description Housekeeping Overview
"Housekeeping" is the 1980 debut novel by American author Marilynne Robinson, set in the isolated, fictional town of Fingerbone, Idaho. The story follows two sisters, Ruth and Lucille, who are raised by a succession of eccentric female relatives after their mother's death, ultimately exploring themes of transience, grief, and nonconformity. The novel received critical acclaim and won the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for best first novel. It was later adapted into a 1987 film directed by Bill Forsyth.
insights Ranking position
Housekeeping ranks #178 of 339 in the Novel ranking, behind Go Tell It on the Mountain, ahead of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
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Who wrote the novel Housekeeping?
Housekeeping is the debut novel of American author Marilynne Robinson, published in 1980. It immediately established her as a major literary talent.
Where does the novel Housekeeping take place?
The novel is set in the deeply isolated, fictional town of Fingerbone, Idaho. The gloomy, mountainous landscape of the town mirrors the internal struggles of the story's isolated characters.
Did Housekeeping win any major awards?
While it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Housekeeping did not win. It did, however, win the PEN/Hemingway Award for best first novel in 1981.
What is the plot of Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping?
The story follows two sisters, Ruth and Lucille, who are abandoned by their mother and left in the care of their eccentric aunt Sylvie. The novel explores themes of transience, madness, and the fragility of societal norms.
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