Our Mother's House

I remembered reading an interesting book many years ago that my now-deceased mother (who was an avid reader) recommended. That book was "Our Mother's House" and I wanted to get a copy for my college-age niece for Christmas. And I was able to do just that!

I read this book when I was about 12 years old, in the 70s. The shocking drama of the kids and how they tried in their desparate ignorance to solve their problems has stayed with me all these years. It is one of my all time favorite books.

I inhaled this book over the course of a few days, and I am not one to analyze literature, but even from that hazy impression I can tell that this is an exceptionally well-written book. Lord-of-the-Flies-esque, the storyline is a enthralling study of child psychosis (not implying that they're insane), with characters that come to life from ink and paper. But the ending was a bit of a let-down (it was written very confusingly), and the proper language got on my nerves after a while (did children really talk like that back then?), but aside from all that, I do recommend this book, to anyone who has read 'Lord of the Flies' and found the setting hard to relate to.

This novel has often been compared to William Golding's "Lord of the Flies," but I find "Our Mother's House to be far better. This story of young children left to fend for themselves after their mother's death doesn't need a desert island for a setting: it is fascinating in its own right. Buy it!

I read this book as a teenager; and it has haunted me since. Not filled with the gore of much of today's graphic horror, this tale of a family's secret and decent into twisted madness based on childish rules and concepts of order has one of the most chilling plot bits I can remember- a child shunned to death. If you can find it, read it!