Hidden

Ultimately a very sad book about the fallibility of love, marriage, and memory. In her fractured aftermath of a life, Maggie Wilson tries to piece together a brutal attack that left her severely emotionally and physically wounded. Her abusive controlling husband Nate was tried and commited for the crime. Yet six years later, after Nate's release, a total stranger has admitted to having stalked and beaten Maggie. What she remembers of that night is of her husband, but could she have been wrong? Living alone in the house belonging to her husband's family, Maggie spends most of her time fending off seizures, drinking, thinking about her failed marriage, and trying desperately to remember what happened. She is pitied and feared by most of the small community, and hated by her husband's family and friends. Her elderly neighbor Manny keeps a close eye on her and tries to help. Jaskunas' novel is heartwrenching. Beautifully written, but so depressing that I often wondered why I kept reading. I think I continued because Maggie's intense pain and passion was so real to me that I was compelled to follow. She's not an easy character to like, but that's not the author's goal, and I though I felt like I knew her through-and-through, I was never sure if I really liked her. Jaskunas doesn't offer an easy release for his readers. We're left in much the same boat as Maggie, frustrated by what we know and what we can never know. Not for the faint of heart. I'm glad I wasn't already feeling down when I read this--I'd probaby be groping for the painkillers and alcohol about now. Maybe Jaskunas would consider writing about kittens, butterflies, and starlight next time...

When college senior Maggie Wilson meets Nathan Duke, a man with money in the family, business plans, and political aspirations, their courtship results in a marriage. Though Nate truly loves her, their matrimony seems more like a conquest than a foundation for longevity. As the marriage progresses, the couple's idiosyncrasies are revealed to one another. Nate is the jealous type who tends to drink too much. Maggie is a bit on the naïve side. Her epileptic seizures cause her grief and memory lapses. After Maggie begins to fall for Phil Carson, a reporter from her workplace, things get complicated. One fateful morning, Maggie awakens to a lump on her head and blood on the floor. Her husband is accused of the assault. An arrest and conviction leads to jail time for Nate. But Maggie's memory lapse and personal motivation causes others to doubt her story. To make matters worse, another man confesses to the very crime Nathan is accused. Maggie must decide what to trust, the words of the community around her or her own foggy memory. Jaskunas dances back in forth in time, from past to present with the delicacy of a trapeze artist. Written in first-person narrative, the Oberlin and Cornell graduate takes on the incredible feat of delving into the female psyche, becoming a woman on paper, and succeeding masterfully. If I hadn't known the book was written by a man, you could not have told me otherwise. The author's keen eye for a woman's mind, stylish scribing, and unforgettable and realistic characters makes this book one of the best first novels of the year. Bravo to Jaskunas for crafting such a compelling, suspenseful story. Buy this book and expect great things from this writer in the future. Emanuel Carpenter [...]

There are many signs that something isn't quite right with Nate. Maggie sees the signs when she meets him at a party and she sees them while they are dating. They get married pretty quickly, anyway, but Maggie is still young. Soon after, Nate is trying to control various aspects of Maggie's life and Maggie doesn't go along with him willingly. Nate's response is what drives the book. Maggie is passive-aggressive in many ways. She tries to deal with Nate, but when he is fairly unresponsive to discussing her concerns, she makes some choices about her own life. At that point, Maggie is violently attacked by a man. She believes that her husband is the attacker, while admittedly being shaky about her memories of the event. This is a book about love and violent behavior. It is about how people can be driven to the edge in how they act toward someone they care for deeply. I still had questions at the end about a few things, but the author did a great job of describing the craziness that a victim would feel, without completely going over the edge. This was a great book and a good page-turner. I read it in one day.

Hidden is the story of Maggie, a woman who is on the journey of her life to try and learn the truth about what really happened to her 6 years earlier. Maggie always believed that her husband Nate brutally attacked her one summer night and left her for dead, but was recently told by the prosecution that he has been released from jail because another inmate admitted to the crime. What transpires in Hidden is a slow but wonderfully written story of learning the truth, dealing with spousal abuse, and finding a way to face the truth and move on with the healing process.Hidden is not my usual kind of book, but I am very glad that I read it. Jaskumas has the rare ability to write from a believable womens point of view. Keep your eyes on this author.

This is perhaps one of the best written novels I've yet to read this year. Jaskunas is a brilliant writer who manages to describe every detail in this novel with a flair ~~ and convinces you, the reader, that you are right there beside Maggie, his main character. He writes compellingly of being a woman ~~ delving into a woman's mind as she struggles to come to terms with the past. Maggie is a victim of a beating that left her half-dead. Her husband, Nate, is arrested for it ~~ and spent six years in jail. Another man then confesses to the crime that has left Maggie with epilepsy for the rest of her life, as well as questions that will forever haunt her. She was so convinced that it was her husband that has beaten her to a pulp ~~ but everyone else around her is convinced that it's this new guy, Ben, who actually beat her. This novel is about Maggie's journey in the present and into the past where she goes over her courtship with Nate, her marriage with him and how everything became unraveled.This is a haunting novel ~~ one that will leave you with empathy for Maggie. You are immersed into the Indiana countryside, searching for answers as well ~~ and it's a brilliant look into domestic violence and how it affects all areas of a woman's life as well as a man's. This is not your typical light summer reading but it is just as compelling, and just as hard to tear yourself away from this story. This author, Paul Jaskunas, is one to keep an eye out for. He is definitely a writer of merit.7-4-04