Madeleine's World: A Biography of a Three-Year-Old

By Brian Hall

Book Overview

The perceptive and beguiling tale of a young girl's development as only her father can see it Chosen as one of the 50 Best Nonfiction Books of the Past 25 Years by Slate Like most biographies, Brian Hall's charming account of his daughter Madeleine begins at her birth. But unlike most biographies, it concludes with her third birthday. Along the way, it describes Madeleine's intriguing transition from infant solipsism through toddler self-absorption to a small person's sociability. Drawing on the same subtle humor and eye for detail that imbued I Should Be Extremely Happy in Your Company , his acclaimed novel of the Lewis and Clark expedition, Hall gives us a look at Madeleine's milestones: her first laugh, first words, first tantrum, and brings it all to life from the inside out. By speculating on his daughter's perceptions and experience as she grows, Hall gives us candid and informed insights into the evolution of language, attachments and separations, and a youngster's curiosity and fear. What emerges is a portrait of growing consciousness in action, a universal voyage whose every revelation and frustration is captured with stunning detail and intimacy.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142004480
• ISBN13: 9780142004487
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.1" x 7.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

a precious gem of a book

My oldest daughter is five now, and I think I have read the book at least five times, for every year of being a mother. This is not a 'how to', instead it is a gloriously rich and thoughtful reflection on Madeleine's coming into being. We observe Madeleine creating herself through her interactions with the world around her, her relationship with her devoted parents, through the world of books and through her acquisition of (and play with) language. Towards the end we get haunting flashes of insight into her developing interior world. I adore this book, and I am so glad it is part of me being a mother. This is a book about children and parenthood, but it's also a book about being human.

Wonderful

This is a truly wonderful account of a journey into parenthood. Beautifully written, Hall makes such detailed observations of his daughter's fist 3 years, beginning just before she was born. This book is very easy to read and is a delight for any soon-to-be or new parent. I read it when I was expecting my first baby and read it again when he was 6 months old. It was a perfect way to rekindle those fond but distant memories of sleepless nights, pacing, singing, bouncing and all those amazing firsts.

An amazing book that will cause you to treasure childhood...

I was so moved by this book! It is an incredible story about a little girl's development and her daddy's speculation about all that her words and actions mean. It is so insightful that it made me deeply treasure each moment I spend with my 6 month old. I am buying a copy to have always, because I always want to be able to go back and be reminded how precious each child is, and how important each moment of their lives is. You can see how Madeleine constructs her world from each daily interaction she has. It leaves you not wanting to miss a moment with your own child. I wish every parent would read this book, because I believe it would cause many to re-think their priorities and put their children first. Each moment is so precious.

a moving account of the 'lost world' at life's beginning

this book begins as a father's intimate observation of his child's early life, but on the way to telling that story, it becomes so much more. i'm an admirer of hall's fiction and his non fiction, so i wasn't surprised by the elegance of his language or his erudition. i did find myself surprised by this book's subtle humor and, ultimately, its almost tragic conclusion. it's not that anything bad happens to madeleine. but life happens to her. at three, she first feels the loss of a past--her past--that can't be revisited. and we all shiver in sympathetic recgonition.