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A House for Miss Pauline: A Novel
Starring an unforgettably fierce ninety-nine-year-old Jamaican heroine, this “profound and beautiful novel” transports readers to the heart of rural Jamaica with a tender and urgent story about who owns the land on which our identities are forged (Julia Alvarez).
When the stones of her house begin to rattle and shift and call out mysterious messages to her in the middle of the night, Pauline Sinclair, age ninety-nine, knows she will not make it to her one-hundredth birthday. She has lived a modest life in Mason Hall, a rural Jamaican village, educating herself with stolen books, raising her two children, surviving by becoming a successful ganja farmers in the area, and experiencing both deep passion and true loss with her beloved baby father, Clive.
Behind this seemingly benign façade, however, Miss Pauline has buried many secrets. To avenge her enslaved ancestors, she has built her house, stone by stone, from the ruins of a plantation on her land. And she knows more than she has told about the disappearance of Turner Buchanan—a white American man who came to Mason Hall decades ago to claim her land. The whispering stones, Miss Pauline realizes, are telling her that she must make peace with the past before she dies.
With help from her American granddaughter, Justine, and Lamont, a teenager she enlists to help her navigate the mysteries of the Internet, she searches for those she has wronged. But as the people and stories of her past come to invade her present, she discovers that there are shocking secrets even she could not have anticipated.
Lyrical, funny, eerie, and profound, infused with the patois and natural beauty of Jamaica, A House for Miss Pauline tells a timely and nuanced story about identity, colonialism, and land—and introduces an unforgettable heroine who is a model for living life on her own terms.
When the stones of her house begin to rattle and shift and call out mysterious messages to her in the middle of the night, Pauline Sinclair, age ninety-nine, knows she will not make it to her one-hundredth birthday. She has lived a modest life in Mason Hall, a rural Jamaican village, educating herself with stolen books, raising her two children, surviving by becoming a successful ganja farmers in the area, and experiencing both deep passion and true loss with her beloved baby father, Clive.
Behind this seemingly benign façade, however, Miss Pauline has buried many secrets. To avenge her enslaved ancestors, she has built her house, stone by stone, from the ruins of a plantation on her land. And she knows more than she has told about the disappearance of Turner Buchanan—a white American man who came to Mason Hall decades ago to claim her land. The whispering stones, Miss Pauline realizes, are telling her that she must make peace with the past before she dies.
With help from her American granddaughter, Justine, and Lamont, a teenager she enlists to help her navigate the mysteries of the Internet, she searches for those she has wronged. But as the people and stories of her past come to invade her present, she discovers that there are shocking secrets even she could not have anticipated.
Lyrical, funny, eerie, and profound, infused with the patois and natural beauty of Jamaica, A House for Miss Pauline tells a timely and nuanced story about identity, colonialism, and land—and introduces an unforgettable heroine who is a model for living life on her own terms.
307 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 25, 2025
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February 24, 2025
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I loved this book. This is a story of an elderly woman wanting to put things right before she dies and it was so authentic. It takes place in Jamaica and the author uses the local dialect a lot. It took a couple of chapters for me to get used to it but I found that it really helped for an immersive reading experience.
I loved our titular character, who is almost 100 years old. Miss Pauline was such a formidable woman, building her own house as well as growing and selling her ganja to help raise her family. Nothing in life came easy to her but she has the strength to fight for herself and her loved ones. We are told about Miss Pauline's early life and what clearly made her who she is.
There are many amazing characters in this book and every single one of them was wonderfully drawn. The beautiful writing took me away, the seamless narrative wove the past and present together and I loved the character-building. Miss Pauline and also learns to make a new friend in 15-year-old Lamont and I was enamoured with this budding relationship. This is a story I won't soon forget.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
The Book Review Crew Blog
I loved this book. This is a story of an elderly woman wanting to put things right before she dies and it was so authentic. It takes place in Jamaica and the author uses the local dialect a lot. It took a couple of chapters for me to get used to it but I found that it really helped for an immersive reading experience.
I loved our titular character, who is almost 100 years old. Miss Pauline was such a formidable woman, building her own house as well as growing and selling her ganja to help raise her family. Nothing in life came easy to her but she has the strength to fight for herself and her loved ones. We are told about Miss Pauline's early life and what clearly made her who she is.
There are many amazing characters in this book and every single one of them was wonderfully drawn. The beautiful writing took me away, the seamless narrative wove the past and present together and I loved the character-building. Miss Pauline and also learns to make a new friend in 15-year-old Lamont and I was enamoured with this budding relationship. This is a story I won't soon forget.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
March 5, 2025
“Miss Pauline thinks about the meaning of land. She knows it’s not eternal. If it can be owned, it can be stolen or sold and new owners can do as they please with it, excavate it down to bedrock and deeper, lay it to waste. Even weather wages war against land, land can shake and rend and tear itself apart. And once people arrive, land ceases to be itself. It becomes the place where human events unfolded, it becomes its memories, ghosts and tragedies.”
Ninety-nine-year-old Miss Pauline Evadne Sinclair, a resident of the small village of Mason Hall, St. Mary parish, Jamaica, takes the noises she hears at night—whispers she believes are coming from the shifting stones her house is made of—stones extracted from the ruins of a white slaveholder's home—as an omen signaling that her time on earth will soon come to an end. Miss Pauline has led an eventful life and has braved many storms, but she has held her own and lived life on her own terms. Though she lives alone, she has a lifetime of memories—some happy and others not—that keep her company, among which are secrets that have haunted her for most of her adult life. Believing she doesn't have much time left, Miss Pauline decides the time has come to find the people she has wronged and confess. She engages Lamont, a local teenager, and her U.S.-based granddaughter, Justine, to help her in her venture. The narrative follows Miss Pauline as she recalls the significant events and people that have defined her life while embarking on a journey to confront her demons and own up to her wrongdoings—an endeavor that will lead to revelations she could not have imagined.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading A House for Miss Pauline by Diana McCaulay. A well-structured narrative, an interesting cast of characters and strong character development make for an engrossing read that revolves around themes of family and community, resilience, racial identity and much more. The vivid imagery and descriptive writing transport the reader to Mason Hall, Jamaica. Miss Pauline is an admirable protagonist - brave and resilient - and I thought the author has done a brilliant job of not only capturing her personality, thoughts and emotions but also life in a small Jamaican village from the lens of our protagonist. The element of magical realism was well embedded in the story and the author deftly incorporates the history of the village and the legacy of colonialism and slavery in Jamaica into the narrative establishing how the same shapes the lives of our characters. I enjoyed Miss Pauline’s interactions with Lamont and loved how they grew to trust one another. The author injects a fair share of lighter moments into the narrative. I particularly enjoyed Miss Pauline’s experience with the internet/social media which was both realistic and amusing. I did wish Justine had been featured more in the narrative, but I was satisfied with how the story gradually unfolds. The pacing does falter in parts, but read with a bit of patience, this novel is certainly a rewarding read.
“What people build holds their stories, buried, it’s true, but sometimes a new fissure lets them escape to find all who might listen. And there are many different witnesses to a life.”
Do read the exquisitely penned Author’s Note where she discusses the people, events and places that inspired this work of fiction.
Many thanks to Algonquin Books for the digital review copy of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Connect with me! ✏ Instagram ✏ My Blog ✏ The StoryGraph
Ninety-nine-year-old Miss Pauline Evadne Sinclair, a resident of the small village of Mason Hall, St. Mary parish, Jamaica, takes the noises she hears at night—whispers she believes are coming from the shifting stones her house is made of—stones extracted from the ruins of a white slaveholder's home—as an omen signaling that her time on earth will soon come to an end. Miss Pauline has led an eventful life and has braved many storms, but she has held her own and lived life on her own terms. Though she lives alone, she has a lifetime of memories—some happy and others not—that keep her company, among which are secrets that have haunted her for most of her adult life. Believing she doesn't have much time left, Miss Pauline decides the time has come to find the people she has wronged and confess. She engages Lamont, a local teenager, and her U.S.-based granddaughter, Justine, to help her in her venture. The narrative follows Miss Pauline as she recalls the significant events and people that have defined her life while embarking on a journey to confront her demons and own up to her wrongdoings—an endeavor that will lead to revelations she could not have imagined.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading A House for Miss Pauline by Diana McCaulay. A well-structured narrative, an interesting cast of characters and strong character development make for an engrossing read that revolves around themes of family and community, resilience, racial identity and much more. The vivid imagery and descriptive writing transport the reader to Mason Hall, Jamaica. Miss Pauline is an admirable protagonist - brave and resilient - and I thought the author has done a brilliant job of not only capturing her personality, thoughts and emotions but also life in a small Jamaican village from the lens of our protagonist. The element of magical realism was well embedded in the story and the author deftly incorporates the history of the village and the legacy of colonialism and slavery in Jamaica into the narrative establishing how the same shapes the lives of our characters. I enjoyed Miss Pauline’s interactions with Lamont and loved how they grew to trust one another. The author injects a fair share of lighter moments into the narrative. I particularly enjoyed Miss Pauline’s experience with the internet/social media which was both realistic and amusing. I did wish Justine had been featured more in the narrative, but I was satisfied with how the story gradually unfolds. The pacing does falter in parts, but read with a bit of patience, this novel is certainly a rewarding read.
“What people build holds their stories, buried, it’s true, but sometimes a new fissure lets them escape to find all who might listen. And there are many different witnesses to a life.”
Do read the exquisitely penned Author’s Note where she discusses the people, events and places that inspired this work of fiction.
Many thanks to Algonquin Books for the digital review copy of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Connect with me! ✏ Instagram ✏ My Blog ✏ The StoryGraph
May 30, 2025
I feel like I don’t read a lot of books where the main character is a bad ass, bad word cussing, 99-year-old, retired Ganja farmer and I wanted to stay in her world forever!
Imagine using the stones from an old plantation/Massa house to build your home? I personally think that is a recipe for disaster and Miss Pauline found out the hard way.
In A House for Miss Pauline we meet an unshakable 99-year-old Jamaican woman, Miss Pauline who is getting close to her 100th birthday. Something strange starts happening the closer she is getting to her 100th year, that is, her house, which is made from the stones of the Massa house starts talking to her. Pauline Sinclair lived all her life in a rural village called Mason Hall, a day after getting her period she left school because the teacher was predatory. Miss Pauline did not have an easy life, she had to fight for everything and that led to her becoming one of the most successful Ganja farmer in the parish. She met and fell in love with her baby father Clive, they had two children and amid this Miss Pauline decided she wanted to have a stone house, after seeing the disaster that happened after a hurricane.
While Miss Pauline seems to have lived a seemingly boring life, except for being a Ganja farmer, she holds a lot of secret and they come back to haunt her through the stones in her house. Miss Pauline decides she wants to make things right before she dies, this leads to a reckoning that she may not be ready for.
If I could use one word to describe this book, it would be “meandering” and "endearing”. I feel like I don’t read a lot of books where the main character is a bad ass, bad word cussing, 99-year-old, retired Ganja farmer and I wanted to stay in her world forever. Diana McCaulay knows how to write characters with heart and that is who Miss Pauline is. She encapsulates the experience of an old woman, how lonely it can be, the regrets they may have, their interaction with technology and it all feels very authentic.
For me the most endearing part with Miss Pauline’s interaction with Lamount, a teenager from Mason Hall who she brings into her life in the most heartwarming way. I did feel like I wanted more of the Grandmother and Granddaughter relationship but I guess it is realistic how it all played out.
There were some parts of the book that dragged and I wish it had moved faster. I also feel as if the book felt a little all over the place- and things were added that didn't really move the plot along. So many characters were included that did nothing for the plot but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this one, big up Miss Pauline anyweh she deh!
Imagine using the stones from an old plantation/Massa house to build your home? I personally think that is a recipe for disaster and Miss Pauline found out the hard way.
In A House for Miss Pauline we meet an unshakable 99-year-old Jamaican woman, Miss Pauline who is getting close to her 100th birthday. Something strange starts happening the closer she is getting to her 100th year, that is, her house, which is made from the stones of the Massa house starts talking to her. Pauline Sinclair lived all her life in a rural village called Mason Hall, a day after getting her period she left school because the teacher was predatory. Miss Pauline did not have an easy life, she had to fight for everything and that led to her becoming one of the most successful Ganja farmer in the parish. She met and fell in love with her baby father Clive, they had two children and amid this Miss Pauline decided she wanted to have a stone house, after seeing the disaster that happened after a hurricane.
While Miss Pauline seems to have lived a seemingly boring life, except for being a Ganja farmer, she holds a lot of secret and they come back to haunt her through the stones in her house. Miss Pauline decides she wants to make things right before she dies, this leads to a reckoning that she may not be ready for.
If I could use one word to describe this book, it would be “meandering” and "endearing”. I feel like I don’t read a lot of books where the main character is a bad ass, bad word cussing, 99-year-old, retired Ganja farmer and I wanted to stay in her world forever. Diana McCaulay knows how to write characters with heart and that is who Miss Pauline is. She encapsulates the experience of an old woman, how lonely it can be, the regrets they may have, their interaction with technology and it all feels very authentic.
For me the most endearing part with Miss Pauline’s interaction with Lamount, a teenager from Mason Hall who she brings into her life in the most heartwarming way. I did feel like I wanted more of the Grandmother and Granddaughter relationship but I guess it is realistic how it all played out.
There were some parts of the book that dragged and I wish it had moved faster. I also feel as if the book felt a little all over the place- and things were added that didn't really move the plot along. So many characters were included that did nothing for the plot but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this one, big up Miss Pauline anyweh she deh!
November 9, 2025
Three days after I finished this book the deadly hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica, making landfall in Westmoreland Parish - one of the places named in this book, along with St. Elizabeth. The author's fictional village of Mason Hall was situated in real St Mary's Parish, a place also devastated by Melissa's power and ungentle touch.
Miss Pauline is about to turn 100 years old as A House for Miss Pauline opens. She comes from a family tree of enslaved ancestors, and lives close by the ruined plantation on which they were property and chattel to the whites who had hijacked their land and legal systems. This was not forgettable nor was it forgivable for Pauline, as it reached into the lives of her children and theirs, and othered them to the fringes of communities that centuries prior were their blood's inheritance. Until They came. . .colonizers. Thieves. Killers.
This story captivated me from the beginning - the characters - especially Pauline, her circle, the backstories that include real history, mentions of the terrible trials to which the island has been subjected at the hands of man and nature. Hurricanes Charlie (1951) and Gilbert (1988) wiped out whole regions, and now outside of Pauline's world but certainly in the world of all Jamaican citizens has come murderous Melissa. Pauline's story is woven through with backstories, that go up the branches of the family tree, and the plantation property that is - in her lifetime - a ruin that she watches over, cares for, and for which she feels very protective.
When a granddaughter from the US wants to know more about her heritage, and Pauline - that's when the story gains ground and mysteries become apparent. A haunting atmosphere surrounds (was it there all along??) Pauline. . .and patiently waits.
An unusual and well-told tale, full of Jamaican patois - if you can combine the audio version with the written you will be treating yourself to a delightful treat! all the stars from this reader and a call for donations for Jamaica in her time of recovery from Hurricane Melissa. This is set up by the government of Jamaica: https://supportjamaica.gov.jm/ for more information and a way to donate.
*A sincere thank you to Diana McCaulay, Algonquin Books, Hachette Audio and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #AHouseforMissPauline #NetGalley 25|52:36i
Miss Pauline is about to turn 100 years old as A House for Miss Pauline opens. She comes from a family tree of enslaved ancestors, and lives close by the ruined plantation on which they were property and chattel to the whites who had hijacked their land and legal systems. This was not forgettable nor was it forgivable for Pauline, as it reached into the lives of her children and theirs, and othered them to the fringes of communities that centuries prior were their blood's inheritance. Until They came. . .colonizers. Thieves. Killers.
This story captivated me from the beginning - the characters - especially Pauline, her circle, the backstories that include real history, mentions of the terrible trials to which the island has been subjected at the hands of man and nature. Hurricanes Charlie (1951) and Gilbert (1988) wiped out whole regions, and now outside of Pauline's world but certainly in the world of all Jamaican citizens has come murderous Melissa. Pauline's story is woven through with backstories, that go up the branches of the family tree, and the plantation property that is - in her lifetime - a ruin that she watches over, cares for, and for which she feels very protective.
When a granddaughter from the US wants to know more about her heritage, and Pauline - that's when the story gains ground and mysteries become apparent. A haunting atmosphere surrounds (was it there all along??) Pauline. . .and patiently waits.
An unusual and well-told tale, full of Jamaican patois - if you can combine the audio version with the written you will be treating yourself to a delightful treat! all the stars from this reader and a call for donations for Jamaica in her time of recovery from Hurricane Melissa. This is set up by the government of Jamaica: https://supportjamaica.gov.jm/ for more information and a way to donate.
*A sincere thank you to Diana McCaulay, Algonquin Books, Hachette Audio and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #AHouseforMissPauline #NetGalley 25|52:36i
April 21, 2025
Miss Pauline lives in Mason Hall, Jamaica in a stone home that she and her baby daddy built. She is approaching her 100th birthday. All of of a sudden, she finds that the stones in the house walls are talking to her at night. Either the voices are real or she fears that she's losing it.
The book is the story of Pauline's life. She can be summed up in one word - "Survivor." Her experiences have made her tough, independent, and slow to trust others. She peppers her speech with F bombs. When we meet Miss Pauline, she is living alone and out of touch with her family members. Due to the voices she's hearing, Miss Pauline decides to reach out to her granddaughter (Justine), now in her 40's and living in New York City. The story includes the estranged granddaughter's visit, as well as Pauline's burgeoning friendship with a 15 year old boy with street smarts named Lamont. Most of the dialogue is in Jamaican patois and reads like this:
Pauline speaking to a teen-aged boy on a bike: "Where you mumma cook shop?"
Boy's answer: "Near di fall down casha tree. Evrybaddy know it. Nuh wait too long, else di good fish sell off."
======================================
My reactions are mixed: The 3 stars reflect that I liked the book overall, but felt that it was too slow-moving and at times, repetitive. I would have liked to get to know the secondary characters better. For me, the best part of the novel was its setting in Jamaica.
Trigger Alert: Rape
The book is the story of Pauline's life. She can be summed up in one word - "Survivor." Her experiences have made her tough, independent, and slow to trust others. She peppers her speech with F bombs. When we meet Miss Pauline, she is living alone and out of touch with her family members. Due to the voices she's hearing, Miss Pauline decides to reach out to her granddaughter (Justine), now in her 40's and living in New York City. The story includes the estranged granddaughter's visit, as well as Pauline's burgeoning friendship with a 15 year old boy with street smarts named Lamont. Most of the dialogue is in Jamaican patois and reads like this:
Pauline speaking to a teen-aged boy on a bike: "Where you mumma cook shop?"
Boy's answer: "Near di fall down casha tree. Evrybaddy know it. Nuh wait too long, else di good fish sell off."
======================================
My reactions are mixed: The 3 stars reflect that I liked the book overall, but felt that it was too slow-moving and at times, repetitive. I would have liked to get to know the secondary characters better. For me, the best part of the novel was its setting in Jamaica.
Trigger Alert: Rape
March 14, 2025
The very old Miss Pauline Sinclair has lived in her stone house in Mason Hall, Jamaica, for many years, but has been troubled by noises it makes each night.
With her 100th birthday fast approaching, she wakes up one day, and knows that her time is ending very soon. She convinces her granddaughter Justine to come to Jamaica, and once there, gets the younger woman to find a man's family for her. The man's name is Tyler Buchanan, and Mrs. Pauline knows much more about him than she has ever revealed to anyone.
What follows is Miss Pauline remembering her childhood, her fierce protection of herself, and how she came to live in the stone house, which she had built from the crumbling ruins of a plantation on her land.
With the help of a local teenager, Lamont, Mrs. Pauline uses what Justine has found to track down any living relatives of Tyler Buchanan, and during this process, discovers more about her family and the Buchanans that she ever expected.
This novel was outstanding. It's funny, sad, profound, and has an absolutely captivating protagonist in Miss Pauline.
Pauline is fierce in her love and her desire to protect what is hers. She's also held secrets about herself for years, and whether the house truly was speaking or not, she is impelled finally to lay out the truth and deal with the consequences.
Miss Pauline has lived an eventful life, and parts were sad and distressing, but other parts were full of love and happiness. Her lifelong friendship with Zepha was critical to her, and gave her support when she needed it. And though Miss Pauline's own relationship with her own daughter isn't great, I loved her relationship and care for Lamont, a boy who proved to be incredibly kind and tolerant of Miss Pauline's often unexpected demands.
The story is moving, and such a pleasure. I read and listened to this novel, and the narrator, Sasha Frost , does a fantastic job of bringing the text to life, and inhabiting Miss Pauline. Frost moves smoothly between narration to the local dialect, and to American accents. Miss Pauline is a force to reckon with, and Sasha Frost beautifully conveys the proud, tough woman that she is.
Thank you to Netgalley, Algonquin Books and to Hachette Audio for this ARC in exchange for my review.
With her 100th birthday fast approaching, she wakes up one day, and knows that her time is ending very soon. She convinces her granddaughter Justine to come to Jamaica, and once there, gets the younger woman to find a man's family for her. The man's name is Tyler Buchanan, and Mrs. Pauline knows much more about him than she has ever revealed to anyone.
What follows is Miss Pauline remembering her childhood, her fierce protection of herself, and how she came to live in the stone house, which she had built from the crumbling ruins of a plantation on her land.
With the help of a local teenager, Lamont, Mrs. Pauline uses what Justine has found to track down any living relatives of Tyler Buchanan, and during this process, discovers more about her family and the Buchanans that she ever expected.
This novel was outstanding. It's funny, sad, profound, and has an absolutely captivating protagonist in Miss Pauline.
Pauline is fierce in her love and her desire to protect what is hers. She's also held secrets about herself for years, and whether the house truly was speaking or not, she is impelled finally to lay out the truth and deal with the consequences.
Miss Pauline has lived an eventful life, and parts were sad and distressing, but other parts were full of love and happiness. Her lifelong friendship with Zepha was critical to her, and gave her support when she needed it. And though Miss Pauline's own relationship with her own daughter isn't great, I loved her relationship and care for Lamont, a boy who proved to be incredibly kind and tolerant of Miss Pauline's often unexpected demands.
The story is moving, and such a pleasure. I read and listened to this novel, and the narrator, Sasha Frost , does a fantastic job of bringing the text to life, and inhabiting Miss Pauline. Frost moves smoothly between narration to the local dialect, and to American accents. Miss Pauline is a force to reckon with, and Sasha Frost beautifully conveys the proud, tough woman that she is.
Thank you to Netgalley, Algonquin Books and to Hachette Audio for this ARC in exchange for my review.
March 20, 2025
Listen, once I read the synopsis I knew I had to read about this ferocious woman of many years. A story about the land ownership in rural Jamaica infused with a little magical realism? Sign me up! I didn’t quite know what to expect and some trigger warnings would have been nice. The story went left quick! Miss Pauline dealt with a lot of things in her 99 years. I was wondering was Miss Pauline really losing her mind after all of these years? Who is Turner Buchanan and what does this backra house have to do with it? What has Miss Pauline done and how is she going to right her wrongs? Then it finally came together with a beautiful ending. It definitely made me contemplate my own mortality. Will I be blessed to make it so many years like Miss Sinclair? If so, it’s hard to imagine what life is like when you’ve outgrown most of the people you once loved and cared about. Who will inherit my things? My family? My found family? (I loved Mummi and Lamont’s relationship.) How far will I go to ensure that I protect what’s mine? This book had me thinking about all of the things and I’d recommend this one.
July 11, 2025
Story of a gutsy 99 year old Jamaican woman who single-handedly and very effectively foiled a child molester, became a ganja boss, built her own home from former plantation stones, fiercely loved a man, and created a family legacy.
While I took issue with some of this woman’s actions, I loved a story of a non-apologetic powerful woman.
I highly recommend the audio performance of Sasha Frost. Her voice took this story to another level.
While I took issue with some of this woman’s actions, I loved a story of a non-apologetic powerful woman.
I highly recommend the audio performance of Sasha Frost. Her voice took this story to another level.
October 30, 2024
Miss Pauline is nearly one hundred years old, but as the date of her birthday approaches she begins to hear the stones of her house shifting in the night, begging for her attention. She knows she needs to put her house in order, literally and metaphorically or she feels she won't make one hundred. The past and the future are woven deftly together in the strands of this story about slavery, emancipation and blood and what that means for a sense of home. A brilliantly written slice of history, held taut by a deftly plotted, magical realist story, with an emphasis on the real.
May 16, 2025
Audiobook: 4.5/5
Book/ Story Overall: 3.5/5
Don’t we all need a Pauline Sinclair in our lives?
This book felt like a hug—not necessarily one that has warmth, but the kind of hug you need. It’s a tender and honest read, and I’m so happy I had the audiobook to read along with my physical copy. The audiobook narration was top tier. Frost perfectly captured all of the elements that make Miss Pauline such a force of a character—from her certainty and pride to her authenticity and guilt. Listening to the audiobook, I felt it all. I would definitely recommend picking this up as an immersive read so that you can fully appreciate the format and writing style chosen in the physical book, and the amazing narration.
This book reminded me of talking to my elders— and I mean that in the best way. Because when talking to my elders, I’m always learning—learning about them, learning about the things they’ve experienced, and learning about the lessons they’ve learned. And Miss Pauline has definitely lived a life worth learning from!
Now, this is a story taking place in both the past and present of Pauline Sinclair. It’s a story of how one’s past catches up to you. It’s a story of trauma, guilt, bloodlines, and identity. While we start the book being introduced to the daily life of this formidable and powerhouse woman, we are able to see the strength, culture, and wisdom that Miss Pauline carries daily—and how she got to be the pillar in her community that she is. Though as calm as things first appear, Miss Pauline enters into a reckoning of her past decisions and secrets that have come back to haunt her.
Pauline Sinclair is 99 years old and doesn’t think she’s going to make it to 100. She hasn’t been feeling the best, and the stone house she’s built begins to whisper in the night, calling out to her, demanding action. When you build a house made of the very stones that once housed those who enslaved your ancestors, you have to wonder what those stones have to say. Pauline hears this and sees it as a message to reconcile with all that she’s kept hidden. She never expected so much of the past to end up on her doorstep. Though with the help of her granddaughter and a local boy, she sets out to right her wrongs and bare the truth to the people who need to hear it most.
This story has a bit of mystery, while stewed deeply in conversations around colonialism, land ownership, culture, and connectedness. So much of this story is about the true depth and history of our family ties. The author does an amazing job of showing this not only through Pauline’s life and relationships, but through the way she’s captured so much of the soul and spirit of Jamaica. From the amazing use of patois to the rich descriptions that immerse you into every setting, you can passionately feel and understand all that Miss Pauline is trying to protect. Pauline sees this land as a piece of history. She sees her stone house as a representation of rebirth and taking control. But what is the point of protecting and saving something if you can’t pass it down, if you can’t share it, if it can’t prosper?
Now, I did really enjoy this read, but there were times when the story felt a little bit slow. I was really intrigued and hyped to read this book—the blurb really caught me—but had I not already been very interested in some of the topics and themes discussed, I might have DNF’d this book. Though I can say I’m glad I didn’t, because quite frankly, the only issue I had with this read was the pacing. As I first mentioned, this book feels like talking to an elder—and as anyone knows, you cannot rush an old head when they’re speaking. You have to sit down and hear what they have to say, and practicing my patience was definitely worth it in the end with this book.
One of my favorite things about it was the connections that we saw Pauline strengthen along the way—specifically her relationship with Lamont. Though Miss Pauline is set on protecting her land and her history, she appreciates all that Lamont has done and understands why he’s ready to leave and create his own experiences. I think the relationship I would’ve loved to see further explored was that of her and her granddaughter. We see some of this, but I would’ve loved to see a more consistent development of the relationship all the way to the end of the book.
I found myself in deep reflection once I finished. The ending was hopeful and endearing in the way everything really comes together. It made me think about lineage and all the family out there that I may never meet. It also made me feel grief. Grief for my ancestors and all those enslaved. Grief for the loss of family and connectedness that was taken from them and abused. But also hope. Hope that we can all find peace within our lives and confront anything in our past that makes moving forward harder—the same way Miss Pauline did. I really hope that people pick this read up and allow themselves to think further about who they are, who they used to be, and what they’ll leave behind.
Thank you to Hatchette Audio, NetGalley, and Algonquin Books for this ALC.
Book/ Story Overall: 3.5/5
Don’t we all need a Pauline Sinclair in our lives?
This book felt like a hug—not necessarily one that has warmth, but the kind of hug you need. It’s a tender and honest read, and I’m so happy I had the audiobook to read along with my physical copy. The audiobook narration was top tier. Frost perfectly captured all of the elements that make Miss Pauline such a force of a character—from her certainty and pride to her authenticity and guilt. Listening to the audiobook, I felt it all. I would definitely recommend picking this up as an immersive read so that you can fully appreciate the format and writing style chosen in the physical book, and the amazing narration.
This book reminded me of talking to my elders— and I mean that in the best way. Because when talking to my elders, I’m always learning—learning about them, learning about the things they’ve experienced, and learning about the lessons they’ve learned. And Miss Pauline has definitely lived a life worth learning from!
Now, this is a story taking place in both the past and present of Pauline Sinclair. It’s a story of how one’s past catches up to you. It’s a story of trauma, guilt, bloodlines, and identity. While we start the book being introduced to the daily life of this formidable and powerhouse woman, we are able to see the strength, culture, and wisdom that Miss Pauline carries daily—and how she got to be the pillar in her community that she is. Though as calm as things first appear, Miss Pauline enters into a reckoning of her past decisions and secrets that have come back to haunt her.
Pauline Sinclair is 99 years old and doesn’t think she’s going to make it to 100. She hasn’t been feeling the best, and the stone house she’s built begins to whisper in the night, calling out to her, demanding action. When you build a house made of the very stones that once housed those who enslaved your ancestors, you have to wonder what those stones have to say. Pauline hears this and sees it as a message to reconcile with all that she’s kept hidden. She never expected so much of the past to end up on her doorstep. Though with the help of her granddaughter and a local boy, she sets out to right her wrongs and bare the truth to the people who need to hear it most.
This story has a bit of mystery, while stewed deeply in conversations around colonialism, land ownership, culture, and connectedness. So much of this story is about the true depth and history of our family ties. The author does an amazing job of showing this not only through Pauline’s life and relationships, but through the way she’s captured so much of the soul and spirit of Jamaica. From the amazing use of patois to the rich descriptions that immerse you into every setting, you can passionately feel and understand all that Miss Pauline is trying to protect. Pauline sees this land as a piece of history. She sees her stone house as a representation of rebirth and taking control. But what is the point of protecting and saving something if you can’t pass it down, if you can’t share it, if it can’t prosper?
Now, I did really enjoy this read, but there were times when the story felt a little bit slow. I was really intrigued and hyped to read this book—the blurb really caught me—but had I not already been very interested in some of the topics and themes discussed, I might have DNF’d this book. Though I can say I’m glad I didn’t, because quite frankly, the only issue I had with this read was the pacing. As I first mentioned, this book feels like talking to an elder—and as anyone knows, you cannot rush an old head when they’re speaking. You have to sit down and hear what they have to say, and practicing my patience was definitely worth it in the end with this book.
One of my favorite things about it was the connections that we saw Pauline strengthen along the way—specifically her relationship with Lamont. Though Miss Pauline is set on protecting her land and her history, she appreciates all that Lamont has done and understands why he’s ready to leave and create his own experiences. I think the relationship I would’ve loved to see further explored was that of her and her granddaughter. We see some of this, but I would’ve loved to see a more consistent development of the relationship all the way to the end of the book.
I found myself in deep reflection once I finished. The ending was hopeful and endearing in the way everything really comes together. It made me think about lineage and all the family out there that I may never meet. It also made me feel grief. Grief for my ancestors and all those enslaved. Grief for the loss of family and connectedness that was taken from them and abused. But also hope. Hope that we can all find peace within our lives and confront anything in our past that makes moving forward harder—the same way Miss Pauline did. I really hope that people pick this read up and allow themselves to think further about who they are, who they used to be, and what they’ll leave behind.
Thank you to Hatchette Audio, NetGalley, and Algonquin Books for this ALC.
May 17, 2025
Love, love, love this book & the audiobook narrator! Jamaican language and accents were so on point. Plot and character development are solid with historical references included in the story. This would be a good book discussion title - so many themes that could be explored. 4.75 stars for sure👍🏼.
March 30, 2025
4.25 stars. Wonderful storytelling, great narrator. 🎧
February 19, 2025
I received a copy of the book "a House for Miss Pauline" from NetGalley. Miss Pauline is almost 100 years old and living in Jamaica. She lives in a very old stone house and recently she is hearing voices coming through the old stones. She has met a young man that has been helping around her home. She has had a long life filled with some good memories but some are secrets she has kept for decades. She is happy to have her granddaugher visit who comes with sad news about Pauline's daughter. She wonders if her granddaughter will hear the voices too.
At one time in her life in the early 1980s a man comes to her home claiming he has inherited the land and informs her she must leave. Pauline may have to take measures to protect the only home she has known that leads to her keeping secrets. When the daughter of this man arrives to the Island will Miss Pauline share a secret she has kept? A good read. Do want to give anyspoilers but I found myself rooting for MIss Pauline.
At one time in her life in the early 1980s a man comes to her home claiming he has inherited the land and informs her she must leave. Pauline may have to take measures to protect the only home she has known that leads to her keeping secrets. When the daughter of this man arrives to the Island will Miss Pauline share a secret she has kept? A good read. Do want to give anyspoilers but I found myself rooting for MIss Pauline.
April 17, 2025
I loved this book.
March 3, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
Loved Miss Pauline and Lamont’s relationship🥹 this book explores Jamaica’s history of slavery and what it means to own land.
I enjoyed the narrator also, Sasha Frost, she did a fantastic job
Loved Miss Pauline and Lamont’s relationship🥹 this book explores Jamaica’s history of slavery and what it means to own land.
I enjoyed the narrator also, Sasha Frost, she did a fantastic job
July 5, 2025
A House for Miss Pauline is unlike anything I've read. A character who is ninety-nine years old and in sound mind and health - honestly reminded me of my great grandma who lived to 98. I listened to AHFMP on audiobook. The narrator was great.
Diana McCaulay creates a new world for me. Experiencing Mason Hall in rural Jamaica though the eyes of Ms Pauline is an experience. I enjoyed the unfolding of house stones speaking to Ms Pauline. The layering of leading the reader to know that the stones are actually from the old plantation house that sits on the land of Mason Hall is fantastic. (I had just finished this book and went to UWI -Mona in Kingston where the chapel at the school was built from stones hauled from one location to another. It was honestly blew my mind to see that plot point in person.) I enjoyed the diving into colonial history - I assume that pieces of this plot was brought about by conversations about reparations that have really ramped up in the last 10 years.
The characters really make the story. From Ms Pauline's house to Lamount to Justine to Turner Buchanan to Zepha. AHFMP by far is character driven story. The plot wax and wanes but it kept me engaged the entire time. McCaulay created great secondary characters that build on the lore of Ms Pauline.
Miss Pauline Evadne Sinclair is a very layered character. As the story goes along we experience more of her layers. I enjoy that she's not a saint. She's complicated. I loved it.
The authors' note was interesting... I liked that McCaulay included her history in the plot. She is bringing her ancestors back to life in a way.
Overall a great audiobook and fantastic character work.
Diana McCaulay creates a new world for me. Experiencing Mason Hall in rural Jamaica though the eyes of Ms Pauline is an experience. I enjoyed the unfolding of house stones speaking to Ms Pauline. The layering of leading the reader to know that the stones are actually from the old plantation house that sits on the land of Mason Hall is fantastic. (I had just finished this book and went to UWI -Mona in Kingston where the chapel at the school was built from stones hauled from one location to another. It was honestly blew my mind to see that plot point in person.) I enjoyed the diving into colonial history - I assume that pieces of this plot was brought about by conversations about reparations that have really ramped up in the last 10 years.
The characters really make the story. From Ms Pauline's house to Lamount to Justine to Turner Buchanan to Zepha. AHFMP by far is character driven story. The plot wax and wanes but it kept me engaged the entire time. McCaulay created great secondary characters that build on the lore of Ms Pauline.
Miss Pauline Evadne Sinclair is a very layered character. As the story goes along we experience more of her layers. I enjoy that she's not a saint. She's complicated. I loved it.
The authors' note was interesting... I liked that McCaulay included her history in the plot. She is bringing her ancestors back to life in a way.
Overall a great audiobook and fantastic character work.
March 28, 2025
This audiobook is masterfully narrated by Sasha Frost. This novel is the story of a Jamaican woman, and so often, the accent of the narrator reflects that. Her accent is authentic, and her narration breathes life into Miss Pauline. At the same time, this novel also has American characters and the narrators. The US accent is also perfect. I highly recommend consuming this on audio.
I loved this novel and Miss Pauline. I have family members from the Caribbean and a favorite neighbor from Jamaica. This inside look into life on the island was beautifully done.
This has a theme of making peace with your past before your life ends. I'm 50, which means statistically more than half of my life is over. So, in ways I can relate to the idea of making peace with life choices, those I've wronged and wanting a death that honors my life.
This is more than that, though. As it touches on chattel slavery on the island. To those unaware, chattel slavery was considerably more brutal in the Caribbean. The life expectancy of Enslaved folks was dismal and the violence they experienced more than the average Enslaved folks in the US. All slavery is bad. Chattel slavery being the worst form of slavery known to history, was literally brutal and horrifying. Also, the end of chattel slavery did not bring true freedom. In fact, even today, Jamaican wealth is mostly in the hands of white Westerners.
Miss Pauline is the descendant of Enslaved Jamaicans, and her story is one of triumph and resilience. She emodies the very definition of the word formidable with her very home being built from the rubble of the ruins of enslaver homes. She does what she must to survive and raise her family. This is incredibly engrossing with heartfelt reveals. Miss Pauline is all I hope to be as I grow older. I don't want to give too much away in the review, but I highly encourage anyone interested in this review to add this to their to read list. I ended up purchasing this on audio from Libro.fm because I already can feel that this is a novel I'll return to again and again. Just beautifully written in every way.
Thank you to Diana McCaulay, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
I loved this novel and Miss Pauline. I have family members from the Caribbean and a favorite neighbor from Jamaica. This inside look into life on the island was beautifully done.
This has a theme of making peace with your past before your life ends. I'm 50, which means statistically more than half of my life is over. So, in ways I can relate to the idea of making peace with life choices, those I've wronged and wanting a death that honors my life.
This is more than that, though. As it touches on chattel slavery on the island. To those unaware, chattel slavery was considerably more brutal in the Caribbean. The life expectancy of Enslaved folks was dismal and the violence they experienced more than the average Enslaved folks in the US. All slavery is bad. Chattel slavery being the worst form of slavery known to history, was literally brutal and horrifying. Also, the end of chattel slavery did not bring true freedom. In fact, even today, Jamaican wealth is mostly in the hands of white Westerners.
Miss Pauline is the descendant of Enslaved Jamaicans, and her story is one of triumph and resilience. She emodies the very definition of the word formidable with her very home being built from the rubble of the ruins of enslaver homes. She does what she must to survive and raise her family. This is incredibly engrossing with heartfelt reveals. Miss Pauline is all I hope to be as I grow older. I don't want to give too much away in the review, but I highly encourage anyone interested in this review to add this to their to read list. I ended up purchasing this on audio from Libro.fm because I already can feel that this is a novel I'll return to again and again. Just beautifully written in every way.
Thank you to Diana McCaulay, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
September 11, 2025
Miss Pauline has lived a life on her own terms in Mason Hall, a rural Jamaican village. But when the stones of her home begin to rattle and call out to her in the quiet of the night, Pauline Sinclair knows she will not live to see her 100th birthday.
The whispering walls promise to topple the foundations of her security and exhume Pauline’s many buried secrets, including the mysterious disappearance of the man who came to claim the very land on which she built her home, stone by stone, from the ruins of a plantation.
Compelled to make peace before she dies, Pauline decides to leave the only home she has ever known on a final, desperate mission to uncover truths she could never have imagined . . .
A House For Miss Pauline is the powerful story of a 99 year old rural Jamaican woman attempting to reconcile her head and heart, her intellect and emotions, with her island home's history of slavery; what it meant, and continues to mean, for modern day Jamaicans.
Miss Pauline discovers that nothing about slavery is straightforward, and, as events unfold, and pieces of a jigsaw that has existed for centuries begin to slot into place, everything she knows, and believes about herself will be shaken and shattered.
At one point in the past Miss Pauline asked herself "Who you is, really? Who?" and finally, in her 10th decade she will learn that she is
"part of a tangle of ancient knots she doesn't know how to unravel" and that "blood is not black or white".
As well as exploring the historical legacy of colonialism and slavery's crimes against humanity, carried out on Jamaican soil, shaping both the people and the landscape, Diana Mccauley's novel examines the concept of what it means to feel rooted to a place, alongside themes of identity, act and consequence, blame and responsibility, guilt and atonement.
In Miss Pauline, Diana McCaulay has created an amazing, unforgettable character: a stubborn, fiercely independent, potty mouthed, nonagenarian. A self-educated woman who raised both children and ganja in order to survive, and who loves to ride pillion on a moped, even in her night-gown. You really grow attached to her and take her to your heart. The rest of the novel's characters, both alive and dead, are likewise skillfully and vividly rendered.
The narrative is threaded through with Jamaican patois which initially causes you to resort to Google searching for its meaning, but your ear quickly becomes attuned to its rhythm and cadence, so that even though you might not know its precise meaning you understand its sense, as you're swept along by it.
With prose that abounds with description and often quite poetic images, Diana McCaulay brilliantly evokes a convincing and authentic sense of place and culture, that speaks to all of your senses, conjuring up lifelike, vivid pictures in your imagination.
Blending history, mystery and a little Caribbean eeriness, this quietly profound but often comedic novel is a wonderfully memorable and enjoyable read. Highly recommended.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5 for Goodreads
The whispering walls promise to topple the foundations of her security and exhume Pauline’s many buried secrets, including the mysterious disappearance of the man who came to claim the very land on which she built her home, stone by stone, from the ruins of a plantation.
Compelled to make peace before she dies, Pauline decides to leave the only home she has ever known on a final, desperate mission to uncover truths she could never have imagined . . .
A House For Miss Pauline is the powerful story of a 99 year old rural Jamaican woman attempting to reconcile her head and heart, her intellect and emotions, with her island home's history of slavery; what it meant, and continues to mean, for modern day Jamaicans.
Miss Pauline discovers that nothing about slavery is straightforward, and, as events unfold, and pieces of a jigsaw that has existed for centuries begin to slot into place, everything she knows, and believes about herself will be shaken and shattered.
At one point in the past Miss Pauline asked herself "Who you is, really? Who?" and finally, in her 10th decade she will learn that she is
"part of a tangle of ancient knots she doesn't know how to unravel" and that "blood is not black or white".
As well as exploring the historical legacy of colonialism and slavery's crimes against humanity, carried out on Jamaican soil, shaping both the people and the landscape, Diana Mccauley's novel examines the concept of what it means to feel rooted to a place, alongside themes of identity, act and consequence, blame and responsibility, guilt and atonement.
In Miss Pauline, Diana McCaulay has created an amazing, unforgettable character: a stubborn, fiercely independent, potty mouthed, nonagenarian. A self-educated woman who raised both children and ganja in order to survive, and who loves to ride pillion on a moped, even in her night-gown. You really grow attached to her and take her to your heart. The rest of the novel's characters, both alive and dead, are likewise skillfully and vividly rendered.
The narrative is threaded through with Jamaican patois which initially causes you to resort to Google searching for its meaning, but your ear quickly becomes attuned to its rhythm and cadence, so that even though you might not know its precise meaning you understand its sense, as you're swept along by it.
With prose that abounds with description and often quite poetic images, Diana McCaulay brilliantly evokes a convincing and authentic sense of place and culture, that speaks to all of your senses, conjuring up lifelike, vivid pictures in your imagination.
Blending history, mystery and a little Caribbean eeriness, this quietly profound but often comedic novel is a wonderfully memorable and enjoyable read. Highly recommended.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5 for Goodreads
April 8, 2025
“You know how much people killin over land? Still?”
As someone raised on a Caribbean island and currently navigating family conflict over land, parts of this story resonated deeply with me, offering a thought-provoking perspective. This book is a mesmerizing blend of history, family, and long-buried secrets that offers a profound exploration of how the past shapes our lives. As Pauline Sinclair nears her 100th birthday, eerie messages from the stones of her home compel her to face haunting truths she’s kept hidden for decades. With its rich mix of magical realism and deep family drama, Pauline’s wisdom and strength make her an unforgettable, multi-dimensional character. The addition of a local teen helping to unravel the past, injects fresh energy and suspense into the narrative. This beautifully crafted, emotionally powerful story delves into legacy, healing, and the crucial need to come to terms with the past. A gripping, must-read masterpiece that will linger in your heart and mind long after you turn the last page.
As someone raised on a Caribbean island and currently navigating family conflict over land, parts of this story resonated deeply with me, offering a thought-provoking perspective. This book is a mesmerizing blend of history, family, and long-buried secrets that offers a profound exploration of how the past shapes our lives. As Pauline Sinclair nears her 100th birthday, eerie messages from the stones of her home compel her to face haunting truths she’s kept hidden for decades. With its rich mix of magical realism and deep family drama, Pauline’s wisdom and strength make her an unforgettable, multi-dimensional character. The addition of a local teen helping to unravel the past, injects fresh energy and suspense into the narrative. This beautifully crafted, emotionally powerful story delves into legacy, healing, and the crucial need to come to terms with the past. A gripping, must-read masterpiece that will linger in your heart and mind long after you turn the last page.
June 10, 2025
Read A House for Miss Pauline if you’re looking for a powerful story about how slavery and colonization fractured families and cultures, forcing new ones to take root—new cultures and kinships that still carry the legacy and trauma of that history.
Miss Pauline herself is such a delight—equal parts sweet and badass. For a rural grandmother with little knowledge of modern conveniences like technology or hotels, she holds an incredible depth of wisdom about family and why it matters.
Miss Pauline herself is such a delight—equal parts sweet and badass. For a rural grandmother with little knowledge of modern conveniences like technology or hotels, she holds an incredible depth of wisdom about family and why it matters.
August 12, 2025
This is beautifully written, with a strong sense of place and history. Well-structured and thought-provoking, with themes of identity and ownership, it would make a perfect book club read.
Pauline’s stone house feels like a character in its own right, and I like the way her secrets are revealed through her reflections on the past. It’s a wonderful book, and an absolute pleasure to read.
Pauline’s stone house feels like a character in its own right, and I like the way her secrets are revealed through her reflections on the past. It’s a wonderful book, and an absolute pleasure to read.
November 17, 2025
Miss Pauline was nothing to play with. She was months shy of being 100 and the walls of her house had a story to tell and refused to be silenced until she spoke her truth.
Read
April 5, 2025Couldn’t get into this story
May 27, 2025
What a read. This book was very intriguing. I really got sucked into this story, while trying to figure out what was going to happen next. There were quite a few twists, that I never saw coming. Each new character that was introduced into the plot, brought so much richness with them. Even the relationships that did not exist anymore, enlightened the reader. This story left you with so much to think and talk about. I loved Lamont for the time he took, to make sure Miss Pauline was good. Too many of us dismiss the elderly, without a second thought.
February 24, 2025
This novel focuses on a strong female protagonist, 99-year-old Pauline Sinclair, whom the reader will not soon forget.
Pauline has spent her entire life in Mason Hall, a rural Jamaican village. She believes she is not long for the world when the stones of her house begin to shift and she hears voices which she thinks are telling her “there’s atonement to be made”: “mebbe me can set tings right before ma time come.” As she considers what she must do, she reflects on her life and so the reader learns about her past. Self-educated, she raised two children with her beloved Clive and supported her family by becoming a ganja farmer. But there are secrets she has kept hidden from everyone and these are the ones she must now reveal to those she feels she has wronged. With the help of her granddaughter Justine and Lamont, a local teenager, she finds these people to make amends but also ends up discovering much she did not know.
It’s impossible not to like Pauline. Fiercely independent, she does not allow anyone to tell her how to live. She understands that many would dismiss her because she can be perceived as “Black, female, old, rural, foreign, poor, powerless, friendless, uneducated,” but she demands the respect she believes she deserves; certainly the last four adjectives do not apply to her. Even as a young girl, she was defiant and took decisive action against a predatory man, leaving a strong message: “That is for me an evry odda girl you ever put you nasty, dutty hand on.” Her life has not been easy, but she persevered and became a community builder and elder. Though not formally educated, she is very intelligent and thoughtful, reflecting on her own actions and on the legacy of slavery in Jamaica.
Though fierce and feisty, there is a softer side to Pauline. Her granddaughter thinks she shares the same hard heart as her grandmother, but Pauline counters, “’Ma heart not hard but ma spine strong. Sometime folks mix up them two tings.’” She does indeed show her heart in her interactions with others, especially in her relationship with Lamont. She sees his vulnerability behind his exterior and virtually adopts him as family. She also has a sense of humour, taking pride in her ability to be as foulmouthed as anyone: “If this man thinks he can win a swearing contest, he’s mistaken.”
The book examines the complex history of colonialism and slavery. Pauline uses stones from the old plantation mansion to build her home and then others in the village do as well. Building homes from the stones enslaved ancestors used to build the backra house is a symbolic reclamation of what was stolen from them and a proclamation that, though the white slave owner is gone, they have survived: “Backra house, the slavery ruin in the forest, where people, her people, her ancestors, toiled and died – no, were murdered – yet became a sanctuary for her.”
Pauline thinks about the meaning of land and its ownership: “Land is what bring the white people here an what mek them capture the Black people an force them clear it an plant it.” She decides that “Home . . . is the land. Not the house. The land will never turn against her.” Land for her is not a commodity; it’s the place that has shaped her identity. But to be at peace she wishes to “settle for herself the question of who owns the land on which her house sits.” Others may have ownership papers for the land but doesn’t her and her ancestors’ intimate and historical connection to the land give her some right to it?
Pauline and other characters speak in Jamaican patwa. This adds realism, but I did sometimes experience some difficulty with some words. I think listening to an audiobook version read by someone familiar with the language would be a good experience.
Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) or substack (https://doreenyakabuski.substack.com/) for over 1,100 of my book reviews.
Pauline has spent her entire life in Mason Hall, a rural Jamaican village. She believes she is not long for the world when the stones of her house begin to shift and she hears voices which she thinks are telling her “there’s atonement to be made”: “mebbe me can set tings right before ma time come.” As she considers what she must do, she reflects on her life and so the reader learns about her past. Self-educated, she raised two children with her beloved Clive and supported her family by becoming a ganja farmer. But there are secrets she has kept hidden from everyone and these are the ones she must now reveal to those she feels she has wronged. With the help of her granddaughter Justine and Lamont, a local teenager, she finds these people to make amends but also ends up discovering much she did not know.
It’s impossible not to like Pauline. Fiercely independent, she does not allow anyone to tell her how to live. She understands that many would dismiss her because she can be perceived as “Black, female, old, rural, foreign, poor, powerless, friendless, uneducated,” but she demands the respect she believes she deserves; certainly the last four adjectives do not apply to her. Even as a young girl, she was defiant and took decisive action against a predatory man, leaving a strong message: “That is for me an evry odda girl you ever put you nasty, dutty hand on.” Her life has not been easy, but she persevered and became a community builder and elder. Though not formally educated, she is very intelligent and thoughtful, reflecting on her own actions and on the legacy of slavery in Jamaica.
Though fierce and feisty, there is a softer side to Pauline. Her granddaughter thinks she shares the same hard heart as her grandmother, but Pauline counters, “’Ma heart not hard but ma spine strong. Sometime folks mix up them two tings.’” She does indeed show her heart in her interactions with others, especially in her relationship with Lamont. She sees his vulnerability behind his exterior and virtually adopts him as family. She also has a sense of humour, taking pride in her ability to be as foulmouthed as anyone: “If this man thinks he can win a swearing contest, he’s mistaken.”
The book examines the complex history of colonialism and slavery. Pauline uses stones from the old plantation mansion to build her home and then others in the village do as well. Building homes from the stones enslaved ancestors used to build the backra house is a symbolic reclamation of what was stolen from them and a proclamation that, though the white slave owner is gone, they have survived: “Backra house, the slavery ruin in the forest, where people, her people, her ancestors, toiled and died – no, were murdered – yet became a sanctuary for her.”
Pauline thinks about the meaning of land and its ownership: “Land is what bring the white people here an what mek them capture the Black people an force them clear it an plant it.” She decides that “Home . . . is the land. Not the house. The land will never turn against her.” Land for her is not a commodity; it’s the place that has shaped her identity. But to be at peace she wishes to “settle for herself the question of who owns the land on which her house sits.” Others may have ownership papers for the land but doesn’t her and her ancestors’ intimate and historical connection to the land give her some right to it?
Pauline and other characters speak in Jamaican patwa. This adds realism, but I did sometimes experience some difficulty with some words. I think listening to an audiobook version read by someone familiar with the language would be a good experience.
Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) or substack (https://doreenyakabuski.substack.com/) for over 1,100 of my book reviews.
June 24, 2025
“What people build holds their stories, buried, it’s true, but sometimes a new fissure lets them escape to find all who might listen. And there are many different witnesses to a life.”
Some stories move like a slow tide, sweeping gently across time and memory. Diana McCaulay’s ‘A House for Miss Pauline’ is one such novel.
Set in the Jamaican village of Mason Hall, the novel opens with 99-year-old Pauline Sinclair waking to the murmur of the stones that built her house. She sees it as a reminder that her time is ending, and that the past must not stay buried. Miss Pauline, once the region’s most well-known ganja farmer, knows she must settle old debts. Her house, made from the ruins of a colonial plantation, holds secrets, including the fate of a white American man who once tried to claim her land. With her granddaughter Justine and a teenage driver named Lamont, she begins a journey across the island to confront the people and choices that shaped her life.
I loved how McCaulay balances this reflective, emotionally heavy quest with a vivid portrait of a rural Jamaican community complete with prose that’s a mix of English and the local patois. The tone is contemplative but also polished with wry humor and tenderness. As the narrative unfolds, McCaulay brings in deeper histories of enslavement and displacement that live beneath Pauline’s personal memories with her house at the center of it all. The stones she used to build the house were from another house belonging to a white man and a slave owner, and Pauline’s stories are indelibly intertwined with them.
Pauline herself is as stubborn as those stones and is determined to bring the original owners of the house together in any way she can. In the process, she learns certain shocking truths about herself, which changes her perspectives and life as she thought it to be.
Lamont, the teenage boy reluctantly pulled into Pauline’s mission, is also a well-drawn character. Their relationship, which begins in wary practicality, softens into trust and shared understanding. McCaulay writes them out with care, avoiding sentimentality while allowing their connection to grow.
The novel contains touches of magical realism with its subtle, dreamlike elements like the whispering stones. More than plot devices, they serve as echoes of memory and conscience showing that Pauline’s journey is not simply physical, but moral.
I thought the novel slowed down, unnecessarily, in certain patches but it still doesn’t take away the pleasure of reading Miss Pauline’s story. This is one that requires you to be patient and reflective along with her. And it’s certainly rewarding when you reach the end.
I read this book for my #readanewcountry challenge for May. Thanks to Dialogue Books for my ARC.
Some stories move like a slow tide, sweeping gently across time and memory. Diana McCaulay’s ‘A House for Miss Pauline’ is one such novel.
Set in the Jamaican village of Mason Hall, the novel opens with 99-year-old Pauline Sinclair waking to the murmur of the stones that built her house. She sees it as a reminder that her time is ending, and that the past must not stay buried. Miss Pauline, once the region’s most well-known ganja farmer, knows she must settle old debts. Her house, made from the ruins of a colonial plantation, holds secrets, including the fate of a white American man who once tried to claim her land. With her granddaughter Justine and a teenage driver named Lamont, she begins a journey across the island to confront the people and choices that shaped her life.
I loved how McCaulay balances this reflective, emotionally heavy quest with a vivid portrait of a rural Jamaican community complete with prose that’s a mix of English and the local patois. The tone is contemplative but also polished with wry humor and tenderness. As the narrative unfolds, McCaulay brings in deeper histories of enslavement and displacement that live beneath Pauline’s personal memories with her house at the center of it all. The stones she used to build the house were from another house belonging to a white man and a slave owner, and Pauline’s stories are indelibly intertwined with them.
Pauline herself is as stubborn as those stones and is determined to bring the original owners of the house together in any way she can. In the process, she learns certain shocking truths about herself, which changes her perspectives and life as she thought it to be.
Lamont, the teenage boy reluctantly pulled into Pauline’s mission, is also a well-drawn character. Their relationship, which begins in wary practicality, softens into trust and shared understanding. McCaulay writes them out with care, avoiding sentimentality while allowing their connection to grow.
The novel contains touches of magical realism with its subtle, dreamlike elements like the whispering stones. More than plot devices, they serve as echoes of memory and conscience showing that Pauline’s journey is not simply physical, but moral.
I thought the novel slowed down, unnecessarily, in certain patches but it still doesn’t take away the pleasure of reading Miss Pauline’s story. This is one that requires you to be patient and reflective along with her. And it’s certainly rewarding when you reach the end.
I read this book for my #readanewcountry challenge for May. Thanks to Dialogue Books for my ARC.
February 24, 2025
4.5
I was hesitant. How can I possibly relate to an almost, but not quite, hundred year-old Jamaican women in the middle of nowhere? This book was on my shelf to be reviewed by the release date and time was running low. Having just read a nonfiction book partly about slaves in Jamaica, I wanted to dive into a beloved series or and familiar author, something lighthearted. This did not seem like any of those. I had the kindle book, but when I saw the audiobook available, I grabbed it, both reading parts and listening to parts. I find that audiobooks can often get me in to a book that is hard to get in to or even start. I’m so glad I took the chance!
Miss Pauline is a remarkable woman! The story goes between modern day when she is trying to get her affairs in order and flash backs to different key points in her life. Many parts of her life were distressing and I was nervous to hear/read about some of them, but Miss Pauline is the strongest woman ever, or possibly following right behind her friend Zepha. Her experiences were heartbreaking and heartwarming and it’s amazing to think that there are people living who are just a generation away from slavery. Though I have had experience living in places without many modern conveniences, it is also amazing to see how “off the grid” she lives or has lived, not feeling the need to use new conveniences that became available throughout her lifetime. It was entertaining, however, to experience her first use of a smartphone, the internet, and other technology, as well as exposure to places that she has never been.
I highly recommend the audio version of this book. What sounds like a British woman in the introduction, speaks for Miss Pauline and the other Jamaicans in a convincing way that the book doesn’t capture. It is interesting how some words are spelled to capture the dialect but were pronounced in the English standard way and other words written as the King’s English are read much differently but I’ve never are not, even though the accent is consistent with the narrator. I didn’t get nearly the same experience reading parts that I naturally read with my own dialect and miss out on much of the flavor of the story. The narrator also does a good job of the American accent for the several American characters. The only drawback is that I wasn’t completely happy with the ending. It was a bit tentative and seemed like it needed an epilogue.
Thank you to Diana McCaulay NetGalley, Algonquin Books, and Hachette Audio for providing me with a free advanced copies of this ebook and audiobook for my unbiased review.
#AHouseforMissPauline #NetGalley
I was hesitant. How can I possibly relate to an almost, but not quite, hundred year-old Jamaican women in the middle of nowhere? This book was on my shelf to be reviewed by the release date and time was running low. Having just read a nonfiction book partly about slaves in Jamaica, I wanted to dive into a beloved series or and familiar author, something lighthearted. This did not seem like any of those. I had the kindle book, but when I saw the audiobook available, I grabbed it, both reading parts and listening to parts. I find that audiobooks can often get me in to a book that is hard to get in to or even start. I’m so glad I took the chance!
Miss Pauline is a remarkable woman! The story goes between modern day when she is trying to get her affairs in order and flash backs to different key points in her life. Many parts of her life were distressing and I was nervous to hear/read about some of them, but Miss Pauline is the strongest woman ever, or possibly following right behind her friend Zepha. Her experiences were heartbreaking and heartwarming and it’s amazing to think that there are people living who are just a generation away from slavery. Though I have had experience living in places without many modern conveniences, it is also amazing to see how “off the grid” she lives or has lived, not feeling the need to use new conveniences that became available throughout her lifetime. It was entertaining, however, to experience her first use of a smartphone, the internet, and other technology, as well as exposure to places that she has never been.
I highly recommend the audio version of this book. What sounds like a British woman in the introduction, speaks for Miss Pauline and the other Jamaicans in a convincing way that the book doesn’t capture. It is interesting how some words are spelled to capture the dialect but were pronounced in the English standard way and other words written as the King’s English are read much differently but I’ve never are not, even though the accent is consistent with the narrator. I didn’t get nearly the same experience reading parts that I naturally read with my own dialect and miss out on much of the flavor of the story. The narrator also does a good job of the American accent for the several American characters. The only drawback is that I wasn’t completely happy with the ending. It was a bit tentative and seemed like it needed an epilogue.
Thank you to Diana McCaulay NetGalley, Algonquin Books, and Hachette Audio for providing me with a free advanced copies of this ebook and audiobook for my unbiased review.
#AHouseforMissPauline #NetGalley
August 11, 2025
This is a book with a strong central character in Miss Pauline as she tries to come to terms with both the past and the modern world as she approaches her 100th birthday. She is an amazing and unusual character for such a great age and I loved all her eccentric characteristics, such as carrying a cutlass, trying not to use her walking stick and riding on the back of a motorbike, not to mention her being a marijuana farmer! We felt she is described well and feel her struggles and her age. All the characters are well described and believable with their different motivations. I also liked young Lamont and enjoyed the unfolding unlikely friendship that forms between him and Miss Pauline and the way they can help each other out, Lamont helping her to get to grips with aspects of the modern world, such as how to make a video call, and Miss Pauline providing him with food, support and a comfortable bed in return, though in other ways she is an unlikely motherly figure.
I enjoyed the flashbacks and the way the story unfolded, as we gradually learn more about Miss Pauline’s past and the secrets concealed in her long life, as well as the contrast with the modern world with both its convenient technologies but extra complications. Lots of the characters seemed to have lost touch with their families, despite family being important to them.
This book immerses you in rural Jamaica, from the larger than life characters to the splatterings of patois you begin to feel submerged in the world of Mason Hall, the village where Miss Pauline lives and to which she is deeply attached. The difficult history of slavery and land ownership is touched upon in this powerful story that explores identity and belonging.
I enjoyed the flashbacks and the way the story unfolded, as we gradually learn more about Miss Pauline’s past and the secrets concealed in her long life, as well as the contrast with the modern world with both its convenient technologies but extra complications. Lots of the characters seemed to have lost touch with their families, despite family being important to them.
This book immerses you in rural Jamaica, from the larger than life characters to the splatterings of patois you begin to feel submerged in the world of Mason Hall, the village where Miss Pauline lives and to which she is deeply attached. The difficult history of slavery and land ownership is touched upon in this powerful story that explores identity and belonging.
March 4, 2025
I listened to A House for Miss Pauline on audio, which I think was a different experience for me than it would have been in print. A lot of the dialogue and inner thoughts are written in Patois, and the narrator’s convincing Jamaican accent made it flow better and gave it much more of a sense of place than reading in print would have. I wouldn’t have taken the time with the language that the audio forces me too. It’s too easy for me to skim over bits when I’m reading an ebook or hardback, but I always listen to audios at 1.0X, never sped up.
And this is a good book to take time with. Pauline Sinclair is 99 years old and has spent her whole life in the rural Jamaican village of Mason Hall. When the stones of her house start moving and speaking to her during the night, she knows it’s time to take stock of her life and maybe make some things right before she dies.
Miss Pauline is a fabulous character. She’s tough and loyal and has fought for everything she has. She’s lost people she’s loved and made difficult decisions. But she is also still open to meeting and caring about new people. Her relationships with family, both biological and found, are rich and sometimes complicated.
As a book, it can feel meandering, but I mean that in a good way. Miss Pauline has lived a long life and as she looks back over it, certain times and incidents stand out, some dramatic and some sweet. Through her stories, we also see Jamaica’s history – slavery, colonialism, natural disasters, labor disputes. It’s definitely more character based than plot focused.
This one was a little outside of what I typically read, but I loved Miss Pauline and thoroughly enjoyed the book.
And this is a good book to take time with. Pauline Sinclair is 99 years old and has spent her whole life in the rural Jamaican village of Mason Hall. When the stones of her house start moving and speaking to her during the night, she knows it’s time to take stock of her life and maybe make some things right before she dies.
Miss Pauline is a fabulous character. She’s tough and loyal and has fought for everything she has. She’s lost people she’s loved and made difficult decisions. But she is also still open to meeting and caring about new people. Her relationships with family, both biological and found, are rich and sometimes complicated.
As a book, it can feel meandering, but I mean that in a good way. Miss Pauline has lived a long life and as she looks back over it, certain times and incidents stand out, some dramatic and some sweet. Through her stories, we also see Jamaica’s history – slavery, colonialism, natural disasters, labor disputes. It’s definitely more character based than plot focused.
This one was a little outside of what I typically read, but I loved Miss Pauline and thoroughly enjoyed the book.
April 23, 2025
Maybe you have to go into the past to make the present right…. what happens when you use stones from an old plantation house to build your own….
The story explores the impacts of colonialism and slavery, themes of identity, culture and complexities in Jamaica told through the viewpoint of an unlikely protagonist, Miss Pauline; a symbol of resistance. Miss Pauline, a cut lass swinging, cruse word swearing, retired ganja farming rebel akin to the likes of Queen Nanny…. but we also meet a softer side of her, delving into her past and as she is reckoning and reflecting on life decisions just shy her of 100th birthday.
Loved the vivid imagery of Jamaica’s landscape and use of authentic patios dialect. The harmonious narrative of the past and present immersive storytelling perfectly synthesizes both a strong character and plot driven novel, which had me hooked!
I was initially drawn to this book because I love a good duppy (ghost) story that combines historical fiction. Although there were sprinkles of that, I walked away with such appreciation for this tender and graceful story about life, lineages, and land.
Some readers may not like the slower paced but it worked really well for the plot and character development.
Check this book out if you like:
~Strong female leads
~Historical fiction
~Caribbean Literature
~Plot driven secrets
~A bit of magical realism and folklore
Recommend reads if you like this book:
~Book of Night Woman by Marlon James
~From Harvey River by Lorna Goodison
~How to say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
~Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
~These Ghosts are Family by Maisy Card
The story explores the impacts of colonialism and slavery, themes of identity, culture and complexities in Jamaica told through the viewpoint of an unlikely protagonist, Miss Pauline; a symbol of resistance. Miss Pauline, a cut lass swinging, cruse word swearing, retired ganja farming rebel akin to the likes of Queen Nanny…. but we also meet a softer side of her, delving into her past and as she is reckoning and reflecting on life decisions just shy her of 100th birthday.
Loved the vivid imagery of Jamaica’s landscape and use of authentic patios dialect. The harmonious narrative of the past and present immersive storytelling perfectly synthesizes both a strong character and plot driven novel, which had me hooked!
I was initially drawn to this book because I love a good duppy (ghost) story that combines historical fiction. Although there were sprinkles of that, I walked away with such appreciation for this tender and graceful story about life, lineages, and land.
Some readers may not like the slower paced but it worked really well for the plot and character development.
Check this book out if you like:
~Strong female leads
~Historical fiction
~Caribbean Literature
~Plot driven secrets
~A bit of magical realism and folklore
Recommend reads if you like this book:
~Book of Night Woman by Marlon James
~From Harvey River by Lorna Goodison
~How to say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
~Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
~These Ghosts are Family by Maisy Card
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