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The Hundred-Year House (2014)

by Rebecca Makkai(Favorite Author)

3.46 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

052542668X (ISBN13: 9780525426684)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Viking Adult

review 1: Can I just say – I hated this book? If I could have given it less than one star I would have. There are three time periods covered in the story, beginning in the 1990’s, then the 1950’s and finally the 1920’s. As each time period progressed the story got increasingly terrible so that by the end I was gazing into space praying for a swift end to my misery. It would be cruel and unusual punishment to make someone read this. P.S. How about that - you can actually not give it any stars - so there I go!
review 2: I love this book in two ways:First, as a reader. I was immediately sucked into the stories of the various people who lived in the deVohr estate over its hundred-year history, pulled along by subtle, tenuous threads that connected the characters ... moreand their lives from one generation to the next. And when I wasn't enjoying the story, which is plenty enjoyable without what follows, I was also thinking what this book is saying about history, about the impact we think our actions have and the way we are actually remembered. You and I are not so far removed from a few mementos saved in a moldering old box in someone else's attic, my friends. And the things that made the most impact on us may be completely misconstrued in the eye of the next beholder. (Also, I really liked Zilla. And Eddie.)Second, as a writer. This is a book in many ways is a cleverly constructed puzzle -- cleverly, because unlike other stories that force a moment of impact down the reader's throat, this impact is so much more subtle, leaving me full of admiration for what has been accomplished. It's fair to say that I'm now a Rebecca Makkai fan.I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. And now I'll be buying a copy so I can revisit the house, too. less

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