Housekeeping: Making Order out of Chaos

The first thing that really struck me about Housekeeping was the water imagery that Robinson uses throughout the novel. It is as if she has made water and it's nature into its own character.  Ruthie's grandfather is killed in a train wreck when it crashes into the water below the bridge, her mother drives her car into the water to kill herself, and the town itself is flooded whenever it rains. And, in the end, as the narrator and her aunt flee the town, they are described as being "above the water."  Though that is their actual physical location, I also think this means much more. What are your thoughts on these and other references to water that I no doubt left out?

Does "good housekeeping" ultimately keep a good house? 

What do you make of Lily and Nona, the two  great aunts who care for Ruthie and Lucy after their grandmother dies?  They only last the winter there, and don't seem to survive the flood.  What drives them away?  For that matter, what drives everyone else away from the town of Fingerbone?

Is Sylvie really crazy?


Is the house ultimately "kept" at the end of the novel? Is the ending positive or negative for you? 


Does this story remind anyone else of Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, or is it just me? 

Commencing with Housekeeping

Hello all, I hope this post finds you excited to get back into our book club.  In attempting to come up with the selection for May, I sat staring at my bookshelf, wondering which book I wanted to read first.  Though there were several I thought about choosing, Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping caught my eye, and I remembered all of the emotions it stirred in me while reading it in grad school.  I look forward to digging back into this novel with you.  I find it hard to believe that this was Robinson's first novel.  Happy reading.  See you in May. :)