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My Mother's House
My Mother's House: A novel | Francesca Momplaisir
2 posts | 2 read | 8 to read
"A shockingly original exploration of class, race, and systemic violence . . . This house, tainted by the human evil it contains, is reminiscent of the opening line of Toni Morrison's Beloved. And, like Morrison, Momplaisir uses the tropes of fantasy to try to assert truths that ordinary language and realistic imagery cannot communicate . . . Momplaisir's debut introduces her as an author to watch." --Kirkus For fans of Edwidge Danticat, Mehsin Hamid, Kate Atkinson, and Jesmyn Ward: a literary thriller about the complex underbelly of the immigrant American dream and the dangerous ripple effect one person's damages can have on the lives of others--told unexpectedly by a house that has held unspeakable horrors When Lucien flees Haiti with his wife, Marie-Ange, and their three children to New York City's South Ozone Park, he does so hoping for reinvention, wealth, and comfort. He buys a rundown house in a community that is quickly changing from an Italian enclave of mobsters to a haven for Haitian immigrants, and begins life anew. Lucien and Marie-Ange call their home La Kay--"my mother's house"--and it becomes a place where their fellow immigrants can find peace, a good meal, and legal help. But as a severely emotionally damaged man emigrating from a country whose evils he knows to one whose evils he doesn't, Lucien soon falls into his worst habits and impulses, with La Kay as the backdrop for his lasciviousness. What he can't even begin to fathom is that the house is watching, passing judgment, and deciding to put an end to all the sins it has been made to hold. But only after it has set itself aflame will frightened whispers reveal Lucien's ultimate evil. At once an uncompromising look at the immigrant experience and an electrifying page-turner, My Mother's House is a singular, unforgettable achievement.
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review
ImperfectCJ
My Mother's House: A novel | Francesca Momplaisir
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Mehso-so

I read this as a combination of audiobook and book-book, which helped me get the pronunciations. This novel is a complex look at immigrant life, race, power, and the different ways people control each other. And one of the narrators is a sentient house. It's pretty unpleasant, and I probably wouldn't have finished it if I hadn't really wanted to find out what happened. One of my #gettbr recommendations from a few months ago.

review
Deezi
My Mother's House: A novel | Francesca Momplaisir
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Pickpick

This is a beautifully written book, partially narrated by the titular house (a device that should not work but is perfect). It‘s a story about home and immigration and abuse and family. Each character has their faults and blind spots and most spend some of their time making excuses for past sins—even the house.