Rating: 
Summary: A Novel Naked with Life
Review: "Naked with life" is how Max Horne described Polly O'Keefe, though no one else may have thought so then, Polly included. Yet all the characters in "A House Like a Lotus" are the same way--so passionate about existence that they cannot help but affirm life.When the novel begins, Polly O'Keefe is in Athens, on her own for the first time in her life, about to join an international conference in Cyprus. Though her experiences throughout the novel are definitely unusual, she represents all teenagers who must learn to grow up, be alone, and become comfortable with complexity. With her heroine in a city where she can plant one foot in the past and one in the present, Madeleine L'Engle gives her readers the same treatment, letting the plot skip back and forth from present scenes to past events. In such a potent setting, Polly does not just relive the days of her friendship with Max, but also the glory days of Ancient Greece. Max is a fascinating character, a painter who reads classical literature and has anthropology for a hobby. Keeping with the Greek theme, she becomes a Mentor to Polly, gently drawing the girl out of her shell. Anyone who has ever felt like an outcast will believe in the wonder of a friendship with someone who FINALLY, thank God in Heaven, UNDERSTANDS. Yet Max is not that simple. As she opens Polly's eyes to the complexities of life and of people, she reveals her own--and Polly must come to terms with that dark side. When she does so, she also comes to terms with her own. The sexual elements in this story are unavoidable. When we open ourselves to everything sacred, spiritual, human, and real, we also open ourselves to what is sexual. Then we are not always touched by the light alone, but also by the darkness. In this novel about the coming of age of a young woman, L'Engle does not insult readers by tiptoeing around the truth: she presents life with powerful complexity, no matter which character she holds up to scrutiny. Yet she is undoubtedly on the side of the light: the novel's climax is a "vision of love" worthy of all Christian mystics. "A House Like a Lotus" is probably the best novel she has ever written.
Rating: 
Summary: Good old fashioned homophobia
Review: *House Like a Lotus* is a disappointing novel on many fronts, but most seriously it fails as a novel of "tolerance." Her tormented alcoholic lesbian, unable to restrain her sexual impulses, is a straw figure on which other characters can exercise their liberal impulses. Even more disappointing to a reader who loved *A Wrinkle in Time* is the discovery that prickly genius Meg has chosen "surrendered wifehood" and diaper changing over physics (of course, despite her mother's example, she couldn't possibly do both) and that Calvin has grown up to be a pompous pater familias who believes in tolerating gays as long as they stay in the closet....
Rating:
Summary: A realistic fiction about a girl who is going on a trip
Review: A House Like a Lotus by Madeleine L`Engle (Franklin) is a book about a girl named Polly O'Feeke who is going to Cyprus because she has a friend who died and Polly the ticket. On the way she tells mummeries of her old friend. This book a realistic fiction and is a great book for teenagers. One reason why readers like this book is because Madeleine L'Engle, and she is a good writer. A really good scene is Cyprus. Another reason why readers might enjoy this book is because it is a good book.
Rating:
Summary: This is one of the best books I have ever read.
Review: A House Like a Lotus is one of the best written, most intelligent, most real books I have ever read. Polly O'Keefe is a very complex character and her struggles to accept the people around her despite their faults is very realistic. The flashbacks are expertly woven into the current story. L'Engle gives the reader hints of uncoming events while still leaving the reader in suspense. L'Engle, as usual, does an excellent job of showing the difficulty in learning to accept others and accept oneself.
Rating:
Summary: Good book for teens 15 and over
Review: As a very Christian 18 yr old girl, i really enjoyed this book. As others have stated, there are several controversial issues in this book, but I think l'engle dealt with them very well. Other reviewers have pretty much covered the plot. While I do not completely agree with everything L'engle has occur in the book, I do appreciate very much the message that she is sending a a Christian woman herself: You do not have to be perfect to be Christian. It is very comforting. The book is very well written and pulls you into the plot thoroughly. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of L'engle's other books, and especially to Christian teens who are not EXTREMELY conservative.
Rating:
Summary: Good book for teens 15 and over
Review: As a very Christian 18 yr old girl, i really enjoyed this book. As others have stated, there are several controversial issues in this book, but I think l'engle dealt with them very well. Other reviewers have pretty much covered the plot. While I do not completely agree with everything L'engle has occur in the book, I do appreciate very much the message that she is sending a a Christian woman herself: You do not have to be perfect to be Christian. It is very comforting. The book is very well written and pulls you into the plot thoroughly. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of L'engle's other books, and especially to Christian teens who are not EXTREMELY conservative.
Rating:
Summary: A compelling, but shocking novel. Not for young young-adults
Review: Be warned that this review contains serious spoilers. Madeleine L'Engle is, of course, best known for her book "A Wrinkle in Time" and the four books following which chronicle the adventures of Meg and Charles, and Meg's future husband Calvin. They are fantastical tales of travel at the speed of thought, alien worlds, monstrous evils to be fought, and the power of love in all its forms. Madeleine L'Engle has a deeper range than young adult science fiction. Even knowing this, however, it was a shock to read "A House Like a Lotus". It has the love of the Time Quartet books, but there is no tessering. There are no alien worlds to explore, and no monstrous evils. To see Meg and Calvin coping with a brood of seven children, and their eldest daughter, Polyhymnia (Polly), dealing with a straight story about love, betrayal and forgiveness makes it feel like you're reading from a different author. It is a compelling expansion upon Meg and Calvin's characters, and Polly carries the story in the first person with considerable grace, as she first befriends, and then flees from, a dying woman named Maxa. It's brilliant, but it still takes some getting used to. The story is written with, in my opinion, a much older audience in mind than "A Wrinkle in Time". The Time Quartet is ageless, but "A House Like a Lotus" deals frankly with sexual issues, including homosexuality and Polly's first sexual experience (heterosexual). I would not recommend this book to anybody under the age of fourteen, but to any other fan of L'Engle's work, this book is a must read. As you can see from other reviews, Madeleine L'Engle takes it between the eyes for her controversial subject matter. Some more liberal than her might say that she has demonized homosexuality through Maxa's drunken advances on Polly. On the other hand, others more conservative than Madeleine will not appreciate the fact that sixteen-year-old Polly has sex outside of marriage once (and isn't the least bit unhappy about it) and is perfectly open to having it again with someone else. The scene where Polly loses her virginity is touchingly and tastefully handled. There is too much love going on in this scene for me to believe that a sin is being committed. Personally, I did not think Madeleine demonized homosexuality through Maxa's portrayal in this book. Maxa is portrayed as a brilliant but hurt individual, who is dying, suffering, and deeply afraid. Much is made early on in the story that Maxa and her live-in partner Ursula might be lesbians, but Meg and Calvin make it quite clear that they believe that what goes on between two consenting adults in private is their own business. They refuse to pass judgement, and I agree with that. On the other hand, Maxa's advances on Polly were made when Maxa was drunk, hurting more than ever, and more afraid than ever about her oncoming death. She does hurt Polly (this is the focus of the book), but she realizes almost right away that what she has done was very wrong, but only as it relates to itself. Homosexuality is not the defining factor in this shocking and key scene of the book. If Maxa had been a man, the scene would have had as much, if not more power. "A House Like a Lotus" is a book about trust and love, and how, by just being the humans we are, we sometimes don't live up to other people's trust. And how we must forgive ourselves and the others who betray us, for our human foibles. In this regard, "A House Like a Lotus" carries more power than the entire Time Quartet combined.
Rating:
Summary: A compelling, but shocking novel. Not for young young-adults
Review: Be warned that this review contains serious spoilers. Madeleine L'Engle is, of course, best known for her book "A Wrinkle in Time" and the four books following which chronicle the adventures of Meg and Charles, and Meg's future husband Calvin. They are fantastical tales of travel at the speed of thought, alien worlds, monstrous evils to be fought, and the power of love in all its forms. Madeleine L'Engle has a deeper range than young adult science fiction. Even knowing this, however, it was a shock to read "A House Like a Lotus". It has the love of the Time Quartet books, but there is no tessering. There are no alien worlds to explore, and no monstrous evils. To see Meg and Calvin coping with a brood of seven children, and their eldest daughter, Polyhymnia (Polly), dealing with a straight story about love, betrayal and forgiveness makes it feel like you're reading from a different author. It is a compelling expansion upon Meg and Calvin's characters, and Polly carries the story in the first person with considerable grace, as she first befriends, and then flees from, a dying woman named Maxa. It's brilliant, but it still takes some getting used to. The story is written with, in my opinion, a much older audience in mind than "A Wrinkle in Time". The Time Quartet is ageless, but "A House Like a Lotus" deals frankly with sexual issues, including homosexuality and Polly's first sexual experience (heterosexual). I would not recommend this book to anybody under the age of fourteen, but to any other fan of L'Engle's work, this book is a must read. As you can see from other reviews, Madeleine L'Engle takes it between the eyes for her controversial subject matter. Some more liberal than her might say that she has demonized homosexuality through Maxa's drunken advances on Polly. On the other hand, others more conservative than Madeleine will not appreciate the fact that sixteen-year-old Polly has sex outside of marriage once (and isn't the least bit unhappy about it) and is perfectly open to having it again with someone else. The scene where Polly loses her virginity is touchingly and tastefully handled. There is too much love going on in this scene for me to believe that a sin is being committed. Personally, I did not think Madeleine demonized homosexuality through Maxa's portrayal in this book. Maxa is portrayed as a brilliant but hurt individual, who is dying, suffering, and deeply afraid. Much is made early on in the story that Maxa and her live-in partner Ursula might be lesbians, but Meg and Calvin make it quite clear that they believe that what goes on between two consenting adults in private is their own business. They refuse to pass judgement, and I agree with that. On the other hand, Maxa's advances on Polly were made when Maxa was drunk, hurting more than ever, and more afraid than ever about her oncoming death. She does hurt Polly (this is the focus of the book), but she realizes almost right away that what she has done was very wrong, but only as it relates to itself. Homosexuality is not the defining factor in this shocking and key scene of the book. If Maxa had been a man, the scene would have had as much, if not more power. "A House Like a Lotus" is a book about trust and love, and how, by just being the humans we are, we sometimes don't live up to other people's trust. And how we must forgive ourselves and the others who betray us, for our human foibles. In this regard, "A House Like a Lotus" carries more power than the entire Time Quartet combined.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, deep story!
Review: I has read this book a few years ago and I have been searching for it ever since. I remembered the beautifully woven plot that spans time frames so easily. I finally located it and read it cover to cover. I couldn't put it down. As an adolescent, I can really relate to Polly's mixed emotions and confused view of life. This is a wonderful book which captivates the readers attention and draws them in to the story.
Rating: 
Summary: A house like a Lotus - for kids 14 and over.
Review: I just finished reading "A House like a Lotus" and let me tell you that I agree with the other reviews written about this book. It does have some controversial issues in it like Homosexuality and of course the subject of sex, like when Zachary asks about Polly's virginity and when she actually loses it to Renny. This novel also for me was a bit diffricult to understand sometimes because of certain words I could not pronounce and also the sunject matter at hand. But all in all it was an okay book but for readers who are old enough to understand the mature subject matter.
|
