The Mineral Palace

by Heidi Julavits

Book Overview

Set in Depression-era Colorado, this stunning debut follows Bena Jonssen-a woman struggling with her role as a wife and mother-as she is drawn to the seamier side of Pueblo. Here she encounters a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425179826
• ISBN13: 9780425179826
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A debut to remember

It is a mark of distinction in a novelist when she can pull such deep emotions from a reader. This novel is the first from an author reminiscient of Joyce Carol Oates in her darkest days. We have a semi-fictional era portrayed from generations ago full of dispair from monumental disasters, financial and otherwise, with hope a scarce commodity. Julavits shapes the edges of her story with gut wrenching visuals of animal cruelty. Not only do we see how such a deprived society is so afflicted to punish the most innocent among them, we also get descriptions of the animals inflicting suffering on themselves perhaps to escape the despair which is so evident. Julavits portrays men, at best to be suspicious of, and at worst, people not in control of their basest animal instincts. The reader is left to guess why such a seemingly established half of a couple with child is so enthralled by a seedier, but possibly without pretense existence. One in which the town whore is exhalted and the society ladies shunned. I'll leave the specifics for you to discover. An unbelievable novel that should be celebrated by all.

Evocative, sensual, enigmatic, eponymous novel

I don't know where to start! This novel is a pager turner of an incredible story with an abyss of emotional depth that will leave the reader spent, shaken out of his or her wooden workaday existence. The descriptions of the dust-bowl and the Depression (the period following the stock market crash of 1929) made me weep more than once. The cast of characters calls to mind Dickens, and the presence of artificial limbs is outright Melvillian.I just bought three of these to give out as birthday presents this year. This is definitely a heartbreaking work of incredible genius.

Make Up Your Own Mind!

I thought this was a great novel, first or otherwise. Great to me means it takes me to a time and place I've either never been to before, not seen from the writer's/characters' perspective, or a time and place to which I want to return. Here, its a mining town in Colorado during the depression era. The characters are not like any I know (and many I wouldn't want to know), but they were fascinating to meet as the story progressed. The town, mountains and characters are described in such a thoughtful and colorful way that I could see and feel them (or feel for them). While they were all a bit odd, many were endearing. Most importantly, the story kept me coming back for more every night until I finished it (not an easy task with three kids and a two hour a day commute!). I didn't find it depressing, and I don't think I'm a depressed person! And come to find out, there really was a Mineral Palace in Pueblo, CO! All the sweeter! I can't wait for Julavits' next novel, and it won't be judged as her first!

Amazing First Novel

This book passed my test for a good novel -- I didn't want it to end! It is one of those rare novels that is intelligent and well-written (the prose is often lyrical), yet it still manages to be an enjoyable read.The protagonist Bena is complex. She's not one of the cliched 'plucky heroines' that's so common in fiction nowadays. The reader can feel what it's like to be Bena as she tries to adapt to her new life in Pueblo, Colorado. Pueblo in 1934 is an unrelenting place, full of dust storms, prostitution and corruption. In this harsh environment, Bena must protect her baby son and try to survive without any help or understanding from her husband or the community. There are a few parts of this novel that don't rise to the level of serious literary fiction, mainly the mini-drama surrounding the prostitute Maude. But taken as a whole, the novel is very successful. The ending of the book is heart-breaking, disturbing and unforgettable. It lingers in my mind even now.

fierce and rewarding -- a dusty apocalypse

Bleak, hammering and unforgiving in the administration of human folly and weakness. Maybe I shouldn't say 'unforgiving'; the author takes an even if unsparing hand with her characters. It's the reader who isn't forgiven, especially of all those inculcated desires for pollyanna satisfaction.I think one of the most remarkable things about this novel is the degree to which it maintains the ethical rigor of the cautionary tale without ever lapsing into a hectoring or instructional tone. The characters here perform awful, selfish, ill-conceived and mercenary acts, but never florid or inexplicable ones. If caution is implied then I guess it's caution as to how easily a life can generate paths more horrific than any of us would prefer to imagine. In fact, that very concept -- the preference of imagination over truth, regardless of the consequences -- is one of the ideas most eloquently explored here.I should also point out that all this narrative and moral freight is carried by a series of really lovely sentences, one after the other. It's beautiful writing, clear, replete with evocative images yet never cluttered. Impressive and pleasing.'The Mineral Palace' is difficult to read, but only because of the difficulty of those things the author considers therein. She certainly considers them with honesty and intelligence and a ceaselessly inventive and accomplished prose; the work deserves to succeed.