While growing up, one usually has a concept of “home,” a familiar place where loved ones reside. The coming-of-age story, “Miller’s Valley” by Anna Quindlen, explores the theme of home and what happens when it is lost.
Throughout the novel, readers follow the life of Mimi Miller from the time she is a child of 11 to well after her middle-aged years, beginning during the 1960s.Mimi’s family has lived in Miller’s Valley for generations, working the land as farmers.
As a young girl, Mimi can’t imagine leaving the valley that is so important to her family. However, as she grows up, she discovers she has the potential to leave her small-town life behind.
As with all families, the Millers have their share of complicated relationships. Mimi’s mother and her sister Ruth do not get along. Despite their seemingly mutual dislike of one another, Ruth lives in a house next to Mimi and her family, a house that she refuses to leave for any reason.
Then there is Mimi’s older brother Tommy, who tended to get into trouble often when she was in middle school. In spite of his problematic behavior, Mimi looks up to him and their mother adores him. After going overseas to serve in Vietnam, Tommy is never the same.
Unlike Tommy, Mimi does not have a very strong connection to her oldest brother Eddie, who moved away to study engineering when she was a child. After excelling in school and receiving a full scholarship to medical school, she realizes that she can leave Miller’s Valley too.
However, leaving becomes more complicated than it seems. As Mimi grows up, she learns of the government’s plan to flood Miller’s Valley in order to build a dam. Although she moved away from her childhood home, she eventually finds herself back after the valley she once knew is gone, flooded with water.
Quindlen paints a vivid picture of Mimi’s life in the valley, and its characters are rich and believable. As Mimi grows to learn more about herself, she also learns more about the people of Miller’s Valley, and in particular, her own family and some of the dark secrets they harbor.
Although some of what she learns is extremely shocking, Mimi never judges or feels a sense of betrayal or anger by what she learns. Once she is an adult, she learns to accept the things she has figured out and decides not to question what she does not understand.
The only character that is under-developed in the novel is Donald, Mimi’s childhood friend and later husband. He moves away when she is 13, and writes her letters over the years. He seeks her out when she is entering medical school and they automatically fall for each other, which seems a little too easy.
Nevertheless, the novel is engrossing and satisfying, although it leaves some questions unanswered. These unanswered questions remind readers that this is how life works. Sometimes there is no choice but to leave one’s home, but either way, a part of that home always remains.
