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Book Reviewed by:A warm and witty story of a young woman who gets swept up in the rivalries and love affairs of a dramatic group of writers.
Carla is stuck. In her twenties and working for a landscaper, she's been told she's on the wrong path by everyone—from her mom, who wants her to work at the hospital, to her boyfriend, who is dropping not-so-subtle hints that she should be doing something that matters.
Then she is hired for a job at the home of Viridian, a lauded and lovely aging poet who introduces Carla to an eccentric circle of writers. At first she is perplexed by their predilection for reciting lines in conversation, the stories of their many liaisons, their endless wine-soaked nights. Soon, though, she becomes enamored with this entire world: with Viridian, whose reputation has been defined by her infamous affair with a male poet, Mathias; with Viridian's circle; and especially with the power of words, the "ache and hunger that can both be awakened and soothed by a poem," a hunger that Carla feels sharply. When a fight emerges over a vital cache of poems that Mathias wrote about Viridian, Carla gets drawn in. But how much will she sacrifice for a group that may or may not see her as one of their own?
A delightfully funny look at the art world—sometimes petty, sometimes transactional, sometimes transformative—The Poet's House is also a refreshingly candid story of finding one's way, with words as our lantern in the dark.
A welcome break from dystopian and historical fiction that lines the bookstore shelves currently. It is truly original (Gina T). It is delightful and refreshing to read a novel where affairs of the heart take second place to the more compelling question "How should we live?" One where romance is found above all in the joy of learning to see poetry, and life, in a new way (Janice P)...continued
Full Review
(717 words)
(Reviewed by First Impressions Reviewers).
In Jean Thompson's novel The Poet's House, main character Carla discovers a new world when she meets Viridian, a well-established poet. Viridian soon brings Carla into her circle of writer friends and the drama that pervades the group, changing her life forever.
Novels about poets and poetry can provide an interesting opportunity for the author to insert fictional poems of their own making. They can also give an author the chance to create a unique artistic atmosphere, one in which the writing or deciphering of poems can serve as either background, plot points or both. Below are just a few other novels in which poets and poetry take center stage.
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One of the most famous novels featuring a poet is Vladimir Nabokov's Pale Fire...
If you liked The Poet's House, try these:
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by Freya Sampson
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June Jones emerges from her shell to fight for her beloved local library, and through the efforts and support of an eclectic group of library patrons, she discovers life-changing friendships along the way.
Dan Chaon, author of Sleepwalk
Jean Thompson is a national treasure. She's the kind of writer who can make you laugh and cry at the same time, a consummate prose stylist whose work is full of insight and wisdom and a deadly keen eye for the foibles and self-deceptions of her characters. The Poet's House is yet another indelible masterpiece in her oeuvre.
