My latest reading finish is The House Girl by Tara Conklin. It is, again, two stories -- one historical and one contemporary -- running side by side and overlapping in a very interesting way.
It is the story of Lina, a young lawyer. She lives in NYC with her eccentric artist father. Her mother died when she was four -- or did she? Her life began anew when she left her job and made the call.
It is the story of Josephine, a house girl on a dwindling plantation. She had her first child at 13 -- it died -- or did it? Even though she had lived on this plantation her entire life and knew nothing else she was determined to run -- twice. Her life ended at 17.
As someone who enjoys delving into family history, this was right up my alley. However, I have recently read several books on the Civil War era and decided, after reading one particularly brutal book, I wasn't going to read anymore. This one wasn't quite as extreme but enough to make me very uncomfortable. However, in spite of that, it is a cleverly interlaced storyline that was engaging. The only thing that I would change is that the author brought closing to Josephine's story where she left Lina's story quite open ended. The reader can only assume the next leg in Lina's journey and I would have liked a little more info there. Or a sequel.
I would recommend this book if you like reading historical fiction and you like plots that twist and turn.
