Housekeeping

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson holds, in the words of Paul Bailey, 'a unique and quiet place among the masterpieces of twentieth-century American fiction.'

Acclaimed on publication as a contemporary classic, Housekeeping is the story of Ruth and Lucille, orphans growing up in the small desolate town of Fingerbone in the vast northwest of America.

'A classic.' Guardian

'A masterpiece.' The New Yorker

'I just adore this book and have probably reread it a hundred times.' Michelle Zauner

From the Orange Prize winning author of Home and Gilead.

Housekeeping is the story of Ruth and Lucille, orphans growing up in the small desolate town of Fingerbone in the vast northwest of America.

Abandoned by a succession of relatives, the sisters find themselves in the care of Sylvie, the remote and enigmatic sister of their dead mother. Steeped in imagery of the bleak wintry landscape around them, the sisters' struggle towards adulthood is powerfully portrayed in a novel about loss, loneliness and transience.