The House Girl: Summary and book reviews of The House Girl by Tara Conklin, plus links to an excerpt from The House Girl and a biography of Tara Conklin.

A stunning debut novel of love, family, and justice that intertwines the stories of an escaped house slave in 1852 Virginia and ambitious young lawyer in contemporary New York Virginia, 1852. Seventeen-year-old Josephine Bell decides to run from the failing tobacco farm where she is a slave and nurse to her ailing mistress, the aspiring artist Lu Anne Bell. New York City, 2004. Lina Sparrow, an ambitious first-year associate in an elite law firm, is given a difficult, highly sensitive assignment that could make her career: she must find the "perfect plaintiff" to lead a historic class-action lawsuit worth trillions of dollars in reparations for descendants of American slaves. It is through her father, the renowned artist Oscar Sparrow, that Lina discovers Josephine Bell and a controversy roiling the art world: are the iconic paintings long ascribed to Lu Anne Bell really the work of her house slave, Josephine? A descendant of Josephine's would be the perfect face for the reparations lawsuit - if Lina can find one. While following the runaway girl's faint trail through old letters and plantation records, Lina finds herself questioning her own family history and the secrets that her father has never revealed: How did Lina's mother die? And why will he never speak about her? Moving between antebellum Virginia and modern-day New York, this searing, suspenseful and heartbreaking tale of art and history, love and secrets, explores what it means to repair a wrong and asks whether truth is sometimes more important than justice. Read the story behind the book

BookBrowse

I've read many books set in the US's slavery era, and this is one of the best. It poses a unique connection between a young slave "house girl" and a driven New York lawyer. The House Girl portrays an inspiring story of how, through art, a person survives long after leaving this world.  (Reviewed by BookBrowse First Impression Reviewers).

Full Review (1258 words).

Media Reviews

Seattle Times Conklin ... is a skilled writer ... who knows how to craft a thoughtful page-turner ...We’re glued to the pages.   Publishers Weekly Striving for affecting revelations, Conklin manages nothing more than unsatisfying platitudes and smugly pat realizations.   Booklist Stretching back and forth across time and geography, this riveting tale is bolstered by some powerful universal truths.   Kirkus Reviews Provocative issues of race and gender intertwine in earnest if uneven issues-oriented fiction.   Bookpage Luminous . . . The rare novel that seamlessly toggles between centuries and characters and remains consistently gripping throughout . . . Powerful.   Library Journal Starred Review. A seamless juxtaposition of past and present, of the lives of two women, and of the redemptive nature of art and the search for truth and justice. Guaranteed to keep readers up long past their bedtimes. Amy Greene, author of Bloodroot Tara Conklin’s powerful debut novel is a literary page-turner filled with history, lost love, and buried family secrets. Conklin masterfully interweaves the stories of two women across time, all while asking us to contemplate the nature of truth and justice in America. Margot Livesey, New York Times bestselling author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy There’s so much to admire in The House Girl -- two richly imagined heroines, two fully realized worlds, a deeply satisfying plot -- but what made me stand up and cheer was the moral complexity of these characters and the situations they face. I’m grateful for this transporting novel. Hillary Jordan, author of Mudbound and When She Woke The House Girl is an enthralling story of identity and social justice told through the eyes of two indomitable women, one a slave and the other a modern-day attorney, determined to define themselves on their own terms.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by dlpiano
The House Girl
The House Girl was full of unraveling mysteries that kept me reading in order to find the outcome! At the same time the insight into slavery and the modern cooperate world was enlightening! The ending was not what I expected or wanted but I truly...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Emily G. (Clear Lake, MN)
Skillful handling of complex stories
It took me a while to get drawn into this book. I was skeptical about the slavery reparations lawsuit that serves as a catalyst for Lina Sparrow's search and I feared another slave narrative. However, about half way through the book, I...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Sandra C. (Rensselaer, New York)
The House Girl
While the subject is interesting I found the weaving in of the sub-plots disjointed and not as developed as they could have been. As a member of a book club, I do not think book clubs would enjoy having this book for discussion. I think there were...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Marjorie (Florida)
Art Redeems the Soul
Josephine Bell is the catalyst that launches an inquiry into the historical past, to unearth the mystery of what happened to the artist who fashioned the artwork that survived time. Her story is not unlike others in her class and station, in the...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Sherrie B. (Fishers, IN)
Absolutely fascinating!
The combination of present day and 1800's history is amazing. This is such a different story and so smartly written. I would highly recommend this to all booklovers but especially people who enjoy good historical fiction.

Rated of 5 by Lynne B. (S. Lake Tahoe, CA)
A Truly Original and Enduring Historical Mystery
The House Girl proved thoroughly fascinating and cleverly written in such a way as to so hold my attention that I read the entire book in not much more than 6 hours. The story line of the young lawyer paralleled with Josephine the slave girl both...   Read More

...19 More Reader Reviews

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