The Keepers of the House

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic- A gem out of the past
Review: If you have ever read about life in the south under segretation, you have an idea about how difficult things were for African Americans and how tense things were for whites.
Ms. Grau won a Pulitzer for this book in 1965 for her fascinating story of a wealthy family and the scandal that arises when the truth comes out that the founding father was married to his mulatto housekeeper and had children with her after his first wife died.

The intense human emotions, the political climate, the social temper and environment is the backdrop to the amazing character development that is the heart of all of Ms Grau's work. Truly one of America's most talented writers- her work deserves notice and study. Her writing style has a lyrical quality, it flows and builds. I find it impossible to put her books down- the quality of the writing, the interesting characters and the intensity of her storytelling is irresistible.

The Keepers of the House is a must for anyone who considers themselves a true bibliophile!

Rating:
Summary: One of the most beautiful books I've ever read
Review: It's a shame that this book does not get the recognitiion it deserves. After I finished it I read the list of the top 100 books of the 20th century and was shocked not to find it there. Ms. Grau builds slowly to a shocking, enthralling, thought provoking climax. Her characters are rich, real, and fascinating. And when you are finished you realize how well you know the people who inhabited this book. I encourage anyone who loves good literature to pick this book up. I can't say enough good things about it.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: One of the best books I have read in eons- The Keepers of the House showcases life in segregationist Alabama ( not Mississippi) during the first half of the 20th century.
Gutsy women. Political intrigue and backdoor dealings combined with the mysteries and strength of heart and character make this Pulitzer Prize winner a must read for anyone interested in American cultural history.
Shirley Ann Grau is one of the finest writers in contemporary American literature and deserves the acclaim given to her.

Rating:
Summary: well done
Review: Set in the South this well-crafted book tells story of small town living and scandal. Intimately drawn characters, careful details of daily living, and a severe revenge put it on my list of recommended books.

Rating:
Summary: Growing Up Southern
Review: The Keepers of the House is a novel on the Old South. After the War of 1812, William Howland decided on the return march from New Orleans to settle in Alabama instead of going all the way back to Tennessee. He picked himself a likely spot and started to raise a house and a family. Over the next century or so, other people moved into Wade County and the boat landing grew into Madison City.

Over the generations, the family property was always owned by a William Howland. When the William Howland of the Civil War generation died in the Wilderness, the property passed to a brother who dutifully named his heir William. When the William Howland of the First World War Era was called off to war, he never got beyond New Orleans, where the Flu almost killed him. He was the next to last William Howland.

Now this William had married and brought his bride back to the family home. She bore him a daughter named Abigail and later a son, named William, of course, but caught a childbirth fever, passed away, and was laid in the family tomb. A year later the boy child was also laid to rest beside her.

By the time of the Depression, the Howlands dominated Wade County. William could afford to send Abigail off to a good school, where she fell in love with an Englishman who taught literature and poetry. They were married and had a girl child, also named Abigail. However, the husband refused to stay on the sidelines when World War II started and returned to England to join the fight. Neither Abigail ever saw him again. Later, Abigail contracted tuberculosis and was taken out West to a sanitarium, but to no avail.

Shortly after the elder Abigail's wedding, William took a trip into the swamp, fulfilling a foolish bet about finding a moonshine still. After discovering the still, he returned through New Church, a black settlement, mostly descended from the blacks freed by Andy Jackson after the Battle of New Orleans. These freejacks, as they were called, kept to themselves mostly, although they added a little Choctaw blood over the years. When William stopped of at a old baptismal font to get water, he noticed a young black girl washing clothes in the stream. Feeling a need for additional help around the place, he offered her a job if she wanted it. The next day she showed up at his house and took over the odd jobs that had been neglected by the cook.

Margaret had ideas of her own. After all, she had walked twenty miles for this job and she admired the look of William Howland. That evening, while William was noisily taking off his boots, Margaret showed up to help and then stayed the night. She bore him five children, three of which lived.

Everybody in the county soon knew about William's mistress. Abigail the younger grew up with it and didn't think it so strange. In fact, both Abigails rather liked Margaret. Everything was working out all right as they usually do in those small Southern towns, until Abigail the younger married a politician.

This story has some of ambiance of William Faulkner, but much of that goes with the territory. The author gives the sights and smells and sounds of that country so that you feel that you are part of the story. Everything from Alabama country marriages and funerals to the flowers and coon hunts comes alive around you.

The story is told from the point of view of William, Margaret and the Abigails. It covers the well-to-do Howlands and the poor-as-dirt Carmichaels, with dozens of others playing their part. It also has some biting commentary about Alabama politics and local prejudices. The ending is bitter, but not without hope.

Highly recommended to anyone enjoys stories of the Old South or even who missed the years prior to integration.

Rating:
Summary: Growing Up Southern
Review: The Keepers of the House is a novel on the Old South. After the War of 1812, William Howland decided on the return march from New Orleans to settle in Alabama instead of going all the way back to Tennessee. He picked himself a likely spot and started to raise a house and a family. Over the next century or so, other people moved into Wade County and the boat landing grew into Madison City.

Over the generations, the family property was always owned by a William Howland. When the William Howland of the Civil War generation died in the Wilderness, the property passed to a brother who dutifully named his heir William. When the William Howland of the First World War Era was called off to war, he never got beyond New Orleans, where the Flu almost killed him. He was the next to last William Howland.

Now this William had married and brought his bride back to the family home. She bore him a daughter named Abigail and later a son, named William, of course, but caught a childbirth fever, passed away, and was laid in the family tomb. A year later the boy child was also laid to rest beside her.

By the time of the Depression, the Howlands dominated Wade County. William could afford to send Abigail off to a good school, where she fell in love with an Englishman who taught literature and poetry. They were married and had a girl child, also named Abigail. However, the husband refused to stay on the sidelines when World War II started and returned to England to join the fight. Neither Abigail ever saw him again. Later, Abigail contracted tuberculosis and was taken out West to a sanitarium, but to no avail.

Shortly after the elder Abigail's wedding, William took a trip into the swamp, fulfilling a foolish bet about finding a moonshine still. After discovering the still, he returned through New Church, a black settlement, mostly descended from the blacks freed by Andy Jackson after the Battle of New Orleans. These freejacks, as they were called, kept to themselves mostly, although they added a little Choctaw blood over the years. When William stopped of at a old baptismal font to get water, he noticed a young black girl washing clothes in the stream. Feeling a need for additional help around the place, he offered her a job if she wanted it. The next day she showed up at his house and took over the odd jobs that had been neglected by the cook.

Margaret had ideas of her own. After all, she had walked twenty miles for this job and she admired the look of William Howland. That evening, while William was noisily taking off his boots, Margaret showed up to help and then stayed the night. She bore him five children, three of which lived.

Everybody in the county soon knew about William's mistress. Abigail the younger grew up with it and didn't think it so strange. In fact, both Abigails rather liked Margaret. Everything was working out all right as they usually do in those small Southern towns, until Abigail the younger married a politician.

This story has some of ambiance of William Faulkner, but much of that goes with the territory. The author gives the sights and smells and sounds of that country so that you feel that you are part of the story. Everything from Alabama country marriages and funerals to the flowers and coon hunts comes alive around you.

The story is told from the point of view of William, Margaret and the Abigails. It covers the well-to-do Howlands and the poor-as-dirt Carmichaels, with dozens of others playing their part. It also has some biting commentary about Alabama politics and local prejudices. The ending is bitter, but not without hope.

Highly recommended to anyone enjoys stories of the Old South or even who missed the years prior to integration.

Rating:
Summary: How love, hurt and honor move from generation to generation
Review: The proses in this book are extraordinary. Grau knows the land, the plants, the animals, the smells and the sensibility of the place she writes about so the reader can feel like s/he is walking down that rural road with her as she describes a place. There is something of a touch of Annie Dillard in Grau --the way she loves the natural world. And then there are the people who inhabit the places she describes...they are shaped by but different from the land that the Howland family inhabits, owns, nurtures and has grown a part of without fanfare or intention. The Howlands are a people who know and remember their history and where they live is part of who they are. As Grau builds this story, she gently introduces us to layer upon layer of the complex mix out of which racism grew and festered and which distorted the world, so that our narrator eventually ends up in the fetal position on the floor trying to fend off, alone the ugliness of a racist society full of people who use each other ruthlessly...a society that turns the narrator herself into a less than perfect character. This is a pulls-no-punches story. It is the kind of book people ought to talk about after they read. It is full of who we are as a nation-and it could help us find our way out of the mess we've made for ourselves.

Rating:
Summary: Mississippi during segregation
Review: There are opposing viewpoints about this novel. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1965. The Klan burned a cross on the author's front lawn after it was published.

This is an interesting novel in view of recent events in the news. A prominant white widower, during times of racial segregation, has an affair with a black housekeeper producing three children who are raised with his grand-daughter until they are old enough to send to private boarding schools in the north. He provides for them financially, but does not acknowledge them publicly, although it is well known among the family and others.

His grand-daughter marries a man with political aspirations who joins the Klan to further his career. Things go along fine, but the truth will out. People seeking vengence of whatever kind forget where their fortunes lie. And people should remember who owns the county and who pays the bills before throwing stones.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book About Racism! In the old days....
Review: This book is slow-moving at first, but has an excellent ending. It's all about ignorance, patience, and revenge. It reads like a true story, but it makes me wonder...is it?

Rating:
Summary: Conceptually interesting. Descriptive style often boring.
Review: This book presents a very interesting insight into Southern values, particulary those related to class and race. I sometimes found the detailed descriptive style to be boring, tedious, and much too wordy. Further, the second part of the book after the main character, Abigail Howland, marries seemed to be presented as a very overdone, too obvious parody of a rich, upscale Southern family; i.e. the ponies for the children, the butler, the pearls, the fur coat...... O.K. I've got the idea- could you tone it down? The difference in style between the somewhat understated first part and overstated second part of the book was disconcerting.

But- the insight into Southern values relating to race and class was fascinating. The startling ways in which the emotions (jealousy, revenge, hypocrisy, love, hatred, loyalty, and betrayal ) of the Howland family members were portrayed made it difficult to put the book down. Also, the message of Abigail Howland's enduring strength was inspiring (even if you don't believe in "getting even"). All in all a good book, but stylistically sometimes difficult.