House and Home by Kathleen McCleary

Release date: 2008 / 259 pages

Synopsis (from back cover): Ellen Flanagan has two precious girls to raise, a cozy neighborhood coffee shop to run, terrific friends, and a sexy, if irresponsible, husband. And she adores her house, a yellow Cape Cod filled with quirky antiques, beloved nooks, and a million memories.  But as her eighteen-year, roller-coaster marriage heads toward divorce, she’s about to lose it all — her house, her husband… and her sanity.
 

First Line: The house was yellow, a clapboard Cape Cod with a white picket fence and a big bay window on one side, and Ellen loved it with all her heart.

Review:  The title of this novel is perfect — the protagonist is on a journey to distinguish between a house and a home.  She is at a cross-roads in her life, and chooses to walk away from both her marriage and her house.  However, she second-guesses this decision throughout the novel and must eventually decide what truly defines a “home.” 

This was an interesting novel to read at this point in my life, so at times I had to separate my subjective reaction (which was reflective, but not positive or negative) with my objective review of the novel. My husband and I built our house during our year-long engagement, so I am very attached to our “home.”  However, the climate of Minnesota has finally broken our collective spirit and we have decided to move to the more humane clime of Colorado. 

I think I would be struggling more with this change if not for a passing comment my husband made early in our marriage.  My husband had been travelling for work and had a very quick turn-around before we needed to leave for a family trip.  I asked him if he was sorry he couldn’t stay at home, and he replied matter-of-factly that wherever I was defined home for him, whether in our house or travelling across the country. 

I think Ellen’s journey was largely defined by this concept — what is home?  Is it a collection of lumber and objects?  Is it a familiar street with familiar neighbors?  Is it security and order?  Is it a favorite state?  She struggles with these thoughts as she find her own way “home” by the end of the novel.

I have noticed that in Colorado that the concept of being “native” to the state is very prominent, on t-shirts, posters, beer coasters, etc.  I imagine in a state as beautiful as Colorado, the residents might become weary of newcomers.  However, as someone who has visited all 50 states, I do think choosing the right state for one’s temperament can result in a sense of ”home” as significant as remaining where one happened to be born. 

Ellen has this same perspective since she, too, had lived in many states and finally felt a true affinity for Oregon.  In fact, the sense of place in this novel is quite exquisite:

She felt translucent, airborne. There had never been a more perfect day in the history of Oregon, she thought. The sky was clear blue. Everywhere she looked Ellen saw color and light — the shining, glossy green of the rhododendrons, now in full bloom, with great mounds of pink and purple and white, the vivid, soft chartreuse of the leaves on the empress tree, the glowing white peak of Mount Hood to the east.

Lovely!  I nearly fell in love with Oregon while reading this novel — and I am NOT well-suited for the climate of the Northwest (need. sun.).  On one level this novel is truly a love letter to Portland and the setting is palpable.

Many, many readers would enjoy this novel — especially women.  I actually did not relate to Ellen throughout much of the novel, but still enjoyed reading about her journey.  I initially wasn’t sure if I would consider this a good fit for book clubs – until I read the excellent discussion questions at the end.  After writing discussion questions for reluctant readers (high schoolers) for fifteen years, I’m pretty tough on questions I find in the back of books.  But these were wonderful!  So, I definitely believe this novel would be a good pick for book clubs, and it is a very fast read, too, so consider it for the busy holiday season perhaps.

So, do I recommend House and Home?  Yes, although I do not guarantee that you will like Ellen.  However, I do not think this would stand in the way of your enjoyment…

Interested in winning a copy?  Simply leave me a comment below!  I’ll announce the winner on Saturday!

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