Reviews

The Keepers Of The House by Shirley Ann Grau

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jl27's review against another edition

DNF. I didn't mind the first part of the story, and I put it down way later than I normally would with a book that I feel "meh" about. But after Abigail and her mom came back to the Howland home, I found myself bored, with my mind wandering while I tried to read, and realized I didn't care how the book ended, so... time to pick up something else!

12rhys23's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The first third was good, the middle was very boring and almost made me DNF, but the third picked up the pace and the climax/epilogue made me really glad I read the book.

Seriously, that's how you do vengeance! Don't mess with a Howland.

whispy_crumb's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

cemoses's review against another edition

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3.0

It is slow. The second half the of the book is better. Book is old fashioned,

qu33nofbookz's review against another edition

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3.0

Long but decent meandering history of three generations (more in passing story/history telling) who have lived in the same house in the south for 7 generations. The action starts almost at the end of the story (the late 50's/early 60's, no real date is given) which all the build up of history is the source of conflict. The latest generation has married a man (see domineering, mentally abusive a**hole) who has political aspirations. When word gets out that his wife's grandfather illegally married a black woman and they had children the whole state and especially the people of their small town are in an uproar. Without giving away too much the title tells you what's really in danger.

This is a classic and a Pulitzer prize winner but I don't really see what all the hype was about. The summary alludes to racial tension but that is only at the very end of the book and it really isn't a big part or that big of a conflict besides the fact that all these people knew and it only became important (15 minutes of fame) when someone else wanted to get something from the family. It was never a big deal before an wouldn't be after much longer. The rest of the story is just plodding back history of the grandfather, his daughter and grand-daughter at the end.