Another Part of the House (Texas Tradition Series)

by Winston M. Estes, Winston M. Estes

First published in 1970, “Another Part of the House” is a simple, direct, intimate story of family life in a small Texas town during the Depression.  Told by 10-year-old Larry Morrison, it reflects Larry’s uncertainty as he sees the security of his family—mother, father, and 15 year-old brother, Tad—threatened by immediate forces such as his father’s ne’er-do-well brother, Uncle Calvin, and by larger, more serious adversaries—the Depression, the drought, the dust and, most incomprehensible of all, death.  How the family deals with them while preserving its own strength and unity is the story.

Genres: Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published August 7, 1975

Reviews

[Martha Anne Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winston M. Estes's 1970 novel entitled Another Part of the House has been a good read, twice. The story is set in a small town in the Texas Panhandle during the Depression. Must admit that I feel some connection to the locale of the novel. I first read the book back in the 1970s in a Texas Literature course. I had recently moved to Texas from California and found myself enamored of anything Texan, especially books by Texas authors. Last year, I moved to Quanah, Texas, and discovered that Mr. Estes had grown up here and may have used elements of his hometown for the setting of Wordsworth in the novel. So, I re-read the novel after all these years and enjoyed it even more this second time around. Perhaps I am too new to Quanah to recognize many historical connections, but a sense of place strikes a chord nonetheless.

The narrator, a ten-year-old boy named Larry Morrison, tells us a great deal about growing up in small-town Texas, but Larry's story also shares insights on people and relationships, especially his relationship with his parents and his brother Tad. The plot follows Larry over the course of a year, and during that time we experience with him a growing sense of the importance of family. For Larry, it seems that the bonds of family go beyond time and place, perhaps even beyond life itself, as he concludes: "And right then and there on our front porch looking out over the corner of Tenth and Hobbs, I learned a whole bookful about families, and especially brothers" (250). So, for this reader, right here and now, sitting just south of the Courthouse at Third and Main, I have learned a great deal about families--and about books about Texas. The story is touching and thoughtful. Winston Estes's Another Part of the House has been a good read. [Posted to Goodreads 04/20/17.]

[Leib Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 out of 5 stars Fictionalized biography and decent reading for an adolescent.
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2018
Verified Purchase
This book was something that took about a day to read.

It was quite a slow book (on one hand), but it was different to lots of young adult literature in that it wasn't characters who were 40 year olds in the body of 10 years olds/ other adolescents and there was not tons of profanity.

It was a fictionalized biography. Lots of things related to the author's own life. He grew up in Texas. He lived through the Depressions. He had a brother who died at 15 years old.

The author did a good job and had a few catchy turns of phrase. ("A person that fat can't cool off at once. She probably had to cool off in sections" and "PR Burns must have eaten a thousand cookies without stopping. Ginny ran him a close second.')

What does he deal with that might be good for a young reader to know?

1. Death. It is not much different to Bridge to Terabithia . Much cleaner than [[ASIN:0525478817 The Fault in Our Stars.
2. Trifling relatives. (We all have them in our family. No citations needed.)
3. Enabling relatives. (See above parenthetical insert.)
4. The Depression, as see through the eyes of normal people. (By the time my sons are old enough to read, maybe there will be several 2008 Crisis books written for adolescents.)

Verdict: Worth the time (1 day read) and worth the second hand purchase price.

[Luke Nieman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gut wrenching and touching, the depression told through the eyes of a child will leave you with a tear and a smile.

[Raquel Terradillos]

Otra parte de la casa

[Phyllis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I look forward to reading this one for my book discussion group - the greatest group of bibliophiles around!
Just finished this book - it was a good story of the 'good ole days', but the trials and joys were much the same as today.

[Chery · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this for the first time 40 years ago and rereading it several times since, this is still my very favorite book of all time.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good reading. Story of old hard times during the depression.

[Marigold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on a family's relationships.

[Margaret Boehm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touching novel about the depression, love for a family and pains of growing up.