The house girl tara conklin mobi

I have a major complaint: in the end when Jackson's brother begins to tell his story - which was in a packet of information given to her by the museum, I found myself frustrated, bored at times and irritated that the story shifted from Josephine's story and what happened to her to his story and what happened to him. I wanted Josephine to tell her story. Maureen E. I just wrote something similar in my review of the book. What a waste of space that letter was!

Hi : plz can anyone tell me how to read this full books plzzzzz thank u :? Sheila Watt I am not sure exactly what you mean about how you can read the full book. If that is what you did, it would not have the full book. There are many ways to get the full book: 1: Join your city library and check it out. Once you join a library, you can often download the book and read it from your ipad or any tablet.

You can buy the book on Amazon or in a book store. And you can borrow as many books as you wish, for a long as you want. Good luck to you! Keep reading! See all 7 questions about The House Girl…. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3.

Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of The House Girl. Mar 01, Diane Yannick rated it it was ok. I liked the beginning of this book and thought it had a lot of promise. I liked the way the two stories were set during slavery and the present. I often like dual narration and get absorbed by two different viewpoints. I like the topic of slave reparations, wondering at the outset how we could ever be so arrogant as to think we could repair our actions in any meaningful way.

I expected the author to give me some food for thought. Instead it just progressively annoyed me until I had to force mysel I liked the beginning of this book and thought it had a lot of promise. Instead it just progressively annoyed me until I had to force myself to finish it. This book was totally overwritten.

The author tried too darn hard to make this book weighty with truths. She refused to edit herself and pare away the redundancies. She beat us over the head in sentences like: "Truth was multilayered, shifting; it was different for everyone, each personal history carved unique from the same weighty block of time and flesh.

Now on to the plotting. This book runs rampant with incredible coincidences. Just in the nick of time, all the plot pieces come together. Lina, the high powered lawyer, is an utterly unlikeable character who feels like a caricature. Josephine, although easy to like, gets lost in the horrendous subplots. I did not care about any of the many subplots. Letters were used repeatedly to advance the plot.

They were detailed and tiring. This topic deserves a better book. View all 33 comments. Oct 04, Lisa rated it did not like it. Feeling a little guilty by not explaining my 1 star rating, so here is my review that I submitted to Amazon: Outstanding ratings, historical fiction, captivating subject; on all counts I should have loved this book.

Unfortunately, the writer's narrative descriptions were unbearable. She describes everything in laborious detail, even the most inane subjects and banal situations. Don't get me wrong, I love descriptive writing, but this was complete overkill. Here is an excerpt from Conklin's descri Feeling a little guilty by not explaining my 1 star rating, so here is my review that I submitted to Amazon: Outstanding ratings, historical fiction, captivating subject; on all counts I should have loved this book.

Here is an excerpt from Conklin's description of Lina's law office: "Lina exited the elevator and walked the east corridor toward her office. To her left, the secretaries buzzed and clacked and sipped. The secretaries were an exotic, unfathomable breed, prone to wearing elasticized waistbands and acrylic fingernails that clattered in a high pitched musical way across a keyboard. The secretaries never asked questions. They deciphered the lawyers' scrawl as best they could, settled into their ergonomically correct workstations, suspended all independent thought, all personal conviction, and typed.

To Lina's right, half open office doors allowed her glimpses of heads bowed over papers or fixed tightly to the glow of a computer screen or cradling a gray telephone headset between I closed the book at page Maybe I didn't give it a fair shake, but if something moves me to the point that I want to chuck the book through my plate glass window, then I should on all counts, stop the madness.

View all 40 comments. Apr 25, Laurie rated it liked it. I don't often review a book but I have to say something about this one. I just have to wonder about all the 4-star and 5-star ratings here. This book is readable, certainly, but not at all the page-turner I expected from hearing others idolize it. The present-day character, Lina, is a lawyer in a high-powered NY firm looking for a plaintiff to represent a class-action lawsuit on behalf of slaves brought to the United States who were, obviously, never compensated for their work.

The book moves be I don't often review a book but I have to say something about this one. The book moves between Lina and Josephine, a "house girl" slave in the s working for a Mr. Bell is not having good luck with his crops and feeling soured, treats Josephine cruelly while Missus Bell more or less seems to take a maternal interest in her. At any rate, the characters of the past seem far better developed than Lina, her bosses and co-workers, her father, and the artsy crowd around them.

That's okay though -- and forgivable. It's the absolutely ridiculous thread that runs throughout where Lina feels she is not being told the truth about her mother's death -- in a car accident, when Lina was a small child -- and when she can't seem to get a straight answer from her father, she just accepts it.

She is an attorney, for pete's sake, and is doing realms of research on this case. If you want to know how someone died, take a taxi to City Hall and ask for the Department of Vital Statistics!!! As my relatives in Scotland used to say, they'll always tell you who's been "hatched, matched and dispatched!! That being said? The idea that Josephine was the real artist behind the priceless pictures painted and drawn by Missus Bell is an interesting one, and the historical settings and information are interesting as well.

But the book is way too long and I find that I don't really care very much about Lina. Or her disappeared mother. Too much going on. I confess: I skimmed at times. I did make it through to the end. View all 6 comments. Nov 27, Angela M rated it really liked it Shelves: cgca It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel.

Tara Conklin has beautifully written an emotional story of a young woman slave in Virginia in and skillfully connects that story to a young woman , an attorney living in present day New York City. She brings history to life with Josephine's story and we see the cruelties of slavery , the desire for freedom, and the courageous fight for it.

I love the alternating narratives of Josephine and Lina and how Lina's story helps unfold the story o It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel. I love the alternating narratives of Josephine and Lina and how Lina's story helps unfold the story of Josephine the artist. The writing is so good that you can almost see the paintings as they are described and almost feel what the characters feel.

I have read a number of books recently which use the mechanism of alternating narratives of past and present and I really like it when the stories truly connect in an important way.

The author has done just that. I was so taken with Josephine and I found Lina's story captivating as well. Josephine's story will break your heart but what Lina does to insure that Josephine's story is told is ultimately uplifting.

Nov 05, Kate rated it did not like it. I received an advanced reader's copy of this book and I am fairly certain that no one will ever let me win a giveaway again after this review.

This book is very very bad. In a book about slavery and reparations, I do not think it would be out of line to expand descriptions of key characters beyond "dark" and "pale". From a single page, we read these three descriptions: "Within the blue a woman's body seemed to float, small, dark-haired, featureless, drowning.

Instead, I just want to say that the idea of a novel about reparations and slavery is really intriguing; I hope someone with skill or a strong editor has a go at it. View all 11 comments. Mar 23, Kathy rated it did not like it. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Started out pretty good but the main character in the present, Lina Sparrow, just seemed to get stupider and stupider as the story progressed.

Has she never heard of Ancestry. And the story line about her mother was completely ridiculous and unbelievable. Again, if she was curious about her mother's "death" and was too spineless to force the question with her father Started out pretty good but the main character in the present, Lina Sparrow, just seemed to get stupider and stupider as the story progressed.

Again, if she was curious about her mother's "death" and was too spineless to force the question with her father, all she had to do was look for the death certificate. Certainly an attorney could manage that simple task. If her mother had actually died in a car crash, she certainly could have found an archived newspaper article about it. Not finding evidence of her mom's death would have been a red flag.

Sorry, Lina, you are just too dumb to be an attorney or even an average citizen of the 21st century. Read this book only if you like really stupid characters. View all 3 comments. Feb 01, Jennifer rated it really liked it Shelves: books , audiobooks , historical-fiction.

It did not shake her, what Nathan had said. Freedom was a curious thing. Were the chickens free, running their fool heads off in the yard? The horse, that still must fit the bit between its teeth? Was Missus free? But what else to dream for? Just to sit for Tonight. Just to sit for a moment, herself, no one claiming her time or her thoughts or the product of her mind and hands.

What other word to call that if not freedom? Not a one is free, Nathan had said, but Josephine did not believe that could be true. As I finally got around to reading this fabulous book I couldn't believe that it had been sitting around for years years!

I wonder how many other treasures are hanging out on my bookshelves -- real and virtual. The book's plot involves two story lines What my GR friend Cathrine cleverly calls a "two-fer" -- the historical tale of slave and house girl, Josephine Bell; and the modern day story of young lawyer Lina Sparrow whose work on a new case leads her to research the life of Josephine Bell. I particularly enjoyed the the author's treatment of the historical aspect of the novel.

Much time is spent with Josephine's thoughts rather than just relying on dialogue. These were beautiful passages that conveyed her humanity and the universality of a desire for freedom.

In addition to the "two-fer" readers also get to enjoy a variety of styles in this book. Not only is the story told in prose, but the plot is also revealed via letters, and art critiques -- so readers get to enjoy all sorts in genres in one package! View all 9 comments.

May 08, Jamissmile rated it did not like it Shelves: insightful-read , american-history , politics. I felt annoyed by this book. The law suite was impossible and ridiculous.

It was like the author started the first half of the book thinking it was a great idea and then through her own research realized it was never going to pan out. Instead of re-writing the whole story she simply used one of her characters to explain why the law suit wasn't going to work and from that point on in the book the author had to change her perspective and create a new reason for the modern day side of the story to I felt annoyed by this book.

Instead of re-writing the whole story she simply used one of her characters to explain why the law suit wasn't going to work and from that point on in the book the author had to change her perspective and create a new reason for the modern day side of the story to be relevant. The side of the book that featured the Plantation Slave girl was interesting but extremely repetitive. The author forced us to re-read the slave girl's life story over and over again each time adding a tiny bit of something new.

I felt like the author started writing the first chapter and never stopped, she'd keep going until she hit a snag and instead of going back to change the book she just stopped that theme and continued on with a different a different one.

This book was compared to "The Help" and was suppose to be on of the To Read books of the year. I'd have to disagree with both statements. Jan 11, Laura rated it really liked it. Full Disclosure: I went to high school with Tara but haven't seen her since we graduated. It was an odd experience to read a book by someone with whom I was a teenager.

I spent the first few pages being overly judgmental about grammar and comma placement Sorry, Tara! But within about five or six pages it stopped being about High-School-Friend-now-Author Tara and all about the characters and the story.

This first novel tells the powerful and compelling story of Josephine, a slave in Virginia in Full Disclosure: I went to high school with Tara but haven't seen her since we graduated. This first novel tells the powerful and compelling story of Josephine, a slave in Virginia in the mid-nineteenth century, and Lina, a young lawyer for a prestigious New York law firm in the present.

Lina's firm has just taken on a case that will deal with slavery reparations, and Lina is searching for a descendent of slaves to act as the plaintiff. This will make an excellent book club pick or vacation read. Although the themes leave you with plenty to discuss, ponder, and contemplate, the story moves quickly and powerfully to its conclusion, essentially making it a fast read that will stick with you long after you finish it.

View 2 comments. Received as a giveaway on goodreads. Thank you for choosing me and I look forward to reading it. I loved this book but would've liked to at least hear a little about what happened with Lina and her mom. The book had me engaged from the beginning. There were a few twists and turns that were unexpected and a couple of characters that I would have like to see further developed but I look forward to reading more from this author.

View all 7 comments. Sep 24, Michael rated it liked it Shelves: historical-fiction , fiction , virginia , african-american , art , new-york-city , racism , slavery. Lina is a NYC young lawyer like the author who gets tasked with finding a profile case for a class action lawsuit against the government and companies that benefited from slavery.

Through her art world connections she comes across the case of a house slave, Josephine, who may have been the creative force behind the wonderful and pricey paintings by the wife of an aristocratic plantation owner in Virginia in the s. We alternate the narration with that of Josephine. The method of slipping between time periods has a fascinating time-machine like effect of making events in the past have impact in the present.

As for elucidating the lives of those who lived in slavery, I respect the continuing effort of writers to take up that task. In this case, Conklin shows restraint on covering the extreme horrors of slavery by focusing on a teenaged house slave.

It was also worthwhile for me to experience more variations on the motivations and methods of whites and free blacks responsible for the Underground Railroad system to aid escape of slaves to the North. I very much enjoyed The House Girl. Tara Conklin has previously published short fiction but this is her first novel.

I think Conklin is a great story teller and did a good job of fully utilizing her background in both history and law to really draw me into the book. The book is categorized as historical fiction and it also has a legal slant. It is the story of two young women, who share many similarities and grew up years apart. The story is about both of their lives — two strong women with special talents and good intellects, both growing up without mothers from a very young age.

They lived very different lives at very different times — one of privilege, one of servitude, one when slavery was legal, one when it was no longer openly legal.

And yet, both women shared very important characteristics - big dreams and fierce determination. The House Girl is categorized as historical fiction and you will definitely gain a better understanding of the norm of cruelty, injustices, class structure and inequalities during this period of history.

For this alone, the book is worth reading. However, there is also much mystery and suspense in the story, along with romance, psychology and philosophy. The book provides a lot of information on slavery and the Underground Railroad System in particularl, which began in the Southern U.

States and Canada. Conklin definitely piqued my interest in learning more, particularly since several exits to the freedom trail that the slaves risked their lives for are so close to where I live. The House Girl was a page turner that was touching and had a soul. Tara Conklin is a great story teller and The House Girl is well worth reading. Jan 03, Doreen rated it it was ok Shelves: kindle. Alternating chapters tell the stories of two women. In , Josephine Bell, a seventeen-year-old slave on a Virginian tobacco plantation, plans her escape to freedom.

In New York in , Lina Sparrow, a young attorney, is looking for a good lead plaintiff for a class action suit seeking reparation for the descendants of American slaves.

The two stories intersect when Lina hears about a folk artist whose paintings are thought to actually be the work of her house girl Josephine. Lina sets out to Alternating chapters tell the stories of two women. Lina sets out to do genealogical research to determine if Josephine had any descendants. The reader cannot but feel sympathy for her circumstances. The reparation case is really far-fetched, and her research is advanced by a series of coincidences that stretch credibility.

Just as she seems to reach a dead end, a document lands in her lap which gives clues that have eluded numerous scholars. In the end a letter written by a peripheral character conveniently explains everything. Of course, this crucial document reaches her only at the last minute when an archivist has a change of heart. Lina is not a believable character. She is able to change the minds of the archivist and her candidate for lead plaintiff yet she is totally passive at work and lets her boss walk all over her?

Never did she actually conduct a search into her mother though she was an aspiring artist who had received some publicity? The novel would work well as historical fiction if the focus had remained solely on Josephine and her story had been told directly without the inclusion of long missives from witnesses.

Removing the Lina narrative would have eliminated most of the many coincidences and a weak character who does not inspire any emotional connection.

This book has strengths but considerable weaknesses. It should have been subjected to considerable revision. View 1 comment. Tara Conklin negotiates great vast swaths of time and tribulation, character and place, with grace, insight, and, simply, love. Conklin masterfully interweaves the stories of two women across time, a runaway slave in Virginia and a young lawyer in present-day New York, all while asking us to contemplate the nature of truth and justice in America.

The juxtaposed stories of a slave girl in and a lawyer in combine to create a beautiful examination of freedom, identity, family, desire and obligation. This work is absorbing, enthralling, stimulating and provocative and almost guaranteed to be read in one sitting.

Jul 30, Melissa Crytzer Fry rated it it was amazing. What an incredible book! Debut author Tara Conklin weaves two separate stories together like a beautiful tapestry, the past and the present blended artfully and skillfully.

This is a story about art, and the power of brushstrokes to heal broken hearts from different worlds, different time periods. A story about truth. About lies. About freedom. About hopes and dreams and wishes and failings and triumphs and heartbreak. About justice. About evil. Conklin created a rollercoaster of emotional tension revealing, chapter-by-chapter, the threads gently connecting one story to the other, the parallels often uncanny and enthralling. And the characters, as they sometimes made bad or dangerous decisions, had me biting at my nails.

Part epistolary, part historical and part contemporary, this story of a young ambitious lawyer who finds herself assigned to a groundbreaking reparations case for descendants of American slaves takes on personal meaning she never could have expected.

In many ways, this story felt like a Russian nesting doll in its complexity: stories within stories within stories, all compelling and revealing.

And, perhaps one of my favorite things about this literary gem: it offers a sensory feast. The passages are lyrical, beautiful, and often evoke frightening, palpable images, transporting the reader to antebellum Virginia and bustling Manhattan. Highly recommend. View all 18 comments. Confusing and poorly done So Josephine is a slave girl who is taking care of her mistress who is an aspiring artist. Art historians now suspect that the revered paintings of Lu Anne Bell, an antebellum artist known for her humanizing portraits of slaves from her plantation Bell Creek, were actually the work of her house slave, Josephine.

Did Josephine die at Bell Creek? Was she sold? Or did she escape? Alternating between antebellum Virginia and modern-day New York, this searing tale of art and history, love and secrets explores what it means to repair a wrong, and ask whether truth is sometimes more important than justice. Guaranteed to keep readers up long past their bedtimes.