Blackbird House: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle) Paperback – March 29, 2005

I love reading Alice Hoffman. She's an author that my sister and I both enjoyed, and we shared many of her books over the years. She writes beautifully and is a true pleasure to read.However, I sometimes think her writing is over my head. Possibly I read her too fast, and miss out on grasping the deeper meanings. Possibly I just get lost in the story and the pleasure.This story was hard for me to follow. There were so many characters, and the story thread moved through time in a way that was hard to track.And still I loved it. I ended the book knowing that I had missed a lot, and not really caring. The beauty and the magic was more than enough.Maybe I'll reread it. Maybe I'll devote more time to analysis. Maybe I'll discuss it with a book club. Maybe I'll research what others have to say.Maybe I'll just continue being grateful for the magic. Always.

I love this book, though it's not something I could happily read regularly because it's so tragic. The main character is the house, which changes, grows, and shrinks with each inhabitant. Their lives revolve around love, sacrifice, tragedy, mental breakdowns, parental influence, and ultimately second chances.The house is originally built just before the Revolutionary War, by John Hadley, a man whose livelihood is tied to the Cape, and all the dangers that come with it. With a wife and two sons, he needs the money from one more fishing trip. Despite his wife Coral's prophetic objections, he takes both boys with him on the trip. I always cry my eyes out for poor little Isaac, a ten year old boy with a tender heart, who rescues a baby blackbird, and won't let it out of his sight despite being teased by his father and older brother. They swear the bird will never learn to fly on its own. When all is lost and the ship is going down in a nor'easter, Isaac throws the blackbird up in the air with both hands "a last desperate act of love", trying to save it, knowing that he will die in the storm. The father saves his older son, throwing him a barrel, but goes down himself, with Isaac.As usual, Hoffman's imagery and literary devices aren't exactly subtle. A white blackbird returns to the house. Also as usual, she lets her readers come to their own conclusions and doesn't provide enough information for there to be a "right" answer. Is the white blackbird imaginary? Is Coral imagining it, and does suggestibility keep subsequent inhabitants seeing this legend? Is the bird real? The ghost of a blackbird? The ghost of someone else? The reader is left to come to her own conclusions. Blackbirds, in most legends, are portents of evil or bad luck. I think the blackbirds in this story could be portents of both good or bad luck, depending on how you look at it. It appears as a warning.Another main theme of the book is the influence parents have over their children. The children who grew up in Blackbird House are so greatly influenced by their parents, the kid's futures are defined by them. Whether the kids want to be exactly like their parents, or as different as humanly possible, what goes on in the house creates the adults the children become. Garnet, seeing her mother's instability after her father dies, decides she "has to be careful about who she becomes." Jamie grows up in a community unwilling to do anything about domestic abuse next door, and goes on to become a doctor. Maya, who despises her poor, hippy parents, doesn't recognize the unique deep love they have until after her brother proves running away solves nothing. Violet's fierce love for Lion is part of what makes him great, and part of what ends his life, leaving his son for her to obsess over. As with every story, love does not guarantee safety.The color red and pears are also imagery that keeps repeating itself. The pear tree leaves the property in much the same way it came there -- a split second request or decision made by someone less than mentally stable. The sweet peas are very interesting. Talk about some hardly perennials, Coral's sweet peas keep coming back for 250 years, despite some of the residents doing their best to get rid of them in every way possible. To me, they represent hope, which can never be completely gotten rid of no matter how deep you dig at the roots.The summer kitchen is another feature of the house used in various ways, from a genuine summer kitchen in a time without air conditioning in which it was impossible to work in a hot indoor kitchen in the heat of the summer, to a playhouse or extra room for the family's boys. And little boys with blonde hair are everywhere.The final resident in the home, Emma, changes the feel of the house, and the novel, by surviving childhood cancer. It's best to make a wish on the longest day of the year, and we have the impression Emma made a wish that came true.The book comes full circle in the end. After the loss of her husband and sons, Coral was a woman left alone on the property at the beginning of the novel. Emma is a woman alone on the property who meets a father and son who have lost their wife/mother. As a nameless, curious, perhaps a bit too-wise, 10 year old boy with blonde hair invites himself into Emma's house, we have a feeling a former resident may finally have come home. I wonder if the white blackbird will continue to be seen or whether it's finally found peace.Sorry this review is long! And more like a book discussion than review. Oh well, LOL, enjoy the stories.

I liked the stories but as I couldn't read it in one sitting I would get confused, the ending also confused me

I agree with the reviews that say sometimes this book felt over my head. I found myself going back to re read paragraphs. I loved this story and disnt want it to end. But boy what a great ending!I am def following Alice Hoffman and have bought a bunch more of her books!

I’ve never read a book quite like this, and I passed on buying it at first, but it was amazing. The only criticism I have is I finished it in 48 hours and got absolutely nothing else done.It is true Alice Hoffman at her best.

Reminds me Flannery O'Connor. Couldn't put it down. Just wished it was longer as I did not want it to end.

It's a sad book. Interesting but really sad. A good cry.

I have to be honest, I read this book months ago but was unable at the time to find the words to describe this novel. I just have to start by saying that it is one of the best novels I have ever read in my life (and I clearly read a lot). Previous to reading Blackbird House, I had never picked up an Alice Hoffman novel. I knew that she had written Practical Magic and some other novels in the same vein and I thought that she wouldn't be my kind of author. However, when I cracked the spine on the Blackbird House, I wanted to slap my own wrist!It is very difficult to adequately explain this novel because it is very simple and yet some of the stories are quite complex. Basically, the novel is made up of short stories (those of you out there who don't like short stories, don't run away yet!) about a house on Cape Cod that was built in the 1700s. There are twelve stories in the "novel" and each describes a new generation of the house as it is bought, sold, and passed down through certain generations. The stories follow the characters but only as it relates to the house. The true development of the book is that of the house and the times that surround each generation of owners. Each owner brings a part of themselves the property which allows the house to grow with its inhabitants. There is no climax or enthralling events, the true satisfaction comes with the unveiling of each person and the mark they leave on the house.I simply adored this book. I thought that it was beautiful in every way. The characters were not always likable but they were real, which I believe is far more important. The atmosphere was almost tangible and I felt completely engrossed with each tale. There isn't a single "story" that I could pin point as my favorite because they were all splendidly written. This is a book that I will certainly go back to over and over again and urge others to do the same.

Loved it

One of my favourite books. Mesmirising tales that illustrate the passage of time will brutal clarity and heart warming pathos.

Good read

not as good as some of her work, a little disappointing

Excellent