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A review by liralen
Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived in That House by Meghan Daum
3.0
I saw this at the bookstore and was sure it would be my kind of book -- although I don't quite share the author's wanderlust (for lack of a better term), I'm definitely familiar with the thought (delusion) that, if I lived in that house over there (or that one there, or that apartment, or in that city), life would be perfect. It's not so much about the house itself -- it's about the life that the house implies.
But Daum doesn't really go into the meaning behind this need for the 'perfect' house, nor does she describe the places she lives in great detail. I expected -- I'll admit -- a great deal more about the houses, the architecture... I wanted to know how she imagines her own perfect house, and how she'd furnish it, and perhaps read about research she'd done on houses. I expected to find out when these houses were built, and what renovations had been done on them, and what she wanted to do with them...
I was disappointed, then, not so much by the book itself, but by my expectations -- this is much more about her life, and how it wasn't lining up as she'd expected, than it is about houses. I'm simultaneously in awe of just how many times she managed to pick up and move and a little put off by her easy assumption that she could, well, just pick up and move at any point. Beyond that...well, it was fine. It just wasn't what I was looking for.
But Daum doesn't really go into the meaning behind this need for the 'perfect' house, nor does she describe the places she lives in great detail. I expected -- I'll admit -- a great deal more about the houses, the architecture... I wanted to know how she imagines her own perfect house, and how she'd furnish it, and perhaps read about research she'd done on houses. I expected to find out when these houses were built, and what renovations had been done on them, and what she wanted to do with them...
I was disappointed, then, not so much by the book itself, but by my expectations -- this is much more about her life, and how it wasn't lining up as she'd expected, than it is about houses. I'm simultaneously in awe of just how many times she managed to pick up and move and a little put off by her easy assumption that she could, well, just pick up and move at any point. Beyond that...well, it was fine. It just wasn't what I was looking for.