What readers think of White Houses, plus links to write your own review.

I found the book offered very little that was "new" to me. Bloom's style of writing, going from flashbacks to the present and back again, was at times a bit confusing. It was difficult to care very much about Hick.

White Houses Is the story of the romance between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok. Both women in their own way had very sad lives. Eleanor because she lived in the shadow of FDR and Hickok because of her brutal early life.

While the romance was scandalous it was by no means extraordinary. Bloom characterizations of Eleanor and Lorena are lovely, they were devoted to each other.

Amy Bloom is a wonderful writer, she has written a thought-provoking book about two lost souls that find a bit of happiness with another.

Historical fiction has the ability to allow one to imagine the underpinnings of a relationship while focusing on real historical events or characters. Amy Bloom has concentrated on Roosevelt's relationship with Lorena Hickok which historians still disagree as to the erotic nature of their relationship. When Doris Fabor was allowed to look, however, at the letters between these women she felt that is was undeniable as to their deep rooted physical love for one another. The story is told from Hickok's point of view, beginning with her sharing her early childhood abusive days with her family, and leaving home at the age of 14. How much of her circus days were real or fictionalized I cannot say as I found no evidence researching this area. However, her "imagined" recount of this time was vivid and engaging, but I became less interested as the book wore on feeling it more fluffy and needing more substance than their whispers to one another. More of a character study than a plot driven novel although Bloom does take us through Roosevelt's passion about social injustice, civil rights and devotion to encouraging Americans to stand up for its ideals of humanity and tolerance but does not go into any depth in this matter. Hickok's acclaimed career as a newspaper reporter, her job as the chief investigator of FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Administration) and her devotion to Eleanor were explored but I never really engaged or grew to care about the characters. However, I left wanting to read more and have since purchased further biographies. This fictionalized account is a good headway to read about their historical lives for those we feel the need to explore further.