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Dream House
Gina balances between her current life in California and her past in Maine. Torn between the two, she does what any architect will do. She deconstructs her old childhood home piece by piece and with it, the secrets it carries. In the months following her parents’ fatal car accident in Maine, architect Gina Gilbert is coming anxious with her two young children, alienated by her clients’ grand house dreams, and no longer certain she feels at home in San Francisco. While she and her sister Cassie are cleaning out their childhood home on the coast of Maine, they stir up painful memories and resentments over family possessions. A legendary collection of historically significant letters is missing from the artifacts they unearth, supporting a decades-old suspicion that their aunt or estranged cousin has stolen them. Threatened by the loss of the old house and its extraordinary seaside landscape, Gina finds her heart swinging wildly between Maine and California, creating conflict with her husband, Paul. To learn what the Maine house means to her, she approaches it objectively, as an architect, bringing it to life on paper. Her family’s story unfolds room by the darkroom from which her gentle but passive father, Ron, ran his photography business, the kitchen where her volatile mother, Eleanor, toiled under the weight of dashed dreams. As children, Gina and Cassie warily navigated rooms permeated with toxic secrets hobbling Eleanor and Ron’s marriage. As Gina deconstructs the house, startling truths are revealed, changing family history and allowing Gina and Cassie to begin healing family wounds. Gina has the chance to search the recesses of her heart, too, discovering within her a vitalizing compassion and an awakened understanding of what makes a house a home. If you enjoyed books like The Dancing Girls , The Murmur of Bees , or Little White Secrets ; then you’ll love Dream House .
320 pages, Hardcover
First published November 10, 2015
31 people are currently reading
631 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Armsden
2 books27 followersCatherine Armsden’s fascination with architecture was ignited during her childhood growing up among the weather-beaten houses of coastal Maine. Educated in New England, she moved in 1983 with her husband, Lewis Butler, to San Francisco, where they co-founded Butler Armsden Architects. Dream House is her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
November 30, 2015
I'd rate this 4.5 stars.
"She pondered how shared feelings could pull people closer, or, left unaddressed, like a misplaced or forgotten line in a drawing, could change the course of lives. There were no blueprints for a human life, no architect to pore over details that would ensure a sound and enduring structure."
In Catherine Armsden's beautiful, moving Dream House , Gina Gilbert is a San Francisco architect whose life is in the midst of significant turmoil. Her parents died suddenly in a freak car accident, and she and her older sister Cassie must pack up their childhood home in Maine so it can be sold by their parents' landlord. The house was the epicenter of some of Gina's most cherished moments, as well as many tumultuous ones, as she and Cassie navigated their parents' stormy relationship, their mother's emotional outbursts, and the tension that existed between their mother and her sister, who lived in the family's legacy, a house once owned by Sidney Banton, secretary to George Washington.
At the same time, Gina is growing increasingly anxious over the well-being of her own children, not realizing that her over-protectiveness and emotional instability mirrors her mother's when she was growing up. And it's been nearly two years since she and her husband bought property in Marin, but despite her ability to design houses and serve her clients' requests, she seems to have "architect's block" when it comes to designing her own house, a fact that is putting a strain on her marriage.
Gina returns to Maine to try and figure out where her head is, and spend some time with her childhood home. As she approaches the house like an architect would, studying the form and structure of each room, she also unearths memories, both good and bad, and reframes her parents' tumultuous relationship. She also tries to understand her mother and what made her act the way she did, and begins remembering the family issues she had repressed or forgotten, in the hopes she might be able to come to terms with her own issues.
Many books have been written about the reflection and soul-searching that comes after the death of one's parents, and the return to our childhood home. While some of the issues that Armsden explores in Dream House aren't new, her tremendous storytelling ability and use of language elevates this over other similar stories. But what sets this book apart is the way it juxtaposes emotion with architecture, and how both come together to tell the story of a family.
"Perhaps in this world there were no owners or renters, only borrowers choosing a bit of ground to call home during their short stay on earth. We must choose carefully, Gina thought; when we set our walls down to enclose something ordinary or extraordinary, we must be passionate about what we capture, inside and out."
This book really struck me in so many ways, and so many times I found myself in awe of Armsden's writing. I'll admit that Gina's character and her indecision irked me from time to time, but I understood where she was coming from, and just found the whole story tremendously moving. A great find.
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
"She pondered how shared feelings could pull people closer, or, left unaddressed, like a misplaced or forgotten line in a drawing, could change the course of lives. There were no blueprints for a human life, no architect to pore over details that would ensure a sound and enduring structure."
In Catherine Armsden's beautiful, moving Dream House , Gina Gilbert is a San Francisco architect whose life is in the midst of significant turmoil. Her parents died suddenly in a freak car accident, and she and her older sister Cassie must pack up their childhood home in Maine so it can be sold by their parents' landlord. The house was the epicenter of some of Gina's most cherished moments, as well as many tumultuous ones, as she and Cassie navigated their parents' stormy relationship, their mother's emotional outbursts, and the tension that existed between their mother and her sister, who lived in the family's legacy, a house once owned by Sidney Banton, secretary to George Washington.
At the same time, Gina is growing increasingly anxious over the well-being of her own children, not realizing that her over-protectiveness and emotional instability mirrors her mother's when she was growing up. And it's been nearly two years since she and her husband bought property in Marin, but despite her ability to design houses and serve her clients' requests, she seems to have "architect's block" when it comes to designing her own house, a fact that is putting a strain on her marriage.
Gina returns to Maine to try and figure out where her head is, and spend some time with her childhood home. As she approaches the house like an architect would, studying the form and structure of each room, she also unearths memories, both good and bad, and reframes her parents' tumultuous relationship. She also tries to understand her mother and what made her act the way she did, and begins remembering the family issues she had repressed or forgotten, in the hopes she might be able to come to terms with her own issues.
Many books have been written about the reflection and soul-searching that comes after the death of one's parents, and the return to our childhood home. While some of the issues that Armsden explores in Dream House aren't new, her tremendous storytelling ability and use of language elevates this over other similar stories. But what sets this book apart is the way it juxtaposes emotion with architecture, and how both come together to tell the story of a family.
"Perhaps in this world there were no owners or renters, only borrowers choosing a bit of ground to call home during their short stay on earth. We must choose carefully, Gina thought; when we set our walls down to enclose something ordinary or extraordinary, we must be passionate about what we capture, inside and out."
This book really struck me in so many ways, and so many times I found myself in awe of Armsden's writing. I'll admit that Gina's character and her indecision irked me from time to time, but I understood where she was coming from, and just found the whole story tremendously moving. A great find.
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
April 24, 2019
I loved the first few pages of this novel, atmospherically describing an empty house. After such a promising beginning though, the book soon becomes the kind of novel I just don’t care about: the tale of the dysfunctional family and how our protagonist has been damaged by it, even well into adulthood.
Gina is an architect, as is the author, and I enjoyed the descriptions of her work and the way she makes houses part of the story. As a native of Maine, I also enjoyed her setting, the fictional town of Whit’s Point, which stands in for Kittery on the far south coast of the state, across from the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire (called Riversport in the book).
When family tragedy takes Gina back to Maine from the new life she’s made in San Francisco with a husband two children, her issues with her family, especially with her mother, bubble to the surface and threaten her emotional health. It’s clear to the reader that her mother was clinically depressed and may have had other issues as well. I get that would be hard on kids, I really do, and I am sympathetic that this story is apparently based on Armsden’s own childhood. But at some point, I feel like smacking Gina, the way Loretta (Cher) does Ronnie (Nicolas Cage) in Moonstruck, and yelling “snap out of it!”
As with most dysfunctional family stories, it’s the same old stuff: crisis, emotional turmoil, catharsis, acceptance. Lather, rinse, repeat. It’s not a bad version of the same old stuff, but there’s nothing new here except for the house and architecture bits.
Gina is an architect, as is the author, and I enjoyed the descriptions of her work and the way she makes houses part of the story. As a native of Maine, I also enjoyed her setting, the fictional town of Whit’s Point, which stands in for Kittery on the far south coast of the state, across from the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire (called Riversport in the book).
When family tragedy takes Gina back to Maine from the new life she’s made in San Francisco with a husband two children, her issues with her family, especially with her mother, bubble to the surface and threaten her emotional health. It’s clear to the reader that her mother was clinically depressed and may have had other issues as well. I get that would be hard on kids, I really do, and I am sympathetic that this story is apparently based on Armsden’s own childhood. But at some point, I feel like smacking Gina, the way Loretta (Cher) does Ronnie (Nicolas Cage) in Moonstruck, and yelling “snap out of it!”
As with most dysfunctional family stories, it’s the same old stuff: crisis, emotional turmoil, catharsis, acceptance. Lather, rinse, repeat. It’s not a bad version of the same old stuff, but there’s nothing new here except for the house and architecture bits.
April 26, 2016
I have to admit that although I gave this book 3 stars, I didn't really like it. I awarded the stars based on the author's writing skills. The plot, however, was another matter. This is a novel that, yet again, features a neurotic, self-absorbed, dysfunctional professional woman, Gina - this time an architect - who is obsessed with her past and completely ignores her husband, children, and clients in pursuit of something in that past that is never really made clear. The author, being an architect herself, uses the protagonist's family home as the metaphor for her search. I disliked Gina so much that it was a struggle for me to finish this book. I mightily wish I had followed my first instinct, which was to leave the book unfinished.
January 26, 2016
Extremely well written, this book fascinated the architect-wannabe that still lurks within me, residue from junior high days. (In those days, early '50s, girls just didn't DO that kind of work!) Amrsden creates a female character who, although her business is designing houses, has so many issues with the house she lived in growing up that it interferes with her adult life. When her parents die unexpectedly in an automobile accident, all the volatile emotions surrounding where she lived with them nearly incapacitate her.
I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the plot (and its predictable but satisfying resolution) as much as the thoughtful and provocative comments and reflections about how we live in houses, what we need from them, not to mention the surprising ability of "sticks and stones" to influence us forever.
If I have any criticism of this work, its only that it seemed a little too neat in terms of its wrap-up, but it was a highly enjoyable read.
I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the plot (and its predictable but satisfying resolution) as much as the thoughtful and provocative comments and reflections about how we live in houses, what we need from them, not to mention the surprising ability of "sticks and stones" to influence us forever.
If I have any criticism of this work, its only that it seemed a little too neat in terms of its wrap-up, but it was a highly enjoyable read.
March 26, 2016
Moderately entertaining. Gina Gilbert is a successful architect who can design dream houses for everyone but her own family. She returns to Maine following her parent's death to try to understand her mother's obsession with Lily House her mother's childhood home. Secrets and lies surround Gina as she unravels the mystery of some letters written by George Washington in the family's possession.
The story dragged at points and the characters seemed unevenly developed. I wanted to care more about Gina, but felt there was something missing.
I did love the descriptions of the Maine coast.
The story dragged at points and the characters seemed unevenly developed. I wanted to care more about Gina, but felt there was something missing.
I did love the descriptions of the Maine coast.
December 8, 2015
I received this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
A well told story about a woman who goes through a healing process after her parents pass away suddenly. Story line of how young children perceive what/who their parents are and then in adulthood, can relate to those very same choices.
I loved the quotes that introduced each chapter.
A well told story about a woman who goes through a healing process after her parents pass away suddenly. Story line of how young children perceive what/who their parents are and then in adulthood, can relate to those very same choices.
I loved the quotes that introduced each chapter.
April 26, 2016
Very disappointing read, I was expecting more based on reviews and forced myself to finish this book. It lacks character development and made for a boring read. I give it 2 stars because I finished it as opposed to giving up on it early on
May 28, 2017
Armsden does a lovely job of explaining the importance of place--the particular associations of memory, space, life-changing events, community and culture--through a beautifully woven family tale.
And of course, as an architect, I totally related to the storylines of being the most blocked when designing something new for yourself, and also of needing to measure and draw the house you grew up in. The book is filled with charming images of Maine and of the traditions of "the greatest generation" of New Englanders (I am feeling that Armsden's parents had a lot in common with my own).
I got fully warmed up to the story and the message of this novel at about Chapter 3, and then didn't put it down until the family secrets were finally revealed to the protagonist, loose ends were tied up, and the things good and bad that happen to us all in life were mostly resolved through love.
Plus one for the inclusion of touchstone music of the sixties at key moments when our heroine is at her wit's end.
And of course, as an architect, I totally related to the storylines of being the most blocked when designing something new for yourself, and also of needing to measure and draw the house you grew up in. The book is filled with charming images of Maine and of the traditions of "the greatest generation" of New Englanders (I am feeling that Armsden's parents had a lot in common with my own).
I got fully warmed up to the story and the message of this novel at about Chapter 3, and then didn't put it down until the family secrets were finally revealed to the protagonist, loose ends were tied up, and the things good and bad that happen to us all in life were mostly resolved through love.
Plus one for the inclusion of touchstone music of the sixties at key moments when our heroine is at her wit's end.
June 4, 2017
I found this book to be unbelievably boring and rather pointless.
Part of the problem were the extremely detailed architectural references and descriptions (which I'm sadly not even a little bit interested in). The other part of the problem was that the book really had no point.
In short, the plot was predictable, the characters unlikable, the topic dry and dull.
Clearly readers enjoyed this book so I'm likely in the minority here, but I wouldn't recommend it at all.
Part of the problem were the extremely detailed architectural references and descriptions (which I'm sadly not even a little bit interested in). The other part of the problem was that the book really had no point.
In short, the plot was predictable, the characters unlikable, the topic dry and dull.
Clearly readers enjoyed this book so I'm likely in the minority here, but I wouldn't recommend it at all.
June 23, 2017
I'd give this 3.5 stars. Bumped it to four as I felt bad giving it 3. It dragged in some places but I really loved the flashback scenes, and Gina's obsession with her childhood home resonated with me. I'm also that way when it comes to the house I spent my formative years in. I still have dreams set in that house. Lots of milestones happened to me there. Family turmoil, as well. So, I really understood where Gina was coming from, even if I found her a little bit selfish.
August 3, 2017
A woman cleaning out her childhood home confronts memories of her years living there. A little on the depressing side and awkward in a few places but redeemed by the way the house becomes a character in the story. I enjoyed the writing style.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2017
Boring
Should of listened to the one star reviews. Worst book I read this year. This book just won't end for me. I could explain why it was so bad but it just isn't worth my time. Boring don't waste your time.
Should of listened to the one star reviews. Worst book I read this year. This book just won't end for me. I could explain why it was so bad but it just isn't worth my time. Boring don't waste your time.
July 29, 2017
I enjoyed the unexpected ending and that it took place in beautiful Maine but the book seemed to drag on.
February 3, 2019
Gina is annoying for the first half of the book, but stick to it, and she gets better, along with the whole story.
June 20, 2019
Enjoyed. I agree about the "coldness" of CAD drawing. I prefer pen and ink too.
November 10, 2015
Catherine Armsden’s novel “Dream House” is a compelling meditation on the concept of “home”. What does it take to be able to feel “at home” in one’s adult life? Is it even possible if one can’t let go of or understand what happened in one’s childhood home? The book’s main character, Gina, is an architect struggling to design a home for her husband and children. She can easily design houses for her clients but creating her own home eludes her. She flees her life in California and heads back east to her childhood home on the coast of Maine. Instinctively, she knows that this place must be the source of her panic and struggle. Gina uses her architectural skills to enter into and make sense of her childhood world. By drawing each room of the now empty house, she is able to look at the memories those rooms contain. This process allows her to let go of her childhood and her childhood home and create a new adult home of her own.
November 6, 2015
I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway.
This is a novel written by an architect about houses and about families, both among my favorite subjects for a good story. For those who might initially judge a book by its curb appeal, myself included, the cover is beautiful!
Each chapter begins with an quotation from architecture literature. The flashback part of the story is organized room by room in the family home situated on the coast of Maine.
The architectural details of the book add an interesting dimension to a well-paced story of a family coping with changes brought by parents' death, old secrets, and two generations of troubled mother-daughter-sister relationships. The family houses are central: a historic house that no longer belongs to the family and a dilapidated rental that was the sisters' childhood home.
I found this to be a well-written, engaging book that addresses serious issues about home, houses, and families.
This is a novel written by an architect about houses and about families, both among my favorite subjects for a good story. For those who might initially judge a book by its curb appeal, myself included, the cover is beautiful!
Each chapter begins with an quotation from architecture literature. The flashback part of the story is organized room by room in the family home situated on the coast of Maine.
The architectural details of the book add an interesting dimension to a well-paced story of a family coping with changes brought by parents' death, old secrets, and two generations of troubled mother-daughter-sister relationships. The family houses are central: a historic house that no longer belongs to the family and a dilapidated rental that was the sisters' childhood home.
I found this to be a well-written, engaging book that addresses serious issues about home, houses, and families.
June 28, 2016
I received this book from a goodreads giveaway.
This is the story of a family and the importance of a home and a sense of place for that family, as well as how history of the family is passed down through the house/home. There is also the element of what can happen when there are misunderstandings left to linger and fester over time. The ramifications of these can be significant. I really enjoyed this story. Good characters and character development, wonderful setting, excellent plot development.
I would have liked more resolution on a couple of the elements in the story, but I think the author left those ambiguous and the reader can draw his/her own conclusions. The ending was left open, but with a hopeful tone that there will be reconciliation for the cousins and a new deeper sense of family.
This is the story of a family and the importance of a home and a sense of place for that family, as well as how history of the family is passed down through the house/home. There is also the element of what can happen when there are misunderstandings left to linger and fester over time. The ramifications of these can be significant. I really enjoyed this story. Good characters and character development, wonderful setting, excellent plot development.
I would have liked more resolution on a couple of the elements in the story, but I think the author left those ambiguous and the reader can draw his/her own conclusions. The ending was left open, but with a hopeful tone that there will be reconciliation for the cousins and a new deeper sense of family.
June 20, 2016
My own connection with the house I grew up in (still the only house that shows up in my dreams) and my connection with the house that my husband and I call home really made this book special to me. The author really understands, on a gut level, about the difference between a building where people put their stuff and a real home.
Reminds me a little of what Mr. Halloran says to Danny in "The Shining" - how places can retain traces of things that have happened there. Memories, feelings, all of that leave a flavor, a scent, somehow still discernible even decades later.
My only criticism: The author uses the word "slinked" instead of "slunk", and uses it too often.
My favorite thing: The quotes that start the book, and preface every chapter - brilliant!
Reminds me a little of what Mr. Halloran says to Danny in "The Shining" - how places can retain traces of things that have happened there. Memories, feelings, all of that leave a flavor, a scent, somehow still discernible even decades later.
My only criticism: The author uses the word "slinked" instead of "slunk", and uses it too often.
My favorite thing: The quotes that start the book, and preface every chapter - brilliant!
November 30, 2015
This wonderful story is about a architect Gina & how she has to make decisions & understand the loss of her parents with the help of her sister they have to clean out her parents home. But when she goes back to her family in San Francisco she feels very disconnected and can't figure out why, so she goes back and stays with family friends and see the house in a different way. She gets answers to why she always felt a big disconnect from her mother growing up and works out a family legion. She get the drawings of her family home and answer she was looking for. This was a wonderful story and made me cry just a little.
December 3, 2015
A young woman goes back to her childhood home with her sister to uncover the secrets of her family's past. Her mother was a bit unhinged and her father kind of just went along with it. The book is written in flashbacks between the past and the present with some beautiful and expressive language. I liked how the characters were depicted, but as I read the book and it moved forward, it became a bit more tedious and kind of dragged on. Overall, it was a so so read with a strong main character but suffered from a plot that never really went very far.
April 1, 2016
A young female architect, living on the West Coast is drawn back to the East Coast where she grew up in a rental in Maine. Her parents have died in an auto accident. Her sister comes back to join her in cleaning up the family home. A lot of childhood memories are brought forth as well. What does the Maine home really mean to her? Did she really have a bad childhood or do her memories make her believe she did.
I'm not sure how I felt about this book. I wanted to keep on reading it because I thought I knew the outcome. I was wrong.
I'm not sure how I felt about this book. I wanted to keep on reading it because I thought I knew the outcome. I was wrong.
September 22, 2015
This is a MUST escape read. Anyone who has visited the same area for a summer holiday or lived in a house for their formative years will just breathe nostalgia about reading "Dream House"! It is a welcome treat from generic pleasurable fiction. The author thoughtfully included a reflective comments from our world's historical and contemporary architects at the beginning of each chapter. Reading "Dream House" was like a sweeter dream than eating the frosting on a piece of cake.
November 7, 2015
This book I won on Goodread. I loved this book. Dream House is a story about Gina Gilbert who is an architect. How the house she grew up in has a hold on her and how she deals with it. Her parents die and she and her sister Cassie have to clean out the house because her parents rented the house there whole lives. Gina leaves her husband and kids in California for one summer while she deals with this hold. In the end the house is sold and torn down for a new house. Gina learns to move on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2015
This book hits close to home, as I am in the midst of letting go of a summer house. In the book, the disfunction and the joys of the family patterns resonate in the walls and spaces of the old house. The ultimate understanding and forgiveness that the main character achieves makes for a satisfying ending. It's a wonderful and sensitive book, and the fact that it's a first novel is very impressive. Congratulations, Catherine!
February 7, 2016
In Catherine Armsden’s novel, ‘Dream House,’ sisters Gina and Cassie confront the death of their parents and examine their mother’s legacy of hostility against the world and her own sister. With a beloved house in Maine standing in as a repository of past sin, pleasure, and memory, Armsden settles old scores and mysteries with a word architect’s precision. This is a book to read when you’re snug in your own house, or daydreaming about how a joyful family makes any shelter a home.
February 28, 2016
Gina and her sister are cleaning out their childhood home after the death of their parents. When Gina returns home she can't seem to settle back into her life as a wife, mother and architect. She begins to fall apart and decides to return to her hometown and take a look at her life in this house. Memories, both good and bad surface to tell Gina's story.. She begins to reconcile her relationship with her mother and discovers the life she has always wanted. A well written debut.
February 22, 2016
Any book with a house on the Maine coast, small boats attracts me. This one near Nubble Light, my territory for 16 mos. However the book dwells on the inter feelings of Gina/Ginny. Living now in Calif. but back in Maine to settle her parents estate she is confronted with her past. Book ends well, but in the middle, the reflections with another name confusing for this reader.
January 26, 2017
There were parts of this writing that I struggled to read because there was so much emotion coming from the main character. It was a great display of how secrets can destroy families or in some cases save them. Five stars!
November 15, 2015
Dream house was the story of a house's history through the life of its people. The story gave some fascinating twists. I enjoyed reading it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews