By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Home and Gilead, a modern American masterpiece by an author whose work 'defines universal truths about what it means to be human' (Barack Obama) 'A classic.' Guardian 'A masterpiece.' The New Yorker 'It's pretty much a perfect novel.' David Nicholls 'I just adore this book and have probably reread it a hundred times.' Michelle Zauner Ruth and Lucille are orphans growing up in the small desolate town of Fingerbone in the vast northwest of America. Abandoned by a succession of relatives ...
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By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Home and Gilead, a modern American masterpiece by an author whose work 'defines universal truths about what it means to be human' (Barack Obama) 'A classic.' Guardian 'A masterpiece.' The New Yorker 'It's pretty much a perfect novel.' David Nicholls 'I just adore this book and have probably reread it a hundred times.' Michelle Zauner Ruth and Lucille are orphans growing up in the small desolate town of Fingerbone in the vast northwest of America. Abandoned by a succession of relatives, the sisters find themselves in the care of Sylvie, the remote and enigmatic sister of their dead mother. Steeped in imagery of the bleak wintry landscape around them, the sisters' struggle towards adulthood is powerfully portrayed in a masterful modern classic exploring loss, loneliness and transience.
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Add this copy of Housekeeping: a Novel to cart. $1.19, fair condition, Sold by Goodwill of Greater Milwaukee rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milwaukee, WI, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Picador.
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Fair. The cover has visible markings and wear. The illustration of the cover may be different from the image shown. The cover has curled corners. The pages show normal wear and tear. Codes or product keys that accompany this product may not be valid. Fast Shipping in a Standard Poly Mailer!
Add this copy of Housekeeping: a Novel to cart. $1.56, fair condition, Sold by Your Online Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Houston, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Picador.
Add this copy of Housekeeping: a Novel to cart. $1.56, fair condition, Sold by Orion Tech rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Picador.
Add this copy of Housekeeping: a Novel to cart. $1.56, good condition, Sold by OnlineGoodwill rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Nashville, TN, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Picador USA.
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Good. A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are solid. the cover is intact, but may show scuffs or light creases, as well as a possible rolled corner. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting, The former owner may have written their name inside the front or back cover. COVER WILL VARY.
Add this copy of Housekeeping: a Novel to cart. $1.57, good condition, Sold by More Than Words rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waltham, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Picador USA.
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Good. . All orders guaranteed and ship within 24 hours. Your purchase supports More Than Words, a nonprofit job training program for youth, empowering youth to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business.7070706374.
Add this copy of Housekeeping: a Novel to cart. $1.63, good condition, Sold by Good Books Will Follow rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Blue Springs, MO, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Picador USA.
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Acceptable. Writing in margins. The spine/binding has been reinforced with book tape or binding glue. All pages intact. Ships same or next business day with delivery confirmation. Acceptable condition. Contains highlighting. Expedited shipping available.
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Add this copy of Housekeeping: a Novel to cart. $1.79, good condition, Sold by Seattle Goodwill rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Seattle, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Farrar Straus Giroux.
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May have some shelf-wear due to normal use. Your purchase funds free job training and education in the greater Seattle area. Thank you for supporting Goodwill's nonprofit mission!
Was anxious to see what all the hype was about-----well it is a story of a dysfunctional family, with 2 young sisters caught in the middle. In some ways it is frightening to know that some people even exist, and can live off the grid quite serenely, taking along young psyches, who cannot make a conscious choice. I found it mind boggling!
KassandraPhoenix
Jul 23, 2008
Can you hear the trains?
I bought this book for a graduate class Fall of 2007 but I didn't have to read it so it lingered on my shelf for quite some time. I'm not entirely sure why but I always told myself when I had the time I was going to read this novel. Perhaps it was because of the haunting picture on the cover, with train tracks fading into the fog, but I had a feeling it was going to be different than other novels I have read.
Well, I was definitely right about that.
Told through the viewpoint of Ruth or "Ruthie", this novel discusses the importance of family, transience, loss, and the importance of communication. Ruth and her younger sister Lucille lose their mother Helen (she drives off a cliff) and live with their grandmother, then their two great-aunts, then finally with Sylvie their eccentric and transient aunt. The entire time they live in their grandmother's home by a glacial lake. Their grandfather died in a train wreak and drowned in that same lake before they were born.
The entire novel centers around trains. Sylvie never knows what time it is unless she hears a train go by, there are hobos hanging around the trains, and they talk about the people at the bottom of the lake that died in the train wreak. The town of Fingerbone lives and dies around the world of trains. Also, what I did like about Robinson's writing style is that her sentences are long and full of syllables, much like the cho-cho-choo of a locomotive keeping pace.
The title for the novel Housekeeping comes about when Sylvia realizes that she may lose custody of Ruth (since Lucille willingly decided to leave and live somewhere else) and attempts to clean herself and her life up. The town feared that her transient lifestyle began to affect Ruth (and they were correct). So she began to do all methods of housekeeping in an attempt to clean up and look presentable to society, in the process she tries to change her very nature.
I don't think I would recommend this novel to a friend just because I didn't personally feel any sort of connection with it. Robinson's connections with the lake, family, people, nature, and darkness are all very clever and written in a unique style, but I personally did not enjoy it. One critic remarked that Robinson wrote about the most ordinary things in her own perspective, and I do agree, but at times she drones on and on and on which makes it is very difficult to connect to the characters; at times it feels she is just trying to make her own point in Ruth's voice.