Grandmother's House

by Frances Clausen Chapman

Ellen Paulsen looks back on childhood visits to her Grandmother Henley's home in Atchison, Kansas, and tries to understand why she was never taken to her Grandmother Graham's

Genres: Memoir

196 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1987

Reviews

[Brenda Hicks]

This is, as others have suggested, a women's look back at her life in Atchison, KS. I read it because it was the fulfillment of this month's library challenge to read a book set in Kansas.

It's a family history. If I knew the family it would be more interesting. The book promises a mystery, but doesn't really resolve anything. What it does do is say some very interesting truths about life in a small town and life in general.

There are some beautiful moments, like this one when she is talking about watching her son handle the spot in life when your children become young adults: "He (her son) would discover bit by bit how parents become dispensable. And he would experience the poignant mix of pride and yearning after a child whose feet are set firmly on a path of his own. Would he know that I might have - along with my pride - a similar yearning after him? Probably not."

This read was slow going, but not awful.

[Robert A]

Very dull. It’s reading someone’s family history and nothing exciting happened.
I might say to a friend “That coffee cup reminds me of my grandmother’s and bring back fond memories “. My friend would smile, but if I kept telling them a 30 minute story about my grandmother making coffee, and cleaning the dishes and describing the kitchen in detail they would probably fall asleep.

[Pam]

I believe this was pretty much a story of the author's life and I'm sure she is now deceased. It was not the best memoir(?) I've ever read-written rather disjointedly and became a little confusing at times. I have to give it three stars however, because I'm sure she is from my little suburb in Saint Louis and much of what she wrote was quite familiar to me even though she was born 24 years before me. Times didn't change as much in everyday life from 1920 through the 50's. I recognized many things she said. It got a little tiring towards the end and I was glad to finish it.
Just found this book at a YMCA Book Sale and it looked interesting; didn't know at the time that it was going to be about my own hometown.

[Jackie]

Confusing in character identity and timeline. Not really a story more like a written memory.