Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2008
416 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
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.
"Starred Review. There is much to ponder in this enthralling achievement from a debut author." - Booklist.
"Starred Review. A markedly intelligent offering mixing lush descriptions of plants, history, science and religion, this should surely spark interest among a wide array of readers. With this spellbinding debut, Meldrum marks herself as an author to watch." - Kirkus Reviews.
"Starred Review. Audiences will need some intellectual mettle for the densely seeded ideas, but they won't be able to stop reading. Ages 14–up." - Publishers Weekly.
This information about Madapple was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Christina Meldrum received her Bachelor of Arts in religious studies and political science from the University of Michigan. After working in grassroots development in Africa, she earned her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. She was an intern with the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva, Switzerland, and a litigator at the law firm of Shearman & Sterling. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family and is on the advisory board of the West African micro-financing organization, Women of the World Investments.
She is an award-winning author and an attorney. Her most recent novel is Amaryllis In Blueberry, published in 2011. Her first novel Madapple, published in the United State in 2008, was a finalist for the William C. Morris Award and the PEN USA ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Christina Meldrum's Website
This Is Salvaged
by Vauhini Vara
Stories of uncanny originality from Vauhini Vara, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.
Devil Makes Three
by Ben Fountain
A brilliant and propulsive novel set in Haiti from the award-winning, bestselling author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.
25 Copies to Give Away!
A daring CIA operation threatens chaos in the Kremlin. But can Langley trust the Russian at its center?
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
