HOUSEKEEPING by Marilynne Robinson

HOUSEKEEPING by Marilynne Robinson is what I'd call a modern classic. Beautifully written, it's the story of two sisters who are raised in a non-conventional family in Fingerbone Lake, Idaho. Ruth is the narrator of this depressing morose novel, the older sister who often seemed to take on the role of the younger sibling. The girls do not know who their father is. Their mother is in their lives for a very short time, a free-spirited woman who suffers from bouts of depression. They are successively raised by their maternal grandmother, Sylvia Foster, Sylvia's two elderly sisters-in-law, and finally their Aunt Sylvie, their mother's sister.

The novel opens with a brief history of their family, telling the tale of their grandfather who died tragically in a train crash at Fingerbone Lake. This lake becomes a character unto itself, helping to set the tone of the book. It seems to be the center of their world, having taken their grandfather, and later, their mother. One of the main themes of this novel is death and impermanence, the two girls never really having true stability in their lives. They do see some stability with their grandmother Sylvia, but this is undone when Sylvie takes over, a woman who seems to want to live the life of a transient.

HOUSEKEEPING is a very difficult book to read, but at the same time, I was drawn to it for the beautiful writing and the complexity of the characters. Ruth, the narrator, seems to become more and more like Sylvie, her Aunt, while her sister struggles to find some normalcy in their lives. The underlying question could be "what is considered normal", and who is to judge one family to the next? I personally had a hard time with the character of Sylvie, who was obviously mentally not all there, yet was put in charge of these two adolescents who obviously needed a more structured type of lifestyle.

HOUSEKEPEEING was Marilynne Robinson's debut novel, written 20 years ago. Most may find this novel a laborious read, but I believe if one can be open-minded enough, the reader will truly see the beauty of this book.