The House Girl

Cover The House Girl
Authors:
GRACE says:
Set in New York and Virginia, this story explores the possibility of finding a descendant of an unknown slave girl who just might have been the real painting of works which have been attributed to a white slave-owning Southern plantation woman. I enjoyed the pace of this book and the alternation between the young lawyer's voice and the slave girl's voice. I found the story believable and sad; yet, in many ways inspiring.
ThePie94 says:
First, I had a hard time deciding between 3 and 4 stars. This is my genre- love historical fiction with alternating narrators. That is why a dear friend passed me this book as I had raved about Kitchen House. House Girl was thought provoking in some unique ways (ex: the perspective of the undertaker's risk as a part of the Underground Railroad was detailed and heart wrenching), but a bit cumbersome to get through. I was wrapped up in Josephine's story and plight- anxious to see what she would decide to do next...and then boom-into Lina's story.
...And, unfortunately, I just couldn't grow to care about Lina and the lawsuit. It seemed farfetched and odd from the beginning. I found myself skimming her sections until it came to the letters and artifacts- then I was hooked again. The juxtaposition between slave narrative and lawyer/daughter of eccentric artist was a bit of a stretch to me. Also, lots of characters to keep up with- required a chart for me- but this is not the first novel I have had to do that for. All in all- a good read-worth the time- and I would try a book by Tara Conklin again. I just had huge expectations for this novel and finished disappointed.MoreLess
The House Girl
+Write review

User Reviews:

Guest a year ago

This book could do with an editor seeing as I skipped a few pages but other than that it’s absolutely brilliant

Guest 6 years ago

interesting read...found the author's style of switching between Jo and Lina interesting...but found myself skipping some pages..a good editor would have helped maintain a tight flow...

Guest 5 years ago

love this book absolutely beautiful

Guest 6 years ago

i wish i could eat poop

Guest 7 years ago

The book really needed a good editor to cut many passages. In other words, the book dragged when it had the ability to sing out. The characters were interesting(we
Have met them before in other books with different names) but the relationship with missus offers a different look at such an intriguing subject. I wanted to know more about Josephines white knight and their time together;I did not need the ending to conclude as a fairy tale romance. But,hey, at least ms Conklin writes well and obviously did much research.

Write Review:

Guest

Guest