN13: 9780375851773
• Publish Date: 9 March 2010 (first published 1 January 2008)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 24 November 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 416
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780375851773

Reviews

[nannah]

(3.5)

This is a tough book to review. It was also kind of a tough book to read.

Content warnings:
abuse (+child abuse)
cancer
rape

The child of a supposed virgin-birth, Aslaug lives with her mother in the isolated country, learning about different gods and plants. After her mother dies, she finds her aunt and lives with her and her aunt's two children: Rune and Sanne. There, Sanne is convinced Aslaug is a prophet and tries to convince her she's some religious figure.

The novel alternates between real-time prose and court-room dialogue where Aslaug is being questioned and on trial for murder and arson. The mystery between the past (real-time) and the court case (future, that eventually becomes real-time), is very intriguing and was definitely one of the main reasons I kept reading.

The prose is really lovely, but the dialogue, especially between Aslaug and her mother, can be really awkward and stilted. As I kept reading, I found myself noticing that problem less and less, so it could be something specific to the mother. Or I could've just been more accustomed to the dialogue style.

The most interesting aspect of this book is definitely the discussions on religion and how different religions impact/relate to each other. In that effect, I believe this book is basically a large discussion on religion itself, and how it affects lives and changes people. I'm not sure if the book really is plot-driven as much as you read it for the experience/aesthetic.

I think I found it more interesting than I actually liked it, though.

[ibeforem]

This was a sort of bizarre story. Madapple takes place in a Maine I don’t really recognize. Aslaug and her mother live in almost complete isolation in what I presume to be in-land Maine (which, believe it or not, is far different than coastal Maine), living off the land and eschewing all modern conveniences. Aslaug is barely allowed to read, let alone go to school, go shopping, or watch TV. Before her mother’s death, she doesn’t even know she has family living very nearby, and she discovers them rather accidentally. Whether or not this is a good thing is best left up to the reader.

We learn rather quickly that Aslaug is on trial for not only the death of her mother, but for burning down the church where she lived and some people inside. I enjoyed the structure of the novel as it bounced back and forth between the past and the present, revealing tiny pieces of the puzzle along the way. Things the reader assumes early in the story turn out to be far from the truth.

The author connects each chapter from the past with a particular piece of botanical knowledge. I learned about a lot of plants that I never knew existed, but sometimes there was a little too much detail when really, I just wanted to get on with the story.

Overall, I thought this was a really interesting book. It’s not light, and it’s not happy, and it touches upon not only the relationship between religion and science, but on the relationships between mothers and daughters, rape, incest, and abuse. If your book club can get past the fact that it’s technically a young adult book, I think Madapple is a great novel to stimulate discussion.