Since I
started by blog, I’ve done an annual Advent Book Calendar highlighting books I
have enjoyed and authors I really like.
This year I thought I’d do an Advent Book Calendar with a twist; for
each day leading up to Christmas, I’m going to post a review of a book to which
I’ve given only one star (Throw a book at this one) or two stars (Don’t put this book in your book bag). Though I would not recommend these books,
others have disagreed with me. Each
book, on Goodreads, has received a 3 or 4 Star average rating.
Review of The House Girl by Tara Conklin
2
Stars
Alternating
chapters tell the stories of two women. In 1853, Josephine Bell, a
seventeen-year-old slave on a Virginian tobacco plantation, plans her escape to
freedom. In New York in 2004, Lina Sparrow, a young attorney, is looking for a
good lead plaintiff for a class action suit seeking reparation for the
descendants of American slaves. The two stories intersect when Lina hears about
a folk artist whose paintings are thought to actually be the work of her house
girl Josephine. Lina sets out to do genealogical research to determine if
Josephine had any descendants.
Josephine’s
story - her life and her fierce determination to escape from servitude as a
house slave – is compelling. The reader cannot but feel sympathy for her
circumstances. Unfortunately, the author’s decision to tell the last part of
Josephine’s story using a witness’s letter distances the reader from her and
lessens the emotional impact of the narrative.
Lina’s
story is much less interesting. The reparation case is really far-fetched, and
her research is advanced by a series of coincidences that stretch credibility.
Just as she seems to reach a dead end, a document lands in her lap which gives
clues that have eluded numerous scholars. In the end a letter written by a
peripheral character conveniently explains everything. Of course, this crucial
document reaches her only at the last minute when an archivist has a change of
heart.
Lina is not
a believable character. She is able to change the minds of the archivist and
her candidate for lead plaintiff yet she is totally passive at work and lets
her boss walk all over her? She works hard at searching for evidence of
Josephine’s descendants, yet she knows virtually nothing about the death of her
mother 20 years earlier. Never did she actually conduct a search into her
mother though she was an aspiring artist who had received some publicity? The
reader is expected to see parallels between Josephine and Lina’s determination,
but Lina just comes across as flat next to the house girl. Lina is a naïve,
sheltered and unfocused young woman, and her story is bland.
The novel
would work well as historical fiction if the focus had remained solely on
Josephine and her story had been told directly without the inclusion of long
missives from witnesses. Removing the Lina narrative would have eliminated most
of the many coincidences and a weak character who does not inspire any
emotional connection. The adding of the romance element in Lina’s chapters only
added to the impression that the author was trying to write a commercial
blockbuster which seems to necessitate such an element.
This book
has strengths but considerable weaknesses. It should have been subjected to
considerable revision.
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