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. $0.99, fair condition, Sold by ZBK Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Woodland Park, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Picador.
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Fair. Used book-May contain writing notes highlighting bends or folds. Text is readable book is clean and pages and cover mostly intact. May show normal wear and tear. Item may be missing CD. May include library marks. Fast Shipping.
Add this copy of Housekeeping: a Novel to cart. $1.39, fair condition, Sold by Your Online Bookstore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Houston, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Picador.
Add this copy of Housekeeping: a Novel to cart. $1.50, good condition, Sold by Jenson Books Inc rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Logan, UT, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Picador USA.
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This item shows signs of wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact, but may have aesthetic issues such as small tears, bends, scratches, and scuffs. Spine may also show signs of wear. Pages may include some notes and highlighting. May include "From the library of" labels. Satisfaction Guaranteed.
Add this copy of Housekeeping: a Novel to cart. $1.58, fair condition, Sold by Indiana Book Company rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Marion, IN, 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.
Add this copy of Housekeeping: a Novel to cart. $1.63, good condition, Sold by Good Books Will Follow rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Blue Springs, MO, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Picador USA.
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Add this copy of Housekeeping: a Novel to cart. $1.84, good condition, Sold by Valleys Books & More rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Roanoke, VA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Picador USA.
Add this copy of Housekeeping: a Novel to cart. $1.84, fair condition, Sold by Valleys Books & More rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Roanoke, VA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Picador USA.
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Fair. The cover of this paperback book has curled corners. This paperback book shows normal wear and tear. Shipped to you from Goodwill of the Valleys, Roanoke VA. Thank you for your support!
Add this copy of Housekeeping: a Novel to cart. $1.99, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Picador.
Add this copy of Housekeeping: a Novel to cart. $1.99, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Picador.
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.