The History of Us: A Novel - Hardcover

Stewart, Leah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1451672624 ISBN 13: 9781451672626

Publisher: Touchstone, 2013

Synopsis

From the critically acclaimed author of The Myth of You and Me, The History of Us is a heartrending story of love, loss, family, and the life you make in the path not taken.

Sometimes home is the hardest place to go

Eloise Hempel is on her way to teach her first class at Harvard when she receives the devastating news that her sister and her husband have been killed in a tragic accident. Eloise leaves her life in Cambridge and moves back into her family’s century-old house in Cincinnati, pouring her own money into the house’s upkeep and her heart into raising her sister’s three children, Theodora, Josh, and Claire.

Nearly twenty years later, the now-grown children seem ready to leave home, and Eloise plans to sell the house and finally start a life that’s hers alone. But when Eloise’s mother decides that they should all compete for the chance to keep the house and Claire reveals a life-changing secret, the makeshift family begins to fall apart and ultimately must decide what in life is worth fighting for.

About this title

About the Author

Leah Stewart is the critically acclaimed author of The History of Us, Husband and Wife, The Myth of You and Me, and Body of a Girl. The recipient of a Sachs Fund Prize and a NEA Literature Fellowship, she teaches in the creative writing program at the University of Cincinnati and lives in Cincinnati with her husband and two children. Visit her online at LeahStewart.com.

Review

“A sprawling novel with some of the off-kilter charm of Anne Tyler’s work, The History of Us glows with affection for its wounded, familiar characters.” Source: Boston Globe

“Touching drama . . . Faced with urgent choices, Eloise and the grown kids react with varying degrees of wisdom and pigheadedness, but as Stewart tenderly demonstrates, they remain – for better or worse – a family.” Source: People

“Stewart is a wonderful observer of family relationships, and she adroitly weaves the stories of Eloise and the children she’s raised—their work, their loves, their disappointments and dreams—while focusing on what ties families together, and what ultimately keeps those ties from breaking.” Source: BookPage

“Stewart’s novel reminds us how family ties trump all else.” Source: Parenting Magazine

"Charming. . . Stewart weaves a smart, redemptive tale of maturation." Source: Star Tribune

“Domestic fiction fans favoring strong, intelligent characters will be intrigued by Stewart’s introspective examination of a family.” Source: Library Journal

"With a playwright’s precise, sometimes excoriating dialogue and an insightful novelist’s judicious use of interior monologue, Stewart crafts a tearful yet unsentimental family coming-of-age story." Source: Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Stewart’s novel is an intimate exploration of a family in crisis and the different ways in which people cope with grief.” Source: Publishers Weekly

“A poignant exploration of the meaning of family...the life they’ve lived was as much a gift as the life they lost.” Source: Booklist

"The History of Us stays the course and shows how a family negotiates through a particular crisis. Leah Stewart seems to love her characters even when they are not especially lovable, and gives them space and time enough to grow and change." Source: BookReporter.com

About this edition

• Publisher: Touchstone
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1451672624
• ISBN 13: 9781451672626
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384