The Hundred-Year House
"A dazzlingly original new novel from the acclaimed author of The Borrower. Now, Makkai returns with an ingenious novel set on an historic estate that once housed an arts colony. Doug, the husband of the estate's heir, desperately needs the colony files to get his stalled academic career back on track. But what he discovers when he finally gets his hands on them is more than he bargained for. Doug may never learn the house's secrets, but the reader will, as Makkai leads us on a thrilling journey into the past of this eccentric family"--
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
I'll be honest and say that at first I was a bit skeptical of this book. My public library listed this among the many female authors to-be-read and I took a chance and checked it out. The summary of this book does it not justice, because by then end I was relatively pleased at the way the book had ended.
However, I give it four stars out of five because I feel that some of the characters in the book were underdeveloped and fell short of intriguing. I speak mainly of the first part of the book, which ironically was the longest part of the book. Half way through the book, I found myself looking at the different reviews this book received--and I find that I've been doing that a lot lately with books I check out at the library--and now have to agree with some of those who stated that everything except for part 1 would have made a better story and should have been more developed. I would have to say that part 3 was my favorite of the book because this is the part where the story really comes to life and that you fee like you're spying the lives of those living in this 100 year old house.
I will say this, I thought it clever the way the author portrayed the story-line. Any doubts I had before, or any missing pieces I had encountered in previous chapters, made sense in the end. And that is a wonderful feeling.
I want to be clear and say that it is a good read, and that it does merit being read. And it does take a lot of talent to write. Period. So, I do feel that Rebecca Makkai should take pride in her work.
However, I give it four stars out of five because I feel that some of the characters in the book were underdeveloped and fell short of intriguing. I speak mainly of the first part of the book, which ironically was the longest part of the book. Half way through the book, I found myself looking at the different reviews this book received--and I find that I've been doing that a lot lately with books I check out at the library--and now have to agree with some of those who stated that everything except for part 1 would have made a better story and should have been more developed. I would have to say that part 3 was my favorite of the book because this is the part where the story really comes to life and that you fee like you're spying the lives of those living in this 100 year old house.
I will say this, I thought it clever the way the author portrayed the story-line. Any doubts I had before, or any missing pieces I had encountered in previous chapters, made sense in the end. And that is a wonderful feeling.
I want to be clear and say that it is a good read, and that it does merit being read. And it does take a lot of talent to write. Period. So, I do feel that Rebecca Makkai should take pride in her work.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.