A Good House
LC Class | PR9199.3.B7914 G66 2000 | |
Followed by | Suddenly |
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A Good House is the first novel by
Plot
The story starts in 1949 in the small town of Stonebrook, Ontario, near Lake Huron and is about the Chambers family and starts in a hopeful era of post-World War II. Bill is an ex-Navy veteran who had been injured losing three fingers of his right hand in the war and he has three children with his wife Sylvia; Patrick, Daphne, and Paul. Daphne, when 12 years old, meets an accident in 1952 which deforms her face permanently and asymmetrically while performing acrobatics in a circus on trapeze. In 1955, Sylvia dies of cancer when aged 40 and Bill later marries Margaret. Margaret and Bill used to be co-workers at a hardware store. Margaret raises the three children and keeps the family together and has a daughter Sarah together with Bill.
The eldest brother Patrick becomes a lawyer, the youngest Paul gains popularity in hockey but eventually marries early, fathers an imperfect child and becomes a farmer. Daphne chooses an odd path for the time and becomes a single mother of two daughters. Paul dies at an early age. Bill steps into his old age not very gracefully suffering with dementia but Margaret still keeps the family in control. As time passes the novel travels till 1997 and the nuclear family diverges yet keeps meeting together to share happy and sad times.
Publication
The book was published by
Reception and reviews
The book was Burnard's first novel. She had earlier independently published two award-winning short story collections Women of Influence (1988) and Casino & Other Stories (1994) and had also co-written other short story collections. The debut novel became a best-seller in Canada.
Awards
Burnard won the
References
- ^ a b "A woman of influence: Bonnie Burnard". Quill and Quire. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-88977-163-5. Archived from the originalon March 12, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "A Good House Reviews". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ a b "A good house Review". Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ "Kirkus Review: A Good House". Kirkus Reviews. 5 September 2000. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ "Publishers Weekly Review: A Good House". Publishers Weekly. 4 September 2000. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ Harayda, Janice (17 September 2000). "Burnard's 'A Good House' Canadian Comfort". Retrieved 13 March 2017.
- ^ "Past Winners and Juries". Scotiabank Giller Prize. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
- ^ "1999: A Good House by Bonnie Burnard". CBC Books. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2017.