The World Below

[bc:The World Below 886263 The World Below Sue Miller http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179186656s/886263.jpg 1029502]The second Sue Miller book I cracked open. I remember that I read this as the SARS outbreak was wrecking havoc in my community. At this time I was working in a hospital kitchen and had to wear masks and surgical gowns to protect myself from a potential threat of getting SARS or spreading it to others. This book seemed to parallel how I felt suffocated by the costume I had to wear while doing my job, especially the imagery of the Grandmother in this story who was institutionalized for TB back in the 1920s. Also, the description of the town submerged in water, particularly the part of looking through the surface of the water and seeing the church steeple below the water's surface haunts me.