Housekeeping: A Novel

Great plot, great narrations, great thoughts involved. I'm in love with those girl's beautiful transformation from childhood to adulthood. This book is truly a masterpiece filled with deep allusions. It is necessary to reread paragraphs sometime to understand context better. This is not a easy reading, but it is an interesting one that does not have an interesting setting. Well, however, reading this book makes me extremely sleepy.

Read it without distractions. Listen to the language. There are passages that startled me and scenes described so richly I felt I was there in the room with the characters. The author has also written essays that stir my heart and soul. Read anything she's written.

Maybe I SHOULD give five stars to "Housekeeping: a Novel", due to its undeniable literary merits - but, really, it IS a little depressing. Which, of course, is not "bad" - it's just that I would not want to re-read this book.

I APPRECIATE the book's qualities: but it's not quite the same thing as "LOVING" it.

Well, I must say that, come to think of it, "La Chute", by Albert Camus, is ALSO a very depressing book - and a masterpiece... I hope someone here understands what I'm saying.
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The novel was excellent. However, the Kindle version had some kind of bug. The font kept changing, and parts of it were clearly left out whenever that happened -- maybe 5 or 6 times? I hung in, because the story gripped me, but it was truly annoying.

This author, of whom I've recently discovered and am reading everything she has written, has used words that has quite literally, "blown me away"! I haven seen visuals of insanity through her language, an uncanny ability to allow an understanding of a family with a history of insanity. Genetics or environment? The author touched that place in my mind that has always believed that conformity to accepted behavior, to be the same, if not enacted has dire consequences, can break apart a family. Who are the sane ones? One of the names I've been given by my daughter is "crazy CAROL" . I suppose due to the lacking of conformity in my life, but enough keeping it together that I can sell rather than burn my house. I will turn these words in my mind for a very long time as I will read them many times. The lines blur but in this age we have Cymbalta.

First, this is a great book--without doubt one of the most beautifully written books ever. I first read it from the library not long after it came out, and bought this copy so I could re-read it over and over. The writing is even better than I had recalled. BUT, this edition looks like a bad photocopy of something that was typed on an old typewriter with a dried out ribbon and some crooked letters. Perfection is not necessary, but the quality of this imprint is so bad that it's distracting from the reading. Picador should be embarrassed to have their name on it, and Marilynne Robinson should sue. If you're going to read the book, get a different edition.

This novel is a jewel. Robinson's writing style - her phrasing and ideas both are enough to take one's breath away. The story itself is dark and rather disturbing. Makes one think deeply about family and each person's contribution to the stories of others. An incredibly unique use of words. It made me crave the rest of her work.

I loved Housekeeping. It's beautifully written -- a tender story of two misfits - a girl and a woman - who provide family for one another. There's not a false note in the telling: it kept me rapt until the end.

The housekeeping illustrates a story of family love in a desperate world. In the cold, dark narration, The family warmth and light become significant. The book uses lots of motifs and deep language.

I personally dislikes the book for its depressing narration. Although the book conveys a warm message, it's tone affects my emotions in negative ways.

I admire the book. Beautiful prose and complex characters. I just didn't enjoy it. The main character, who told the story, was ethereal; I prefer grounded characters. She described beautifully what was in her mind. I like to know the tangible and I prefer it described briefly and concisely, perhaps with wry or insightful comment on the part of the teller, but at most in a short paragraph. I was abashed to stumble on words through out the book for which I didn't know the meaning, but I didn't look them up because I just didn't care enough about what the author was saying. I would describe it as a really good plot buried in a sea of clouds. It seemed like a lot of work to dig out the substance.

I was really looking forward to enjoying this novel from all of the stellar reviews I had read.
Perhaps due to all of the hype, it just could not rise to the the high mark set for it.

Robinson's prose is indeed a lush, rich tapestry, but at times it drifts from the story and feels rather 'lost in space', leaving the reader wondering where to anchor it.

The plot feels nebulous and lacking in clarity. The characters are never fully realized and become awkward and distant. You want to feel connected to these poor motherless girls, but drift away instead.

It just didn't engage me and thus I was unable to empathise with any of the characters and felt that the overall effect was remote and the plot too loose to be fully realized.

I love the kindle app because I can highlight parts of the book and see what other people have highlighted too. This book was filled with memorable word-smithing. Marilynne Robinson tells the heart tugging story in such a warm yet disconnected way.

I was really looking forward to enjoying this novel from all of the stellar reviews I had read.
Perhaps due to all of the hype, it just could not rise to the the high mark set for it.

Robinson's prose is indeed a lush, rich tapestry, but at times it drifts from the story and feels rather 'lost in space', leaving the reader wondering where to anchor it.

The plot feels nebulous and lacking in clarity. The characters are never fully realized and become awkward and distant. You want to feel connected to these poor motherless girls, but drift away instead.

It just didn't engage me and thus I was unable to empathise with any of the characters and felt that the overall effect was remote and the plot too loose to be fully realized.

I love the kindle app because I can highlight parts of the book and see what other people have highlighted too. This book was filled with memorable word-smithing. Marilynne Robinson tells the heart tugging story in such a warm yet disconnected way.

A superbly written novel that soaks it's way into your heart and soul. Its portrayal of family drenches readers anew with the tragedy of human death and decay. In a phrase, it proves to us the impossible task of housekeeping.

Marilynne Robinson is an exquisite writer, there's no denying it. However, as beautiful as her writing is, it doesn't translate (to me) to an enjoyable story, and I as a reader need more than pretty words to keep me turning pages. As other reviewers mention, not remotely a plot-driven novel. Nothing wrong with that, just not for everyone. It becomes sort of a chore to read after a while.

I'd say the same thing about Gilead.

A book club choice at this late date, thirty-three years after publication. Very worthwhile as literature, which is most probably why it was chosen.

The descriptions,especially of land and water( as opposed to people), are absolutely gut-wrenching!! Among the best I've ever read.

The story is not a "likeable" one because of its dark themes and unhappy resolutions, although there is some humor, a dry humor that comes up unexpectedly. This should be read, though.

Not a fun, or summer, read. ( And, definitely not chick lit, even if the title sounds that way.)

As a piece of writing, this book is sublime. Each sentence is a skillfully crafted work of art, and you want to slowly savor every phrase. However, unlike Robinson's other works, Home and Gilead, the characters in Housekeeping just did not speak to me. I found myself not caring very much about them or what they did, though I was compelled by the sheer beauty of the prose to keep reading about them! In short: masterfully written, but the story could have been more compelling.

This is the kind of book that high school English teachers and maybe even some college professors like to make their students read, or rather over-read. The supposed symbolism in here is never ending, the most obvious of which being "What does the lake represent?". I was fortunate enough that I did not have to read this for class, and therefore could attempt to enjoy it. Notice, I say "attempt". My teachers and professors of yesteryear kept creeping into my head when I would read over a section whispering, even shouting in my head, "What does it mean? What does it symbolize?".

I couldn't get into, no matter how much I tried. I picked it up because it was on a list of 30 or so books college students should read, once graduated, to help them realize or even combat different feelings that would become more pronounced when they leave school; this one was on loneliness. As I was quite lonely through out my senior year due to numerous factors including a difficult Div 1 competition schedule and since hanging out with anyone I was close to up there now requires weeks of planning now that we aren't a few apartments away, I figured I'd try it. Let me tell you. It does not help. I've gotten past my loneliness, but it had nothing to do with this book. If anything, loneliness is only emphasized, perhaps even glorified. I can't quite explain it.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book. The characters can lead to aggravation, at best and I just feel as though there's not enough to it. Again, I'm not sure how to explain it. I only know that it feels like it's missing something.