Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really thought this book was delightful for what it was: a tale of sisters growing up rather isolated in a small town, with few friends, and shuffled between elderly family members who die, only to be left with their aunt who... isn't quite right.

The writing is quite wonderful and evocative and clear but like many traditional lit pieces like this, it's often slow and thoughtful and nothing much happens except a quiet life of quiet, slow desperation.

I admit to feeling like I ought to have felt the bucolic country life seeping into my soul, but what I really felt was Sylvie's transience, her ghostliness, her inability to truly commit to taking care of her two nieces. She always had a foot out the door.

I really felt anxious as hell. It was sad even as it drew me in.

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