"The House"

One of the many joys I get from writing, aside from the writing itself of course, are all the wonderful Authors that I'm getting to know.  I'm in awe of all the talent and feel very blessed to be a part of their writing journey.  One of the talented Authors that I am referring to is Anjuelle Floyd.  Her first book, Keeper of Secrets: Translations of an Incident (2007) was received with rave reviews.  Anjuelle is now preparing to release her first novel, The House, which will publish this Fall. 

The House:

On receiving the very thing she wants—a divorce and the power to sell their house—over which they have fought the past year—Anna Manning learns that Edward, her soon-to-be ex-husband is dying from cancer.  A faithful wife for three decades, and stay-at-home mother of four children, Anna endured Edward’s constant absence due to travel for his international real estate firm and numerous extra-marital affairs. With their children now adults, Edward has less than six months, possibly three, to live.  Anna takes him home to die in the house she has fought so vigorously to sell. But letting go of someone who has caused so much pain in your life doesn’t come easily. Edward has changed. There are Anna and Edward’s four children, three of whom who are married and struggling to endow their families with meaning and purpose.  The House shows what happens when one adopts the belief that: All hold regret and are seeking forgiveness. Our salvation rests in the hands of others—most particularly the ones we love, and who have treated us wrongly.

I recently had the opportunity to read The House, and let me just say, it captivated me.  The book is a novel, yet the characters were so strong I felt like I was reading someone's memoir.  Anjuelle sent a copy of the book to me back in August and I just finished it last week.  Life tends to get in the way of reading and relaxing, and due to time, or actually lack thereof, it took me much longer than I intended to finish this book.  However, most of the time when I have to walk away from a book because time is not on my side I tend to forget who the characters are and where the plot left off.  I find myself having to go back and re-read so I can refresh my memory as to where I was in the book.  This was not the case at all with The House. The characters felt like family to me, so each time I picked up the book I "fell" right back into their lives like I had never set the book down.  It's like talking to an old friend after not speaking to them for years, but for some reason once the conversation starts it seems like it was just yesterday.

The characters in the book had many types of relationships that all of us could relate to in one way or another.  One of the aspects of the book that I loved, were the interracial relationships that were intertwined amongst the characters.  This wasn't a focus of the book or focus of the relationships, it just was.  Exactly like life, there were real feelings and real views expressed about the interracial relationships and how they affected the family dynamics.  I could relate to every single thought because I have lived them all and then some.  I truly appreciated how Anjuelle's characters reacted to these relationships.  She did this with a subtlety that rang very true to life.

The House is a book that I didn't want to end because I didn't want to say goodbye to the characters.  I laughed, I cried, I related....as will you.  This is a must read that you will also want to recommend to your friends. 

Thank you Anjuelle for letting me be a small part of The House's journey!