House

by Tracy Kidder

Analyzes the intimate details of building a new house from the point of view of those involved--from owners and architects to builders and carpenters

Genres: Nonfiction, Architecture, Memoir, Biography, History, Biography Memoir, American

341 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1985

About the author

John Tracy Kidder is an acclaimed American nonfiction writer best known for combining literary narrative with journalistic precision. He gained national prominence with The Soul of a New Machine (1981), a Pulitzer Prize-winning account of computer engineers at Data General, noted for its insight into the emerging tech industry and the human stories behind innovation. He later earned widespread praise for Mountains Beyond Mountains (2003), a biography of physician and humanitarian Paul Farmer, which further solidified his reputation for blending compelling storytelling with social relevance.
Kidder studied English at Harvard and earned his MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Though his first book, The Road to Yuba City, was a critical failure, he rebounded with a series of successful works exploring diverse topics: home construction (House), elementary education (Among Schoolchildren), and aging (Old Friends). He also served in Vietnam, though he says the war did not significantly shape his writing, despite authoring several well-regarded essays on the topic.
In 2010, Kidder became the first A. M. Rosenthal Writer-in-Residence at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center. There, he co-wrote Good Prose, a book on nonfiction writing. His work continues to be recognized for its empathy, narrative strength, and commitment to truth.

Reviews

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best book that will ever be written about the building of a house. Not "building" a house as in a how-to-do-it guide, but "the building" of a house as a process of personalities, philosophies, histories, trends, class status, power, and economics. Mostly, personalities. As a contractor I read it with a sense of recognition and as a writer I read it with admiration and awe. Jim, the contractor in this project, seemed like a clone of my own personality - the drive for quality, the disdain for haggling, the over-sensitivity to the slightest insults of class warfare that seem to come with the job. I recognized all the carpenters in the crew - Vietnam vets, college grads, the likable kid clawing his way out of poverty, the equally likable one rejecting his father's bourgeois life, the dyslexic, the screwup, the perfectionist, the speedster - mix and match - and became very fond of them. But Tracy Kidder brought so much more than just the carpenters' points of view. He followed the thoughts and actions of Bill Rawn, the architect, who I came to admire. And Kidder described equally the drama of the house-building from the clients' point of view. I never warmed to Jonathan Souweine, the attorney husband, as he used his advantages and self-justifications to beat down the price, completely oblivious of the demoralizing effect it had on the workers. Meanwhile I liked Judith, Jonathan's wife. The fact that I reacted so strongly to each of the characters in this project shows how well Tracy Kidder described them. I'm not an objective reviewer here; I'm somebody who has lived through most of the scenes that he portrays. House, the book, is about the birth of one particular house, a birth filled with drama, conflict, history and hard work.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in hardcover when it was first published and found it fascinating. It’s about a family building their first house and about all those involved in its planning & construction. I do love houses but I was surprised how riveted I was by all the details of planning & constructing a house. And this book does go into great detail: from the wood used to the relationships between the owners, builders, architect, and everyone who participated.

[Christy Kronberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like misery, please read this book. The book was agonizingly long and detailed. The author did a lot of great research: the history of housebuilding, architecture, the sustainability of forests while also witnessing the journey of a couple building their house in New England with tons of interviews with the people who would become the characters of his book. Unfortunately, he decided to share every last detail with us instead of just the juiciest bits. Why didn't I just scan through those sections? Because I like to read every word and a book like this (it's not a textbook or a marketing flier) should be written so that it is enjoyable to read every last word. It also left a bitter taste with me because the builders - a co-op of craftsmen - made only $3,000 on the house. The author wanted us to empathize with everyone in the book, but I felt that the owner took advantage of the builders. They weren't business saavy and couldn't match the owner's negotiating skills. Oh yeah, and the book was published in 1985, and as a non-fiction book it's outdated. But might I still use this with carpentry or building trades students? Maybe. The thrifty side of me won't get rid of the books. Maybe I can carve out excerpts that will be useful for the classroom.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was curious and excited to read House, because I had really enjoyed the last 2 Kidder books I read and because I'm currently building house #4, and because I help people everyday achieve the American dream of home ownership.

I've always said building a home from design through completion is not for the faint of heart. There's a lot to it. But it sounds so glamorous and efficient--build your own home, get what you want, get it done right!

It's not quite that easy. In his unique style Mr. Kidder doesn't tell us why it's not that easy, he shows us why. He follows the Souweine's through the entire 6 month process and tells it like it is. Every emotion, every vagary, every painful decision, and every dollar, Kidder has given us the keys to the proverbial dream home.

Despite having architectural plans, detailed specifications and a contract the clients, the architect and the builders repeatedly have to sort out misunderstood design and details, and negotiate on materials and labor, allowances and pricing.

If you're contemplating a design/build custom or semi-custom home project, the important thing to know is it will take patience, it will take communication and compromise, but most of all it will take more money than you dreamed.

It's all true, it's inevitable, it's just the way it is. Believe me.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book thinking it was fiction. It was fiction that read like a documentary. Or, fiction that used the modern day formula of reality TV where you watch some action, then see an "interview" with the person in a confession booth type setting. It seemed like fiction because the author had a very literary way of describing the characters and seemingly outlining what it is they might be thinking.
I found myself liking each of the characters and growing frustrated by each of the characters at different turns. The only character who I really never grew frustrated with was Richard. I liked him the most and pictured a guy who was a combination of a young-ish Santa Claus and Bob Villa. Oh-Kay!
Building a house is no doubt a stressful proposition for all those involved—competing interests, lots of decisions, emotional investment of many kinds-- I could go on. Only when I got to the end and realized that this was non-fiction I a) realized I wasn’t as clever as I thought with respect to thinking the book read like a documentary and b) was astonished at how honest the characters all were with the author and how fearless the author was in portraying them warts, halos and all.
I also enjoyed some of the deep dives the author took into topics like foresting, architecture, architectural history, history in general. I felt like each of those segments was intended to set up another scene or provide more meaning to the action about to commence. But sometimes, they were a bit distracting. Only once did I skip through one of these seeming sidebars (the list of all the modern day building materials) to move on to the next piece of the action.
I was happy to have read the book, but also happy that I’m not in a position to build a house anytime soon. I’ll leave all things real estate to my husband who seems to be an interesting combination of Jim, Jonathan, Alex and Bill.

[Kevin Brennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a terrific book. If you never thought there was much drama or suspense in the building of a house, you'll be surprised by this brilliantly written narrative that plays no favorites among the homeowners, the architect, and the team of builders who bring an idea to fruition.

It strikes me that this is the kind of story that is now told mainly through documentary films. Published in 1985, it is much more revealing and more poignant than a 90 minute film could ever be. Kidder knows his characters and shows them all at their best and worst. And in the end, something wonderful is born: a house that is a home.

[Renee Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving this book 3 stars with the logical part of my mind, but I'm not feeling them.

We bought a piece of land near our kids, and will be building a house and moving when my husband retires. Or, more precisely, he'll retire when the house is built and we complete the move. Thinking I'd learn something to help in the process, I grabbed House when it came up as an Early Bird daily special.

It's a chronicle of a couple who hire their friend, a newly licensed architect who's on his 3rd or 4th career, to design a house for them, and the builders they hire to complete the process from inception to inhabitation. Their builders are four guys who have joined to form a small company of artisan workers who love their crafts but are not so fond of, or experienced at, the business side of construction. Kidder describes each of the people involved and provides their individual viewpoints all along the way. The end product is a painstakingly detailed narrative: each person's ideas, hopes, dreams, worries, their conversations, their disputes, and their actions. Much detail of tools, materials, and construction is included, as is history of construction and architecture. It is well-researched, and Kidder's inclusion of the personal stories prevented it being a builder's textbook.

As it happens, we really have nothing in common with these homeowners. We aren't lawyer-politicians, Jewish, rich, and have no friends who do this kind of work. Who hires an architect to start from scratch designing a home nowadays? We are middle class people who choose a house plan on the internet closest to our ideal space, and enter a contract with a builder whose work looks like good quality and whose business reputation is sound. Hopefully, it will all go smoothly, and I won't NEED to know every nail they hammer or board they plane. I'm not sure who would be a good target audience for this book, maybe only people actually working in or aspiring to architecture or construction. Not me--that's for sure! I thought it was incredibly boring, and I'm unsure why I finished it.

I have another book by this author, and hopefully the subject matter will be more "up my alley."

[Maura · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're ever toying with the idea of having a house built, this book might put you off the idea forever. It details the building of a residence from wish list of the owners to the completion of the house.

I really liked this book, since I've always had an interest in architecture, and much of the information in this book reinforced what I learned in architecture classes, not just from the curriculum but also from chatting with the instructors about their work experience as architects.

The characters in the book are all real people, no names were changed. They present an almost classic clash of class/ethnic/regional differences. Jonathan and Judith, the owners, are sort of upper-middle class, highly educated, non-Yankee types (that is, not taciturn, quiet types). The builders, four master carpenters, are craftsmen, proud to be in the trades, some educated, some not. One struggles with a learning disability. The house they are building is in the valley, where the more affluent communities are; the builders all live up in the old hill towns. Jonathan and Judith are open and not shy about voicing opinions; the builders come across as almost the classic Yankee, taciturn and dry of wit. It's inevitable that some misunderstandings occur. Despite it all, the house proceeds and all is resolved in the end. I found myself liking the builders more than the homeowners; the builders were honestly doing a quality job even when it meant less profit to them; meanwhile Jonathan seemed to want to negotiate items just for the sake of coming out on top. The architect did a great job of putting wishes and dreams into a floor plan; his design is elegantly spare and efficient. I would like to see the house that resulted. I wish more drawings had been included in the book, or photographs of the work.

[Chana · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Jewish couple decide to have a house built. They hire a friend who is an architect and a group of builders who are craftsmen. The male buyer is a lawyer as is his father-in-law. The architect is just starting his own business and this is the first house he has designed. The builders need to come up with a price based on the architect's designs, which are not complete. When they do come up with a price the buyer talks them down a ridiculous $660.00, just to make the amount they are going to spend a round number. The book is subtly sympathetic to the builders and antagonistic to the buyers and architect. It always seems that the buyers want quality that they are not willing to pay for, the architect wants his dreams of the house fulfilled regardless of who pays for it. The builders are unable to make the house less than their own personal standards call for. The house ends up costing more than the estimate and for the most part the builders have to absorb those costs and make what seems like a paltry sum to me for months of hard dedicated work.
But this book was written with this slant, as I said it is subtle but it makes you feel like the penny pinching owners are that way because they are Jews and lawyers. Not that the author leaves the builders in peace; he tells us about the infidelity of one of the builders and how this created a big problem in the close knit community. I didn't want to know.
The building part of the book is somewhat tedious, but then so was the constant analyzing of personalities involved in the building of the house. I was disappointed in this book, I really expected it to be better.

[Lobstergirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was crushed to find out this was written in the present tense, but persevered. Kidder takes a fly-on-the-wall approach to the building of a $145,000 3,000 square foot custom home in Amherst, Massachusetts in the early 80s. We meet the owners, a well-to-do lawyer and educator couple; the architect; and the four builders. Kidder details every disagreement and perceived slight, every occasion for mistrust, and these are legion. Class, cultural, and even religious differences between the parties are limned, although fairly subtly. The buyers are Jewish; they perceive the head carpenter, Jim, as a silent Yankee type, but he's actually half Jewish. When the lawyer husband insists at the contract negotiation that the builders eat $660, it is not quickly forgotten by Jim, who sees every subsequent issue through this prism. It was a pretty interesting look at how a house gets built, although Kidder's examination of all the business aspects and personalities involved was more detailed than the building methods themselves. For that, aimed at a layperson, I'd recommend David Owen's books Sheetrock & Shellac and The Walls Around Us.

[Florence Buchholz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although more than thirty years have passed since this book was written, the dynamics of designing and building a house probably haven't changed significantly. The homeowners chose a young architect who was also a friend to design an upscale house in a leafy Massachusetts suburb. A small construction company owned by four carpenters actually built the house. They did a fine job though they had to contend with the owner, a lawyer, who set a tight completion schedule and unfairly wanted the builders to absorb all unanticipated charges. They also had to put up with an architect who was constantly late with specifications. It made me angry that the builders did not get the respect or the renumeration they deserved, though they produced a high quality dwelling.

[Joe Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for those in the building industry, and a good read for anyone else - seeing the complexity and the relationships that go into a building project, and the forces that shape those relationships and the process. It is a good illustration that something as simple seeming as a house has a complex history and far reaching roots, and that for all the solid material, tools, and technical aspects of building, any project, business, or undertaking, is really all about the individual people involved.

[Kayla Blair · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give this book 2.5 stars. Just wasn’t the book for me. This book gives detail into building a house with a little drama thrown in, but not enough to keep me interested. The balance between information and story was sloppy and random. Recommend to anyone wanting to learn the process of building a home. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Bridget Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I so thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It was such a pleasant reading experience. You wouldn’t think the start to finish story of building a house could be such an interesting narrative, but the way Tracy Kidder turns his nonfiction subjects into characters that you feel like you know makes all of his books incredible. The characters are lovable but have very human flaws which make them relatable. I loved how he integrated the story of the house building with the history and culture of Amherst; I think my favorite part was the chapter about how Bill Rawn, the architect, decided what style of house he would design based on what would fit with the context of the landscape and other home around the area, as well as the school of architecture philosophy that Bill ascribes to. The interplay and power dynamics between the contractors, architect, and the client/owners was fascinating and Kidder adeptly showed how each party’s personality impacted various aspects of the negotiations over the house and thus the house itself. I also learned a lot about many random things (there’s a whole chapter about the various types of wood used in building a house that somehow wasn’t boring). Very lovely and kind of meditative read.

[Sam Kerr-Vanderslice · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I told my boyfriend that I was reading a book about the process of building a house, and the story from the owners having the idea, the architect designing it, then the building process, he said, "And what part of that is interesting?" It's hard to explain how, but it was! Kidder doesn't so much as describe the process of building a house, but a story of how all the different people work together to create something. I definitely sympathized most with the builders: Jim, Richard, Ned, and Alex, but I think Kidder did a good job presenting the owners' Jonathon and Judith's point of views as well as the architect Bill's.
I already had a huge amount of respect for people in construction, and this book only made me more impressed (although I'm sure the process has been modernized quite a bit since the 1980s when this was published. I still don't fully get how all the minutiae get worked out, but somehow it does.

[Alison Fulmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting idea, the book follows the process of building an actual house from design to construction. Would have like more on the technical aspects and less on the bickering between the owners and the craftsmen on payment

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tracy Kidder, how you never ever disappoint. Twenty-eight years after devouring this read I built a house. I showed the builder a rough floorplan of what I had in mind. He produced one of his component-built home flooplans that was practically identical. As the detail planning commenced my mind returned to this book and it served me well as a guide to figuring out what I really wanted and how to negotiate for the best outcome. And I got that best outcome. Thank you Tracy Kidder:)

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I readily admit to being addicted to Bob Vila and Norm Abram and This Old House on PBS during the '80s and '90s. In face, I was doing a lot of renovations on our first house at the time, and this book seemed like a perfect choice for a guy who dreamed of building his own dream home.

Following a family, the architect they have selected to design their custom home,and the general contractor they have chosen to build it, Kidder takes us through this project in a real life version of Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House.

Any potential reader must realize the American nerve being touched by this book. Just look at all of the reality TV shows along the lines of that PBS series I have already mentioned, the do it yourself books that have been written about carpentry, roofing, masonry, architecture. I admit that the insanity of it all struck me far too deeply as I became obsessed with building my own house. We have been living in it for more than a decade, and some perverse part of me recognizes that it will never really be done, even if it is done to some arbitrary limit, there will always be things that need to be modified, faults to be corrected, abject failures to be tolerated.

Here is my advice. Do not do what I did unless you are in a marriage from which neither of you can escape with any grace. Just buy a place that is about what you want and live with it or fix it or modify it. Building from design to permit to inspections to wiring as your own general contractor can be a trying experience for even the stoutest of souls. Doing your own plumbing, wiring, siding, windows, finish work and cabinets can cost you more than money and a few fingers, bruises, broken limbs and sanity. It does make you think before you build, like the fact that you aren't getting younger and the house may be your abode in decrepit old age--in which case stairs and doorways and accessibility become very real issues to be considered from the beginning.

Perhaps the day will come when I put my journals of that part of my life on a blog just to cleanse myself of the experience. Until then, you can thoroughly enjoy Tracy Kidder's most excellent account of a much more professionally done house.

[Thomas Canfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Planning and building a house seems an unpromising subject around which to construct a book – apart, perhaps, from a hands-on manual offering counsel and advice. Kidder’s “House’ does none of these things yet, against all odds, carries off the task with considerable panache and flair.

The book ‘reads’ much as a novel would, while at the same time imparting insights into such diverse topics as lumbering, woodworking, interest rates and eight penny nails. Equally impressive, Kidder provides three-dimensional portraits of the people involved so that the reader shares their frustrations, hopes and triumphs. How Kidder managed to insert himself into the lives of these people and got them to confide personal feelings and details remains a mystery. It is a rare journalistic feat, by no means easy to accomplish.

A fun, entertaining read which deals with its subject matter, and its subjects, with a deft, sure touch.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book you can read before tackling something yourself or before working with others. It's about management, but it's not a management handbook. It's about getting what you want, but it's not a negotiation manual. It's definitely not about a house. It's about a project and the journey one goes through to see it completed. Still, it also provides a different perspective of the places where you and I spend more hours than anywhere else in the world. Did you ever think of the nameless, faceless men who financed, designed, and built the house you are in right now? I never did until I read Kidder's book. I could see myself reading this one again someday.

[Ron Jensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book club selection by Wil. I've enjoyed other books by Tracy Kidder (Soul of a New Machine, Strength in What Remains), but this one just didn't do much for me. I wasn't that interested in the subject of building a house (I may have been more interested earlier in my life), and the characters didn't interest me that much, especially the owners, who didn't seem all that excited about their new house until it was nearly done. I enjoyed the architect and carpenters as characters, although the educated carpenters were a little hard to imagine. There was a lot of trite dialog about everyday mundane topics. Just not that interesting.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tracy Kidder is so skillful. He takes the simplest of stories - in this case the story of a couple wanting to build their dream home and the way it all gets done - and reveals every layer, every nuance so that it reads like riveting drama. On the surface, all that happens in this book is that a house gets designed and built. But Kidder makes you see how it's about the American dream of home ownership, the visions of talented artists and the frustrations of practical workers. He's made an immense story out of what at first sounds like thin air.

[Hank Stuever · Rating 4 out of 5]

This stuff used to kinda blow my mind: A journalist could just follow something, _anything_ through an entire process and take notes and discover the characters in real people. Such as following the construction of one family's house. The microcosmic one example could take on larger meaning, theme. I have no idea if this book still holds up, but that notion does: stories about people living their lives are inherently fascinating, if done right. Someone should go back and do this project again, only with the vibe and language of the present-day fixation on house value.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot of details and personal backgrounds in this book along with some history of retail home building and logging. If you've ever been involved in the building of a house, that makes total sense. Owners and builders are frequently at odds. As are builders and sub-contractors. Issues, assumptions and unplanned for situations crop up all the times. So while it did get a bit long, it was also short on the frustrations, work-arounds and even more details of building. I wish there had been some more drawings of the house and details of the home. I enjoyed this.

[Constance Hood · Rating 4 out of 5]

American Dreams

Imagine a large plot of rolling hills, and having the cash to build a gorgeous custom home. What would it look like? Who would build it? A true story about craftsmanship and compromises.

[Almira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this years ago, it was the first in a line of books that I read by Tracy.
Tracy's writing is backed up with good research.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the idea of this book, but I was ultimately disappointed. I have experience in both construction and writing, so the conceit of the work—that the people involved in the building of a house are like characters in a narrative—intrigued me.

The book accurately conveys the gradual development of personalities and power dynamics that invariably happens on every job site. The way the author shares tidbits of construction history or the background of participants in the story adds a certain richness. I felt many parts of the book on a gut level: the simmering anger after disagreements, the inflexible agendas, the verbal aggressions. Much of it was highly accurate, not just on a factual, but also on a emotional level.

Still, I lost interest about a third into the book, when the author began going into so much detail that I lost track of the construction process. The middle of the book could have been much shorter. The better part of chapters was spent exploring the back stories of participants, going into specifics that may have added to some character development, but ultimately felt unnecessary. Some details about construction history or standards fit the narrative, but others would build up without contributing in a meaningful way. Dialogue sometimes conveyed a sense of the building environment, but most of the lines are filler for pages, in the same way that the characters are just passing the time as they utter them.

Ultimately, the majority of the chapters didn’t seem to contribute to an underlying theme or thesis. With a sturdy, monolithic title like House, I expected the work to convey a unified, clear conceit about the meaning or purpose of building a house, or at least the experience. I assumed the narrative would suggest a perspective that was broadly representative of the home building. This happened in places, but it was more often lost in the minutiae of quips and unique background details. I was frustrated that in being so specific about the people and events of the book, readers were given a very limited perspective on the building process. Homeowners aren’t always like Jonathan, builders aren’t always like Jim. That’s obvious, I suppose, but the book doesn’t make it feel that way.

The marvel of the construction process is that so many individual pieces come together to form a coherent whole. The book didn’t do that, in my opinion. In that respect, I don’t think it lives up to its name.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up out of interest in seeing the process behind a custom-built house, not realizing it took place in Amherst, and that the architect went on to design the new dorms that were being built while I was at Amherst College.

It was a great window into the joys and irritations of having a house built, and Kidder managed to turn a business process into a story that kept me reading. The insight into all sides—owners, architect, builders—made for some fascinating and instructive reading. Consciously or unconsciously, Kidder made the builders the most sympathetic. Jonathan especially seemed like he negotiated for the sake of negotiation while the builders were scrupulously honest and repeatedly go above and beyond to their own financial detriment. Boy do I wish I could find some contractors like that!

Initially, I did not enjoy the style, which I found abrupt and expository. I did get used to it, but I think dialogue is Kidder’s weak point: the “characters” (actually real people) often sounded rude in my head when they were supposed to be joking, and Judith especially came off odd. I imagine (hope?) that in real life their banter was less awkward.

Oddly, the book has floor plans but no photo or even sketch of the exterior of the house, in spite of the central place in the story of the frieze and pilasters. The only place an exterior image seems to exist is in Amherst’s tax records:
http://gis.amherstma.gov/images/cards...

[Jeff French · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've wanted to read House ever since I read Soul of a New Machine in the '80s and finally got around to it. It is very interesting, but less detailed about the building of a house than I expected (but that's my fault!) Although Kidder tells the story of the construction of large house in Massachusetts, it is more about the human interactions related to that project. It seems to me to be more of a cautionary tale about the relationships among the owners, architect and builders. The villains in this tale seems to be a sometimes vague contract aggravated by last minute planning and inadequately documented change orders. All parties have their expectations, and each makes different assumptions about the agreements, leading to constant friction among the participants. For example, there are disagreements over the Greek Revival exterior trim, the design of the staircase and the number of coats of paint needed, with the wording of the contract, the architect's vision of the finished house, the owners' wishes and the builders' standards and practices often at odds. But they all work things out, and the house gets built, all the bills get paid, and they all part amicably at the end. Kidder excels at introducing us to the family building the house, the architect starting a new business, and the four builders whose company is actually doing the construction. Anyone who has had a remodeling project done at home will identify with the experience.

[Serena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me a few chapters (and admittedly several years) to get into, but once I did I found it to be an incredibly earnest, honest, and accurate story about the relationships between owner, architect, and builder. Tracy Kidder does an amazing job depicting everyone’s stake and emotion in a residential new build without trivializing or overdramatizing any one aspect.

There are some points that clearly date the story to the early 1980s (I.e., costs of building, some cringe-y identifiers and jokes that would not be used in today’s parlance) and those hung me up, but once I was able to look past this, really enjoyed the read.

I’ve played a part in all three of these roles throughout my building career, and perhaps what I found most interesting is that nothing much has changed in the past forty years, regardless of what some might say. I also really appreciated the “new” afterword (written about fifteen years after the original publication date) to see where everyone was after the initial story. I only wish more was provided about the builders, but I suppose that was intentional knowing what I know about construction’s culture (I wouldn’t be surprised if the builders told Kidder to take a hike).

Overall I believe Kidder told a story in a fair and balanced manner and did everyone justice who was involved, not an easy thing when emotions can run so high.