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Blackbird House
by Alice Hoffman
Twelve interconnected stories that take place at a Cape Cod farmhouse over the course of several generations.
Doubleday, 240 pages
07/20/2004
$19.95
ISBN: 0385507615
Fiction
Short Stories
All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...
Kirkus Reviews
A quiet but deeply moving achievement of lyric power.
Publishers Weekly
Hoffman's lyrical prose weaves an undeniable spell.
Library Journal Starr E. Smith
Haunted--and haunting--characters populate the tales, which are also notable for their intense sense of place. Hoffman's many fans should welcome this little gem with enthusiasm. [July 2004, p. 76]
Los Angeles Times Bernadette Murphy
Life is beautiful and heart-rending, [Hoffman's] tales remind us, often in quick succession. [20 July 2004, E7]
Booklist Donna Seaman
As the stories leapfrog from colonial times toward the present, Hoffman, a subtle conjurer of telling details and ironic predicaments, orchestrates intense romances and profound sacrifices. [15 May 2004, p. 1579]
Boston Globe Valerie Miner
As the stories leapfrog from colonial times toward the present, Hoffman, a subtle conjurer of telling details and ironic predicaments, orchestrates intense romances and profound sacrifices. [15 May 2004, p. 1579]
Daily Telegraph Patrick Gale
There is sentimentality in [Hoffman's] trust in the essential virtues of country living, but it is constantly spiked by her keen observations of the way people are. Her writing is abuzz with scents, tastes and textures.
The Guardian Elaine Showalter
Hoffman is a skilled and experienced writer. Her stories are beautifully constructed, with subtle echoes and thematic links that repay close attention, while casual readers will respond to Hoffman's haunting characters, and to her lyrical setting.
The New York Times Book Review Emily Barton
Hoffman lets Blackbird House stand as an emblem for the transforming power of any long-established home, while reveling in the haunting quality of her own distinctive literary style.
USA Today Anita Sama
Hoffman peels away layers of time, painstakingly sifting through two centuries to expose all that can occur by one field of pink sweet peas at the end of the world.
Houston Chronicle Sharan McBride
The trouble with Hoffman's linked narrative is that tragedy and losses that seem moving and affecting early in the book begin to feel manipulative and programmed by the 12th story.
San Francisco Chronicle Irene Wanner
The book is something of a jigsaw puzzle. Some readers may find Hoffman's approach satisfying, others may not, but all have been presented with pieces they must join themselves to fully appreciate "Blackbird House."
Entertainment Weekly Henry Goldblatt
The characters are so unrefined and underwritten it would take a genealogist to untangle their relationships. That leaves you rooting for the return of a very hungry halibut, who makes a meal of a fisherman early in the book, to put the rest of these folks out of their (and your) misery.
 The average user rating for this book is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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