Reviews

I previously read Marilynne Robinson's four Gilead novels, and only now this Housekeeping, written 25 years earlier. That may be the wrong order, but still, this coming-of-age novel made a big impression on me. I definitely recognized the very balanced, refined writing style; Robinson is a first-class craftswoman who writes heavily charged sentences in a misleadingly poetic upmake. And I also recognized the emphasis on sensorial introspection: just as in the Gilead novels, the main character (here orphelin Ruth Foster) constantly alternates between registering her own sensory experiences and reflecting on what that does to her, and also constantly reflecting on the things she struggles with.

Here Robinson approaches what the naturalists and symbolists did in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century; she focuses on the attirance and the threat posed by the environment in which this story takes place: the remote, chilly village of Fingerbone (the name alone), on a large lake in Idaho, connected with the outside world by a railway bridge that runs over the water. The tone is set right from the start: Ruth tells how her grandfather died when a train derailed on the bridge, ended up in the lake and was never recovered (and neither the bodies of the passengers within). And less than 20 pages later we read how her own mother committed suicide by driving her car off a cliff into the lake. The 'gothic flavor' of this novel is also emphasized further on, for example in an unparalleled nocturnal scene in which the house is half flooded; darkness and obscurity clearly are recurring themes in Robinson.

But the main body of this novel describes how Ruth, together with her sister Lucille, subsequently came under the care of her aunt Sylvie, a confused, chaotic and very dreamy character. Robinson writes quite emphatically: “it was the beginning of Sylvie's housekeeping”, and in doing so she immediately provides us with a key to reading this novel. After all, housekeeping is not only about the struggle to keep the house (literally), but also about keeping it 'in order', and by extension also one's own life. Looking back on it, you notice that all the characters in this novel struggle with this: getting a grip on their own lives, curbing the inherent chaos of life and steering it in the right direction, and what you have to give up and sacrifice in doing so, and whether such an orderly life is actually the right choice. And all that aggravated by the struggle with loss, grief, isolation and loneliness, especially as a woman or a girl.

In other words, through Ruth Foster's coming-of-age story, Robinson opens up a reflection on what this life is all about and whether it makes sense to control it. To be clear: she does not give simple, obvious answers, but above all - through Ruth - asks the right questions. And thus there is a link with the Gilead novels, which essentially deal with the same theme, but with a clear, more religious - read Calvinist - slant, in which the question of good and evil, damnation and grace are more central. I think that Robinson definitely shows even more mastery in some of those Gilead novels, both stylistically and substantively, but with this 'Housekeeping' she already showed that her novels are among the best of what has been written in recent decades, worldwide.
Rating 3.5 stars

kiarrahope's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

pedantickef's review against another edition

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5.0

This book calls up a sadness, a memory of pain and losing yourself in pain- in accepting both the pain and the sadness itself- like no other book I've ever read.

It took me nearly six months to finish so thoroughly did it soak into the bones of my own sadness. It is not a story lightly read, and the selfish indulgence of constantly acting on her whims made me hate Sylvie halfway through, but it's a story you will regret completing when you're done with it.

stephaniekturner's review against another edition

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4.0

A haunting book about family and the meaning of home. Two girls are abandoned by their parents and raised by relatives in a small isolated town in Idaho. The unusual writing style is almost poetic, often dream-like. Not for everyone.

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