Authors of Myspace

Author Spotlight

Christina Meldrum
MADAPPLE

www.myspace.com/christinameldrum

www.christinameldrum.com

Book Synopsis

A crossover novel intended for older teens and adults, MADAPPLE (Alfred A. Knopf) is part literary mystery, part psychological thriller and part intellectual puzzle. It has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist and Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Reviews spotlighted MADAPPLE in its special edition: “Fresh Fiction: 35 Promising Debuts,” and Vanity Fair featured MADAPPLE in its June 2008 issue as one of its “Hot Type” selections.

MADAPPLE is the story of Aslaug, a young woman raised in near isolation by her mother whose seeming disdain for the trappings of modern society shelter Aslaug from any sense of the real world. Aslaug’s childhood and adolescence involve lessons in botany, ancient religion and language—all taught to her under her mother’s strict and censored instruction.

When Aslaug suddenly becomes a suspect in her mother’s death, she is exposed to a harsh world where her mother’s lessons are insignificant and potentially incriminating.

In search for answers, a vague childhood memory leads Aslaug to her long-lost aunt and cousins. While living with them, she learns more about her mother’s past and her own past. Yet, the more pieces of the puzzle Aslaug assembles, the larger the puzzle seems.

MADAPPLE delves into issues of science, law and religion, while juxtaposing the botanical, mythical aspects of Aslaug’s world. Told alternately in terse trial transcripts and in the atmospheric voice of Aslaug, MADAPPLE is an intellectually provocative novel that will leave readers questioning the world around them.

Buy Your Copy Below:

Amazon

B&N

RandomHouse

Bio:

Christina Meldrum graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in religious studies and political science. After working in grassroots development in Africa, she earned her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. She has worked for the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva, Switzerland, and as 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 Women of the World Investments. Madapple is her first novel.

Reviews:

"In debut novelist Christina Meldrum's mesmerizing literary mystery, Madapple (Knopf), the worlds of science and faith collide." —Vanity Fair

"The haunting tale of one exceptionally disturbed family unfolds in this gripping page-turner. Locked away from the world behind heavy drapes in a house with no mirrors, Aslaug Hellig grew up with her intelligent and overbearing mother Maren, who had told her that she was the product of immaculate conception. Though extremely knowledgeable about the local flora and other bookish pursuits, Aslaug is veritably clueless in social situations. When Maren dies suddenly, Aslaug's world shatters. Alone and frightened, she goes to stay with her estranged aunt and cousins until their suspicious demise. As the narrative moves between her trial for murder in the present and the past that led up to it, the Helligs' shocking truth is slowly revealed. Though Aslaug's situation is hardly conventional, the author does a spectacular job of making the unbelievable credible. 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 (starred review)

"[A] beautiful, unusual novel...will haunt readers long after they have finished the book." —KIRKUS (MADAPPLE is being featured in Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2008 special edition, "First Fiction: 35 Promising Debuts." To read the full description, click here.)

"Theology is on trial in this extraordinary first novel, which alternates between courtroom transcripts and a first-person account by the heroine, Aslaug, prosecuted for murders allegedly committed when she was 15. Carefully peeling back the facts entered in court, Meldrum lyrically describes Aslaug's isolated upbringing by the solitary Maren, a Danish polymath who educates Aslaug in science and languages—and in the medicinal value of the plants they collect near their Maine home...The author's timing is impeccable: her courtroom revelations advance the narrative while altering readers' perceptions of events, and Aslaug's ruminations force readers to question all they take in. Audiences will need some intellectual mettle for the densely seeded ideas, but they won't be able to stop reading." —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)

"Aslaug lives in isolation; the flowers and plants that her mother, Maren, uses to make their lives possible are more real to her than the outside world. Then Maren dies, and Aslaug makes her way to the nearby Maine town, where she finds her Aunt Sara and teenage cousins Susanne and Rune. Aslaug hopes they will have a clue to her father's identity; she learns, as readers already have, that Maren proclaimed Aslaug a virgin birth. Aunt Sara, a charismatic preacher, wants none of this. But Susanne, enthralled with the writings of esoteric religionists and pagans, believes this is a possibility, and Rune is enthralled with Aslaug herself. Then Aslaug finds herself pregnant, and divine intervention is once more a possibility. Plot summary does little justice to this haunting book, which is as much mysticism as it is story. Meldrum plunges deeply into the nature of reality. She uses language in a particularly arresting way, and the leaves and petals of the plants that are so much a part of Aslaug's life shimmer over the pages. If all this wasn't satisfaction enough, Meldrum, a litigator, mixes faith and science with a solid mystery, told in the transcripts of a trial in which Aslaug is the defendant. There is much to ponder in this enthralling achievement from a debut author." —BOOKLIST (starred review)

"Fast paced and suspenseful, Meldrum's novel deftly and subtly maintains tension by judiciously revealing key plot points... Deep examination of religion and science and how they intersect pervade the text in an exploratory and informative way. The inclusion of rape and poisoning lends darkness and weight to Aslaug's already intense experience. Filled with herbal imagery and nomenclature, the descriptions, both beautiful and surprising, paired with the expert control of pacing, make for a riveting and mind-opening experience." —LIBRARY JOURNAL (starred review)

"[A]n ambitious, often haunting debut, a unique meditation on language, rationality and faith." —SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

"Madapple...is at once a stylized yet gripping mystery, a courtroom drama, an exploration of the conflict between science and religion, and a tale of a young girl coming of age through suffering, rebirth and redemption." —MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL

"In a stellar debut novel that explores the nexus between the natural world and the spiritual realm, Meldrum spins a mesmerizing story about a sixteen-year-old girl, Aslaug, who believes she was born of a virgin. Raised in a reclusive and restrictive environment, homeschooled by her eccentric Danish mother, Aslaug learns several languages and lots of herbology but very little about common school subjects and nothing at all about the religious texts that her mother pores over. When her mother dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances, Aslaug leaves her small Maine community to live with her aunt, who is running a Pentecostal church in a nearby town. As dark family secrets are revealed, the tension escalates; eventually, a fire destroys the church, claiming the lives of her aunt and cousin, and Aslaug is the chief suspect. Her account of events, rich in lyricism and imagery, is juxtaposed with spare courtroom transcripts. The interplay between the two narratives is particularly effective at foreshadowing and generating suspense, while the stimulating exploration of religion and mythology adds thematic depth. j.h." —THE HORN BOOK (May/June)