The overall metaphor of breaking down a childhood house serves as an excellent concept for deep diving into the protagonist's childhood memories and deconstructing them with an adult POV. Del is a solitary woman who likes it that way and is frustrated when anyone tries to …more break her barriers down. She relates best to gay men, perhaps because they pose no threat of intimate attachment. I found her stubborn and unreasonable throughout the story and even got angry at her over her final act before leaving town. What an idiot! Despite reader absorption in the literal breaking up of her house, the characters really drive the story. Even minor characters, of which there are many, are well drawn and intriguing. (less)

While there are challenging aspects to reading this book, such as the heavy use of foreign words—particularly for foods that rendered the sentences unknowable—parts of it are a delightful and sneaky appeal to liberal white Americans' perhaps unconscious prejudices and …more inherent racism. I did not enjoy the documentary parts of the novel, which covered the Biafran wars and tribalism in Nigeria. This is a nonfiction topic of great importance, but I did not choose to be educated on it by reading a novel, which I do for pleasure and escapism. The fictional parts led by Ekong deserve 5 stars. Very subtle and humorous, but still exposing prejudice on all sides. I did regret that Ekong kept apologizing and his mood swings were quite a challenge to keep up with. I assume Africans are more casual in their use of body parts/functions in conversation, but it still was shocking to me. The bed bugs of New York were just a silly bonus!

Book clubs would do well to pick this book, given the long list of topics it introduces. (less)

---Contains spoilers---

Normally with a book of a mere 250 pages, I would finish it in two days. This one took me two weeks because I had to keep putting it down and go read something enjoyable instead. It felt like homework! The main character, Daniel, is as confused as I …more am about his motivations and actions. He was impossible to engage with, even though the narrative is first person in his voice. No points of entry into his mind existed. While he is college educated, his dialogue all reverts to the street language of his youth, which felt forced. He is trying to go home, to find himself, but he fails. Ostensibly he is visiting his hometown because an old girlfriend died in a car accident, but even Daniel can not pin down his feelings for her or why he felt compelled to visit. The big reveal is that he lied about having sex with her in high school, something he told his friends had happened. Wow. A 17-year old boy lied about his sexual experiences. Sigh. The bigger reveal—that he is gay—receives about as much fanfare as it deserves (very little). Two parts of the writing would do well to be edited and even removed: a scene of gay sex in a public bathroom close to the beginning that really serves no purpose and all the prose about the weather and the environment. I may be dense, but I only got annoyed at all the interruptions. The chapter set on Desmond's porch with dialogue between he and Daniel has paragraphs inserted among their talking: a storm is coming, a storm has arrived, a storm is over, the trees drip rain. Why?? I hope there is some deep metaphor I am not understanding. The best chapter in the book was the second to last, which finally explained the title. The ultimate chapter could easily be edited out; it changed the voice to someone we don't know well and added nothing to the book. I am further confused about the author's audience. The people who could relate to the story and Daniel the best are typically not reading books. (less)

In a rather heavy-handed tone, this historical fiction lays out many serious big themes in the first two chapters, frequently in authors' message dialogue: racial prejudices and misogyny; people of colored ancestry passing as whites and the attendant stress and fear of …more exposure that choice generates in daily life; walking away from who one is, betraying oneself; hidden identities; the value of family, but also the burden of family; the value of the printed word and the near holiness of rare books; and fine arts appreciation. (I found it ironic that the black Fleet family is much more cultured than its white neighbors.) Add to that weighty list the debilitating laws of segregation, the deceptive rules of society, nontraditional lifestyles and how distressful emotions must be buried. It's a lot to cover, particularly since the story is based on true events and historical characters.

I did not find a way into Belle's emotional life to adequately engage my even caring about her much. I found the irascible J.P.Morgan more accessible in multiple scenes, but Belle remained elusive and cold. That the story is embedded in a world of high society and art adds interest, culture and beauty to the novel's atmosphere. It's an extremely fascinating tale; I just wished Belle could come more alive to me. But perhaps that is at the very heart of her dilemma: always a careful actor on stage and never simply a woman. (less)