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43rd out of 290 books
—
99 voters
As for Me and My House (New Canadian Library)
“It’s an immense night out there, wheeling and windy. The lights on the street and in the houses against the black wetness, little unilluminating glints that might be painted on it. The town seems huddled together, cowering on a high tiny perch, afraid to move lest it topple into the wind.”
The town is Horizon, the setting of Sinclair Ross’ brilliant classic study of life i...more
The town is Horizon, the setting of Sinclair Ross’ brilliant classic study of life i...more
Mass Market Paperback, 221 pages
Published
January 1st 1989
by New Canadian Library
(first published 1941)
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I read this book originally in grade 12 with an incredible Canadian Literature teacher. He made this solemn, still-seeming novel into something intricate and mysterious. He suggested the possibilities of Mrs. Bentley as an orchestrator of all the events of the novel, he made this simple book into an extraordinary complex novel with incredible imagery, symbolism, and hidden possibilities that are not immediately obvious.
I read it again 2 years later at the university level, and although I'm stil...more
I read it again 2 years later at the university level, and although I'm stil...more
This novel takes the form of a diary by the unnamed wife of Philip Bentley, a frustrated painter who has been a small town church minister for a number of years in spite of his apparent lack of faith. His hypocrisy and its effect on his art, as well as the couple’s childlessness, torment him and strain the marriage. The setting is the small town of Horizon on the Saskatchewan prairies, where they have just arrived, the latest stop in a succession of small town postings. It’s the thirties, harsh...more
I hated the mandatory high school short story "The White Door" by Sinclair Ross - so dreary, boring and Canadian - ECK
In my early twenties a colleague heard me complain about the experience & thrust Sinclair's only novel into my hand and said I must read it.
I've come to think the older you are the more value, insights and enjoyment you get from this novel. This is my second read and I'm staggered to realize that on this time through I am older than the two main characters. I have a far grea...more
After careful consideration and a night's sleep, I'm fairly certain this is the worst book I have ever read in my life.
I wish I could divorce myself from my feelings about the plot and the characters. Because, I'll be honest, the writing was stellar. But is a book not supposed to be a unit as a whole? As such, the other parts of this novel just made it awful.
I've read Sinclair Ross before. I liked The Lamp at Noon. He can write a depressing short story. He should not, however, take it and try to...more
I wish I could divorce myself from my feelings about the plot and the characters. Because, I'll be honest, the writing was stellar. But is a book not supposed to be a unit as a whole? As such, the other parts of this novel just made it awful.
I've read Sinclair Ross before. I liked The Lamp at Noon. He can write a depressing short story. He should not, however, take it and try to...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I was honestly surprised when I enjoyed this novel as much as I did. I had to read this book for a Canadian fiction class and I hadn't expected to enjoy it, but there was a definite charm that drew me in. Mr. Bentley is a preacher and he and his wife move from small town to small town bringing religious support and spiritual guidance. As they settle in Horizon, the couple find that they are becoming more and more unsatisfied with their life. They want a way out and despite several attempts at im...more
I would rather poke my eyes out with a rusty needle than read this again.
What can I say, Ross's writing is absolutely amazing. The character of Mrs.Bentley is one of the most complex, layered and interesting I've seen in a long while. Oh Mrs.Bentley, I still don't know what to make of you after having finished this book.The novel is set in the prairies during the depression and written in diary entries from her point of view.
She is certainly not a reliable narrator, but at the same time, she has moments of such lucidity that it makes you wonder if she's really just d...more
She is certainly not a reliable narrator, but at the same time, she has moments of such lucidity that it makes you wonder if she's really just d...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This wonderful book was such a surprise to me. It was assigned reading in a university Canadian literature course, and although my friends disliked it, I loved it. The bleak prairie town in which the pastor and his wife settle, the emotionally-distant pastor, his pent-up wife, the disapproving townspeople - they all appealed to the inner desire I have to see what it would be like to live in the middle of the prairies, bleak in winter, hay-filled in summer. It was written with imagination and pas...more
Meh. A bit dull around the edges, with lots of nature imagery and metaphor to keep me entertained, or not, depending. I'll keep you updated, but it's not looking great.
It's not great. I'm over halfway through and I'm still waiting for the plot to start. Why are so many famous books so boring? Possibly my Canadian Lit prof can enlighten me, but I don't have a lot of faith. Ross should enlighten me on his own.
Generally unimpressed. I know this book is meant to be a pinnacle of Canadian literature...more
It's not great. I'm over halfway through and I'm still waiting for the plot to start. Why are so many famous books so boring? Possibly my Canadian Lit prof can enlighten me, but I don't have a lot of faith. Ross should enlighten me on his own.
Generally unimpressed. I know this book is meant to be a pinnacle of Canadian literature...more
Despite having to read this for my English class, and despite it not being my typical genre of book, I enjoyed it. Mrs. Bentley is an interesting, if unreliable, narrator, and she struggles between being possessive of her husband to letting him be free. Both of them want to break out from the life they've trapped themselves in, but there are tons of setbacks. They seem to get closer, but then fate intervenes and they're a couple steps backward. It is a quick read, so if you have an afternoon or...more
A truly excellent novel. Surprising, compelling, and spellbinding in the simple complexity of its examination of the human experience in small town Canada. The protagonist is ... how to put this? The protagonist appears to be 'nice,' but isn't.
This book rewards a careful perusal. It has surprising twists and depths that makes re-reading and re-reading this book a satisfying must.
This book rewards a careful perusal. It has surprising twists and depths that makes re-reading and re-reading this book a satisfying must.
"As for Me and My House" is a story that takes place on the Canadian Plains during the Depression. A preacher's wife is the narrator and protagonist of the novel, writing her diary entries during a year in a small town of Horizon. While the description of the elemental hardships and encompassing wind are beautiful, it does not redeem the novel. It goes from boring, to depressing, to disappointing, to a final throw down of the book upon the table after I forced myself to read all 230-odd pages of...more
Neurotic midwest preacher's wife whines incessantly about how much she hates her life, doing almost nothing to change her circumstances. For about 240 pages.
Very repetitive, not much of a page-turner, few (if any) likable characters. Two stars because the writing is actually pretty good.
Very repetitive, not much of a page-turner, few (if any) likable characters. Two stars because the writing is actually pretty good.
Aug 07, 2011
Larry Schwartz
added it
I started off hating this book and set it aside. I returned to it and finished it, and now I think that it's a great book. There's no denying that it is grim and that there is something off-putting about its rhythm, but it is great literature.
I really didn't like this book. Maybe it just wasn't my style, but it was boring, the protagonist did nothing but complain. I get the imagery and the idea of an unreliable narrator. I guess I just didn't find anything interesting in it.
I have the feeling that a lot of people won't like this book because it is understated and slow... and at first I didn't either, but when I finished I realized that I actually loved it. I read it in school for a Canadian Lit. class and I definitely think it deserves more attention. The bleakness, the despair, the prairie winters, the slow creeping unravelling. Excellent.
I know this is supposed to be classic Canadian literature and all, and it wasn’t bad, but good Christ, suicide really should’ve been considered as an option, what with all that tension and misery.
Not a book that most adolescents would enjoy, but my favourite Canadian novel. An overlooked classic that deserves more attention internationally. Yes, it's bleak, but it's gloriously bleak.
Very well written. Much of the story is implied. Like Catcher in the Rye, it's almost impossible to trust the narrator. I would have given it 4-5 stars if there was more of a plot.
Bleak prairie fiction at its finest, "As for Me and My House" is not only an emotionally and psychologically rich story but Sinclair Ross has created such an (irritating) layered character you are forced to keep reading to see if she will ever change.
This book totally depressed me, as infidelity always does in literature. It's such a powerful look at religious and prairie life, that it earns 5 stars despite my angst.
Mrs. Bentley is probably one of the most pitiful characters ever written. An accurate depiction of small-town social dynamics, one where "false fronts" heavily come into play.
Oh boy... This book might be one of the most frustrating and depressing books I ever read but it is SO well written and it never leaves you.
Mrs. Bentley is a complex character; while sometimes infuriatingly dependent, she also reveals a very human hypocrisy and weakness.
If the Little House on the Prairie books had been written in Canada, geared towards adults who enjoy being depressed.
Made me reevaluate the literary value of a novel written in diary style.
The protagonist is so frustrating.
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Nov 17, 2012 05:47pm