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Load Bearing: A Novel
Hannah, her husband Michael, and their daughter Molly have moved to Indianapolis and purchased a dilapidated, one-hundred-year-old mansion that will be their home. While clearing out the attic in anticipation of renovations, Hannah finds a box containing photographs of the architect and one-time resident of the house, Andrew Decker.
Moving from curiosity, to fascination, to obsession, Hannah becomes consumed with learning everything there is to know about the life and death of the mysterious architect and his family. She combs through newspaper articles and obituaries, seeks out his grandchildren, and enlists the help of her friends. All the while, Andrew becomes an increasingly more central part of her life. She thinks about him; she dreams about him; and eventually, she begins to see him.
As the pieces of Andrew Decker's life begin to come together, the pieces of Hannah's are falling apart. When a tragedy cuts to the core of what Hannah holds most dear in this world, she begins to spiral, receding further into the past and away from her family and friends. Ultimately, Hannah will have to decide whether the past is a place she learns from or becomes lost in.
Moving from curiosity, to fascination, to obsession, Hannah becomes consumed with learning everything there is to know about the life and death of the mysterious architect and his family. She combs through newspaper articles and obituaries, seeks out his grandchildren, and enlists the help of her friends. All the while, Andrew becomes an increasingly more central part of her life. She thinks about him; she dreams about him; and eventually, she begins to see him.
As the pieces of Andrew Decker's life begin to come together, the pieces of Hannah's are falling apart. When a tragedy cuts to the core of what Hannah holds most dear in this world, she begins to spiral, receding further into the past and away from her family and friends. Ultimately, Hannah will have to decide whether the past is a place she learns from or becomes lost in.
336 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 8, 2025
Hannah, a young mother with a troubled past, moves to Indiana when her much older husband gets a dream job offer, and convinces him to buy a historic but run-down mansion built by a locally renowned architect who died under mysterious circumstances. Hannah soon becomes wrapped up in the epic scale of renovations and obsessed with the history of the house and the life of the long-dead architect while her marriage begins to crumble brick by brick.
Admittedly I found there to be some sections that dragged in the first half of the novel with the finer details of taking on the renovation, and as things picked up in the latter half of the novel, I couldn't help but wish for it to go places even darker...spookier. But in the end, I appreciated Hartsock's grounding of the story and characters in reality.
The result is a finely crafted novel depicting a woman trapped in a marriage who finally comes to terms with unresolved trauma and realizes what she truly wants and needs out of life. The renovation of the house, the mystery of the architect's death, and other events are the tunnels through which she must travel to come out into the light on the other side. I especially found the scenes detailing Hannah's grief and her domestic sparring with her husband exceptionally well done.
All in all, Load Bearing (a great title with double-meaning!) is a well-written piece of contemporary literary fiction with a strong psychological bent that I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys reading such things.
Admittedly I found there to be some sections that dragged in the first half of the novel with the finer details of taking on the renovation, and as things picked up in the latter half of the novel, I couldn't help but wish for it to go places even darker...spookier. But in the end, I appreciated Hartsock's grounding of the story and characters in reality.
The result is a finely crafted novel depicting a woman trapped in a marriage who finally comes to terms with unresolved trauma and realizes what she truly wants and needs out of life. The renovation of the house, the mystery of the architect's death, and other events are the tunnels through which she must travel to come out into the light on the other side. I especially found the scenes detailing Hannah's grief and her domestic sparring with her husband exceptionally well done.
All in all, Load Bearing (a great title with double-meaning!) is a well-written piece of contemporary literary fiction with a strong psychological bent that I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys reading such things.
April 15, 2024
Hannah and her wealthy husband Michael buy a historical mansion with the intention of renovating it to be a home for them and their young daughter. While renovating, Hannah finds old photos of the architect of the house, Andrew Decker. She decides to find out what exactly happened to Andrew, only to learn that his life and death were more complicated than it may have looked on the surface.
Load Bearing has a bit of everything: mystery, romance, and tragedy. Hannah’s attempt at creating a home for her family is disrupted not only by the mystery surrounding Andrew Decker, but by her own past, the cracks in her marriage, and the company of a local history professor.
This is a beautiful and memorable book that I found myself thinking about long after finishing it. I don't think there was anything about this book I didn't love. I would recommend Load Bearing to anyone who loves an emotional story with realistic, complex characters and a gorgeous setting.
Load Bearing has a bit of everything: mystery, romance, and tragedy. Hannah’s attempt at creating a home for her family is disrupted not only by the mystery surrounding Andrew Decker, but by her own past, the cracks in her marriage, and the company of a local history professor.
This is a beautiful and memorable book that I found myself thinking about long after finishing it. I don't think there was anything about this book I didn't love. I would recommend Load Bearing to anyone who loves an emotional story with realistic, complex characters and a gorgeous setting.
May 5, 2024
Load Bearing is a wonderful novel. Hartsock unfolds her story in a way that keeps you engaged. It is the story of the internal evolution of a woman, using the renovation of a historical mansion as the mechanism. The characters are interesting and believable. Hannah’s relationships with others, both living and dead propel the story forward.
If you don’t care about the history, that’s fine because the story stands on its own. The fact that Hartsock has woven in the limestone industry of Indiana is just a fun extra. While I knew that many buildings were built from Indiana limestone, I had never understood how economically important it had once been. Come for the story, stay for the education.
If you don’t care about the history, that’s fine because the story stands on its own. The fact that Hartsock has woven in the limestone industry of Indiana is just a fun extra. While I knew that many buildings were built from Indiana limestone, I had never understood how economically important it had once been. Come for the story, stay for the education.
May 19, 2024
I loved this book. I particularly love a good villain, and I truly despised the villain in this book. I look forward to more books from Jane.
March 23, 2024
I really enjoyed this book, and on multiple levels. It's a great historical novel set in the present-day about a couple who buys and renovates an old house in Indianapolis. The people who built and lived in the old house are the historical part that comes alive as the wife seeks to learn more about them and their fates, particularly the architect. The language was crisp with many phrases and sentences that I had to go back and re-read because I enjoyed letting them play out again, but the plot was also well paced, advancing the action until I read the last third at a much more insistent rate, wanting to know what happens to who and how. It's not always easy to balance the prose and the plot but this book does that. And as a resident of the Indianapolis area, I enjoyed the many familiar references and locales, imagining those that weren't real and placing them where I thought the author might - this was definitely a great Hoosier read. I'd recommend this book if you have an interest in history, Indiana, architecture, old houses, love, relationships, sleuthing, or cabinetry. I felt this was a very solid debut novel and I definitely look forward to future work from this author.
November 1, 2025
The Decker mansion in Hartsock's novel Load Bearing will feel more real than the walls of your own house. Its history is dappled with mystery and bleakness. The house's architect navigated the tides of the roaring twenties and the crash of '29, which plummeted the economy into the Great Depression, until he reached a tragic end in that very house. For decades, the mansion had been left to rot, stuck in the same era it was built, until Hannah, a young trophy wife and mother, feels a gripping connection to the place. Undertaking the overwhelming task of renovations, Hannah is intimately sucked in as her love for it restores it to its former glory. But every noble effort requires a handsome price, and Hannah is forced to pay, mentally, emotionally, and in every aspect she gives herself to the cause.
Load Bearing is worth the read. You'll be turning the pages through romance, obsession, dark mysteries, and a mansion with hidden secrets it's finally ready to whisper if only one pauses to listen.
Load Bearing is worth the read. You'll be turning the pages through romance, obsession, dark mysteries, and a mansion with hidden secrets it's finally ready to whisper if only one pauses to listen.
December 14, 2024
4.5 but rounding up.
Oh yeah, we love a good literary historical mystery. This is a novel about how when you become interested in and then obsessed with a piece of art (in this case a 100-year-old mansion -- yes, architecture is art), it's just as easy to become interested in and obsessed with the story of the artist. (Roland Barthes and his "author is dead" theory can be damned in this book lol.) That's especially true if your personal life is falling apart, as Hannah's is in this novel, and the artist (an architect named Andrew Decker) has a mysterious and dramatic story, as he does in this novel.
This is an amazing accomplished debut -- it's a self-published novel a friend recommended I read. It's very good to take a chance once in a while on a book like this that hadn't been on your radar and is well outside your reading comfort zone. Good things often happen, and they sure did here.
Oh yeah, we love a good literary historical mystery. This is a novel about how when you become interested in and then obsessed with a piece of art (in this case a 100-year-old mansion -- yes, architecture is art), it's just as easy to become interested in and obsessed with the story of the artist. (Roland Barthes and his "author is dead" theory can be damned in this book lol.) That's especially true if your personal life is falling apart, as Hannah's is in this novel, and the artist (an architect named Andrew Decker) has a mysterious and dramatic story, as he does in this novel.
This is an amazing accomplished debut -- it's a self-published novel a friend recommended I read. It's very good to take a chance once in a while on a book like this that hadn't been on your radar and is well outside your reading comfort zone. Good things often happen, and they sure did here.
April 3, 2024
Load Bearing is a great read with a compelling story and crystal-clear writing. I was impressed by the skill in the writing, often pausing to enjoy the author's craft, but also kept wanting to know what happens next!
The novel combines elements of many genres: historical fiction, women's fiction, speculative, mystery (there are probably others). I'm usually not the biggest fan of historical fiction but the use of 'found texts' in the book is perfect.
The novel combines elements of many genres: historical fiction, women's fiction, speculative, mystery (there are probably others). I'm usually not the biggest fan of historical fiction but the use of 'found texts' in the book is perfect.
May 1, 2024
First time author?!? Hartsock did an excellent job with character development and painting the various scenes. Indianapolis never looked better :).
July 10, 2024
Author is from Indianapolis and story takes place there so it was nice to recognize many of the places mentioned in the book.
July 27, 2024
That's right. I gave my own book five stars. This is what it's about:
Hannah, her husband Michael, and their daughter Molly have moved to Indianapolis and purchased a dilapidated, one-hundred-year-old mansion that will be their home. While clearing out the attic in anticipation of renovations, Hannah finds a box containing photographs of the architect and one-time resident of the house, Andrew Decker.
Moving from curiosity, to fascination, to obsession, Hannah becomes consumed with learning everything there is to know about the life and death of the mysterious architect and his family. She combs through newspaper articles and obituaries, seeks out his grandchildren, and enlists the help of her friends. All the while, Andrew becomes an increasingly more central part of her life. She thinks about him; she dreams about him; and eventually, she begins to see him.
As the pieces of Andrew Decker's life begin to come together, the pieces of Hannah's are falling apart. When a tragedy cuts to the core of what Hannah holds most dear in this world, she begins to spiral, receding further into the past and away from her family and friends. Ultimately, Hannah will have to decide whether the past is a place she learns from or becomes lost in.
Hannah, her husband Michael, and their daughter Molly have moved to Indianapolis and purchased a dilapidated, one-hundred-year-old mansion that will be their home. While clearing out the attic in anticipation of renovations, Hannah finds a box containing photographs of the architect and one-time resident of the house, Andrew Decker.
Moving from curiosity, to fascination, to obsession, Hannah becomes consumed with learning everything there is to know about the life and death of the mysterious architect and his family. She combs through newspaper articles and obituaries, seeks out his grandchildren, and enlists the help of her friends. All the while, Andrew becomes an increasingly more central part of her life. She thinks about him; she dreams about him; and eventually, she begins to see him.
As the pieces of Andrew Decker's life begin to come together, the pieces of Hannah's are falling apart. When a tragedy cuts to the core of what Hannah holds most dear in this world, she begins to spiral, receding further into the past and away from her family and friends. Ultimately, Hannah will have to decide whether the past is a place she learns from or becomes lost in.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews