A Northern Light

Posted by Shelly at Thursday, December 08, 2011

A Northern Light, by Jennifer Donnelly, is based on a true story. In an author's note, Donnelly explains:

"On July 12, 1906, the body of a young woman named Grace Brown was pulled from the waters of Big Moose Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. The boat she'd been in had been found capsized and floating in a secluded bay. There was no sign of her companion, a young man who'd rented the boat under the name of Carl Grahm. It was feared that he, too, had drowned. Grace Brown's death appeared to be an accident, and neither the men who dragged the lake nor the staff at the hotel where the couple had registered could have forseen that they would soon be embroiled in one of the most sensational murder trials in New York's history." (p. 381)

Donnelly's book is narrated by Mathilda (Mattie) Gokey, a fictional 16-year-old young woman who lives with her family on their farm near the lake where the real Grace Brown died. When the story begins, Mattie's mother has recently died, and as the eldest girl Mattie is forced to take over much of her mother's household and farm responsibilities. Meanwhile, the family is short on cash because Mattie's father has not been able to leave his children to earn money as a logger, as he used to do when his wife was alive.

Mattie has big dreams, though, that do not include staying on the farm. She is a writer and has been accepted to Barnard College in New York City. When the story begins, Mattie is busy making breakfast for her family, but she is also trying to find the courage to ask her father about going to college the following fall. She needs to earn money, so she also wants his permission to take a summer job at one of the local hotels -- the same hotel where Grace Brown and Carl Grahm were staying.

So what will be Mattie's ultimate fate: will she stay on the farm, helping her family? Will she get married and become a farm wife? Or will she be able to follow her dreams, attending Barnard and becoming a writer? And how is her fate tied to that of poor Grace Brown, whose dreams -- and life -- were tragically cut short? Mattie's narrative, which alternates between two time periods, develops themes related to these questions as Mattie struggles to find her place and her voice. Her interactions with the rich and varied cast of characters Donnelly created, including family, friends, neighbors, employers, criminals, and a very special teacher, work together to create a meaningful, compelling story. I loved spending time in Mattie's world, and I loved what her story says about women, about being different, and about accepting and valuing people for who they really are.

 

2 comments:

Bekki said...

Grace Brown's story reminded me of Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy", so I looked it up and sure enough, that's who it's based on. I loved Dreiser's book, I'll have to read this one, it sounds good!

December 8, 2011 at 5:19 PM  

Shelly said...

And I would like to read Dreiser's book. I'll put it on my "to read" list. Thanks, Bekki!

December 10, 2011 at 6:32 AM  

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