Title: The House
Author: Anjuelle Floyd
Publisher: NOJ Publications
Publication Date: October 15, 2010
Paperback: 312 pages
ISBN: 978-0978796723
Genre: Fiction
Book Synopsis from the Author:
On receiving the very thing she wants—a divorce and the power to sell their house—over which they have fought the past year—Anna Manning learns that Edward, her soon-to-be ex-husband is dying from cancer.
A faithful wife for three decades, and stay-at-home mother of four children, Anna endured Edward’s constant absence due to travel for his international real estate firm and numerous extra-marital affairs. With their children now adults, Edward has less than six months, possibly three, to live.
Anna takes him home to die in the house she has fought so vigorously to sell. But letting go of someone who has caused so much pain in your life doesn’t come easily. Edward has changed. There are Anna and Edward’s four children, three of whom who are married and struggling to endow their families with meaning and purpose.
There is also Inman who loves Anna, and gives the one thing Edward denied her—passion and intimacy. And lastly there is Anna. An art history major turned wife and mother out of college, she had planned on divorcing Edward and with her proceeds from the sale of the house move to France. Anna would visit and study the works in Europe’s famous museums—perhaps work as a docent in one.
News of Edward’s terminal illness provokes her to understand the present, rooted in a wellspring of the past and pouring into a future without him.
The House shows what happens when one adopts the belief that: All hold regret and are seeking forgiveness. Our salvation rests in the hands of others—most particularly the ones we love, and who have treated us wrongly.
My Review:
Emotionally charged, The House by Anjuelle Floyd takes an in-depth look inside the Manning family and the choices faced and the reactions of the adult children to their parents’ decisions. Anna Manning was finally getting what she thought she longed for. After 34 years of marriage to Edward, the divorce was about to be finalised, until Anna discovers Edward has six months to live. Rather than going through with the divorce, Anna places all her hopes and dreams on hold, not for the first time in her 34-year marriage, to take care of her dying husband. As the children return to say goodbye to their father, Floyd takes the reader deep inside the Manning family and their interpersonal relationships, reactions, and accusations. I found the book slow to get into, but my perseverance was quickly rewarded and soon I discovered myself engrossed by the storyline, shocked by some behaviour and amased by other behaviours, especially their adult children; David, Theo, Brad, Linda, and Serine. Throughout the book I wondered if I would have followed any of Anna’s choices throughout her 34-year marriage and after. The House is filled with a rich array of characters, deep family emotions, the complexities of family relationships, and the issues faced by those looking directly at death. Floyd has woven together an intricate novel of the complexities of life in an average family and the healing process that is brought on by love and forgiveness. I would recommend The House to all readers and think this would be an intriguing book discussion pick.
About the Author:
Anjuelle Floyd is a wife of twenty-seven years, mother of three, licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in mother-daughter relations and dream work. More information may be found on her website.
I received a complimentary copy of The House by Anjuelle Floyd from the author. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.
I just read a book with the same premise. Wife plans on leaving husband, he tells her he’s dying and she takes care of him.
Which book was it?
Looks like a great read!
It truly was.