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Keeping the House
Lonely, restless, and bored with her life as a housewife in 1950s Pine Rapids, Wisconsin, Dolly Magnuson becomes fascinated by the abandoned grand old house on the hill overlooking the town and sets out to unravel the dark secrets of the family that had once owned it.
951 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
295 people are currently reading
2973 people want to read
About the author
Ellen Baker
4 books345 followersEllen Baker is the author of the novels SUMMERLAND COVE (coming June 2, 2026), THE HIDDEN LIFE OF CECILY LARSON, KEEPING THE HOUSE, and I GAVE MY HEART TO KNOW THIS. She has worked as a museum curator and as a bookseller and event coordinator at an independent bookstore. Originally from the Upper Midwest, Ellen currently lives on the coast of Maine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 487 reviews
August 5, 2007
Okay, I LOVED this book. It was SO freaking good and I raced through it, even though it was longish (over 500 pages). I literally finished it all in one plane ride. I didn't expect to like it because it seemed like it might be a little domestic/quaint for me. The characters were great, the interwoven plot lines were great... I just thought this book was awesome. I've been thinking about it for days.
December 26, 2017
This story takes place in the 1950's, with all that entails as far as what is expected of the so-called "housewife". Dolly Magnuson, a newlywed, falls in love with an old abandoned house in Wisconsin. Soon after marrying, she tries to conform to the 1950's norms, but realizes it's not like she's been reading in her women's magazines. She tries to be the attentive wife, plan meals every day, and be content, but it begins to wear on her, as she is a woman who wanted to fly airplanes at one time! When she finds the abandoned home, she becomes consumed by the history of the generations who lived there. This is the story of Dolly's determination to solve the mysteries of the home and what happened to the people who used to live there.
October 9, 2007
This novel is essentially about marriage in the 50s, and how it was impacted by both world wars as well as by conventions of the time. The story itself started out slowly for me. I thought it was a little simplistic, even for a "simpler" time. One of the more interesting features was excerpts from magazines such as "Good Housekeeping" from the early '50s, giving advice about how to keep the house and the husband happy. The story eventually picked up its' pace, with several family secrets exposed that kept the plot more interesting.
February 6, 2008
Set in Wisconsin, this is the story of two families: the Magnusons and the Mickelsons.
Dolly and Byron Magnuson just moved to Pine Rapids, WI. It is 1950, and Dolly is desperately trying to be the perfect wife. While working on a quilt with the town's old biddies, she learns of the other family.
The Mickelsons lived in Pine Rapids also. Wilma and John were married in 1896 and lived in a grand house in the small town. They had four children, two of whom served in WWI and two grandchildren, one of whom served in WWII.
Both marriages challenge the wives. Both women are not quite sure that marriage is the right choice for them. Through stories of the Mickelson family, Dolly learns that she is not alone in her struggles.
This is a great novel. The Mickelson family saga is engrossing, and Dolly is a very likeable character as well.
2/6/08
Dolly and Byron Magnuson just moved to Pine Rapids, WI. It is 1950, and Dolly is desperately trying to be the perfect wife. While working on a quilt with the town's old biddies, she learns of the other family.
The Mickelsons lived in Pine Rapids also. Wilma and John were married in 1896 and lived in a grand house in the small town. They had four children, two of whom served in WWI and two grandchildren, one of whom served in WWII.
Both marriages challenge the wives. Both women are not quite sure that marriage is the right choice for them. Through stories of the Mickelson family, Dolly learns that she is not alone in her struggles.
This is a great novel. The Mickelson family saga is engrossing, and Dolly is a very likeable character as well.
2/6/08
June 26, 2022
I had a hard start reading this book but I’m glad I stuck with it! The author did a beautiful job at weaving in different narratives across generations, creating a family saga of war torn boys, their lives after war, and all the ways war touched their families, centered around a house, and all the sorrow and secrets it’s walls held.
October 26, 2021
Digital audiobook read by Christine Williams
1.5*
From the book jacket: Set in the conformist 1950s and reaching back to span two world wars, [this] is the story of a newlywed who falls in love with a grand abandoned house and begins to unravel dark secrets woven through the generations of a family.
My reactions
The novel begins with a prelude set in 1896, when a young married couple come to Pine Rapids, Wisconsin, then moves forward to 1950, as newlywed Dolly Magnuson struggles to fulfill her role as the perfect wife to Byron. She’s young, somewhat naïve, and eager to join the nearly closed society of this small town.
I was interested in Dolly’s story line and was hoping for more insight into her maturation process. But Baker’s choices in the plot made me unsympathetic to this young woman. I found her easily swayed, overly romantic, and almost hopelessly immature. The additional “secret” behind the Michelson property, and the constant moving back in time to tell that family’s story, did nothing for me. It seemed like a melodramatic soap opera. It’s a pretty tangled web of intrigue and betrayal among a group of family members that … in my opinion … deserve one another. Okay … that was possibly too harsh as Anne and Elissa seem more victims than perpetrators, and Harry proves his mettle at the end.
Anyway .. I disliked the bunch of them and finished the book only because it satisfied a challenge.
Christine Williams did a fine job narrating the audiobook. She sets a good pace and her diction is clear enough to be understandable even at double speed. Too bad she didn’t have better material to work with.
1.5*
From the book jacket: Set in the conformist 1950s and reaching back to span two world wars, [this] is the story of a newlywed who falls in love with a grand abandoned house and begins to unravel dark secrets woven through the generations of a family.
My reactions
The novel begins with a prelude set in 1896, when a young married couple come to Pine Rapids, Wisconsin, then moves forward to 1950, as newlywed Dolly Magnuson struggles to fulfill her role as the perfect wife to Byron. She’s young, somewhat naïve, and eager to join the nearly closed society of this small town.
I was interested in Dolly’s story line and was hoping for more insight into her maturation process. But Baker’s choices in the plot made me unsympathetic to this young woman. I found her easily swayed, overly romantic, and almost hopelessly immature. The additional “secret” behind the Michelson property, and the constant moving back in time to tell that family’s story, did nothing for me. It seemed like a melodramatic soap opera. It’s a pretty tangled web of intrigue and betrayal among a group of family members that … in my opinion … deserve one another. Okay … that was possibly too harsh as Anne and Elissa seem more victims than perpetrators, and Harry proves his mettle at the end.
Anyway .. I disliked the bunch of them and finished the book only because it satisfied a challenge.
Christine Williams did a fine job narrating the audiobook. She sets a good pace and her diction is clear enough to be understandable even at double speed. Too bad she didn’t have better material to work with.
June 15, 2017
Keeping the House is a family saga that begins in 1896 and ends in October of 1950. The Mickelsons are a prominent family in Pine Rapids, Wisconsin, and their lives are shadowed by grief and betrayal.
Dolly Magnuson moves to Pine Rapids in 1950 and discovers the beautiful old Mickelson house vacant on top of its hill. She is new to town and her husband is always working, so she finds respite by going to Ladies Aid meetings and exploring the abandoned home. Dolly is drawn into the family's sordid past and becomes obsessed with the house and her desire to move there, even though there may be a "curse" set on it- it was built on top of an Indian Burial ground and nothing but heartache has ever come to the Mickelson family.
Keeping the House was slow to start, especially since the point of view and time period shifts so much at the beginning. It was hard to get a handle on all of the characters at first, and when the author was particularly verbose about describing a household task, I did skim a little bit. But! I loved the character development of many of the characters, especially Dolly and JJ. Some of the aspects of their storylines was disappointing, but I think that is a testament to how life is too, sometimes. The snippets above each chapter from different homemaker publications from the '40s and '50s were sometimes funny and other times heartbreaking. Looking at it from an historical and feminist perspective was interesting too- how so much responsibility of a "successful" marriage and home life was on the woman and how stifling it could be. The minor redemption at the end was also true to life, however unsatisfying it was. The big "twist" in the plot I could see coming and it was a little out of the blue, but didn't change my opinion in any way. I struggled between 3 and 4 stars, but rounded up due to not being able to think about anything else but this 500+ page book for the past two days.
Dolly Magnuson moves to Pine Rapids in 1950 and discovers the beautiful old Mickelson house vacant on top of its hill. She is new to town and her husband is always working, so she finds respite by going to Ladies Aid meetings and exploring the abandoned home. Dolly is drawn into the family's sordid past and becomes obsessed with the house and her desire to move there, even though there may be a "curse" set on it- it was built on top of an Indian Burial ground and nothing but heartache has ever come to the Mickelson family.
Keeping the House was slow to start, especially since the point of view and time period shifts so much at the beginning. It was hard to get a handle on all of the characters at first, and when the author was particularly verbose about describing a household task, I did skim a little bit. But! I loved the character development of many of the characters, especially Dolly and JJ. Some of the aspects of their storylines was disappointing, but I think that is a testament to how life is too, sometimes. The snippets above each chapter from different homemaker publications from the '40s and '50s were sometimes funny and other times heartbreaking. Looking at it from an historical and feminist perspective was interesting too- how so much responsibility of a "successful" marriage and home life was on the woman and how stifling it could be. The minor redemption at the end was also true to life, however unsatisfying it was. The big "twist" in the plot I could see coming and it was a little out of the blue, but didn't change my opinion in any way. I struggled between 3 and 4 stars, but rounded up due to not being able to think about anything else but this 500+ page book for the past two days.
January 8, 2008
This is not a *bad* book: it's a quick read and the chapter headings quoting marriage advice from circa 1940s Good Housekeeping magazines are kinda fun. There's a lot of American history here, as the family story spans something like 1895 to 1950, but a number of the (many) characters are just flat and I found the structure (weaving back and forth between time and characters' POV) sometimes wearisome.
June 24, 2023
I loved this a lot more than I expected. It’s a true family saga that takes place in Wisconsin during both World Wars. For those who loved Lessons in Chemistry, I think this is an oldie but goodie you should pick up. Short chapters, ghosts in the closet and a wide cast of characters. Even though it was long, it was a page turner with a very easy-to-follow story. Very impressed for a debut and wish I had picked it up sooner.
October 2, 2013
In a nutshell I would say why can't these people control their desires and their bodies, my goodness! With that rant out of the way, I must admit that the style of writing appealed to me with the flashbacks, the wrapping of the stories and bringing it all to a pleasant ending. The excerpts from 1950's era help books for the competent housewife, helped you to feel in tune with the story. It had enough depth even though the story lines flitted around infidelity for me to stay with the book.
January 25, 2009
I was excited about this book because I, too, love abandoned houses and wonder, "Who lived there?" The story wasn't all that compelling for me though and the flipping around between time periods and families was annoying. I didn't finish it.
October 22, 2010
Post listen review
How do I sum up what I thought about this book? I am going to have to turn to Kristen Chynoweth and Idina Menzel for the answer to that. “What is this feeling? Fervid as a flame, Does it have a name? Yes! Loathing. Unadulterated loathing”.
I hated every second of this book for a plethora of reasons but here are just a few for you.
Stagey whispering/shouting in the narration
The narrator has an irritating voice and reads the book as if she is on a stage in front of a large audience. Now when she reads dialogue that is fine but when she is reciting what is in the roast beef recipe and what cookbook it comes from, it’s just plain annoying.
Quilting
Don’t get me wrong, I like the Little House books, Jane Eyre and several Jane Austen books, all of which mention sewing or quilting or things like that in one form or another. But this book went freaking overboard with it. There were huge chunks where annoying women annoyingly corrected the technique of quilting in graphic detail for the longest time. No one cares. Unless you are big into quilting and in that case, you might want to quilt instead of listen to this book.
Melodrama
This book is so melodramatic it is disgusting. There is this woman who is having trouble in her marriage because in her opinion her husband doesn’t pay attention to her. So naturally, instead of having a rational discussion about this with her husband she decides to trespass on some house in the neighborhood that is neglected and clean it cause that will make him umm… like her more I guess? Guess what? Doesn’t work. At this house she meets this dude who tells her the story of his family. In that family there are two brothers that go off to war, one favored by the mother and one not favored by the mother. Guess which one gets dead? If you said the favorite, congratulations you can predict utterly predictable melodramatic plot points! In the same family there is a woman that falls in love with a soldier that her father doesn’t approve of. I bet you see this coming-- that soldier is the son of the father. Yep. One life to live anyone?
Plagiarism
This book totally wants to be one of those great movies from the forties and really does it by ripping stuff off. So the woman cleaning the house that is not hers? Yeah, she wants to fix it up so that the husband can buy it, just like that part in It’s a Wonderful Life. They even say that the movie is the inspiration for her doing it. I thought that was bad but they also rip off, but for a couple of words, one of the most famous lines from Gone With the Wind (arguably the most melodramatic movie in history, but still a great movie, unlike this not so great book). “As God is my witness I will never go hungry again” turns to “As God is my witness I will never be made witless again” Oh yes you will.
Sexism
Every man in this book is only after women or money or both. All of the women would be fulfilled if they could be with the man that they “really belong with”. Every guy that goes to the war comes back an alcoholic or a jerk and always goes fishing or fixes cars or whatever guys are “supposed to do.” Wives are expected to quilt, clean, cook and in general “be there for their man”. I will give you that a lot of these stereotypes are lived up to in the 40’s and 50’s but dude these people are just fitting right into those without a second thought ever. There are some funny moments relating to this with the readings of marriage advice given in Ladies Home Journal and the like at the time but I can’t help but think that the woman who reads these and takes them seriously ought to meet the person who wrote them. I imagine the writer of the articles as some free -wheeling woman traveling the country on an old Indian motorbike, goggles covering her dirt streaked face, doling out crap advice for money cause it is easy to do and fuels her cross country trips. (I know that is probably not the case but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was)
Complete irrationality
The woman that cleans the old house says she is (I am not kidding) jealous of her husband’s wristwatch because it spends more time with him than she does. Does she tell him she is lonely? Never explicitly so how does he know? She repeatedly asks her husband to tell her about the war that he repeatedly says he doesn’t want to talk about. She thinks it will make them closer. I am guessing he thinks that talking about exploding corpses is unpleasant conversation. The same woman makes this pie with a Pillsbury crust expecting the husband to say to her something like “I appreciate everything you do for me” or something along those lines like the ad says he will. He doesn’t and she gets way mad at him. Ok, fair enough right? But the next day he says how much he really liked her food and that it was great and everything and she gets even madder for that. In my opinion the husband is screwed either way. In another incident instead of telling the husband what she really feels she says, “I just want a baby” and the husband says, “We can go upstairs right now” and she gets mad at him. Sorry but if you want a baby, it doesn’t magically appear and he had the right idea of how to get one. What does she want? No one can tell. She should have married a psychic.
Bad dialogue
“Look Grandpa, you can bet your bottom dollar I am gonna enjoy the hell out of some waffles.” Said waffles are disgustingly barfed up a shockingly short amount of time later.
“I’m sorry I f-ed things up.” It is pronounced with the letter, not with the actual word, like we do now sometimes. Seemed oddly out of place in 1950.
“Well I don’t know what kind of hussy girlfriend goes by herself to see a man overnight.” Maybe you don’t know but I bet you can guess!
Affairs galore
The people who own the house have affairs. The kids who originally grow up in the house have affairs with fiancées and always try to seduce women. One of them I would really say pretty much raped a woman and this dude is the guy telling the story to the housewife that is randomly cleaning the house. Those two have an affair (although the guy did leave the rape details out of his retelling of what happened implying that the woman was just too in love with him and decided to leave, no that he had put her through trauma. The neglectful husband has an affair. The house the woman is cleaning is built on a burial site of an Indian princess that killed herself for, you guessed it, having an affair. No one seems to be able to keep hormones in check.
Boringness
Even the descriptions of the battle of Iwo Jima were boring and just made me want to go to sleep. One of the most intense battles in modern history and it is so predictable that I was ready for them to get back to quilting cause you just know what is going to happen in the battle. I could not wait for this book to be over.
So to sum up- It sucked!
Pre-listen guess: I have no idea what to think about this but it looks like something that is going to bore me to tears.
How do I sum up what I thought about this book? I am going to have to turn to Kristen Chynoweth and Idina Menzel for the answer to that. “What is this feeling? Fervid as a flame, Does it have a name? Yes! Loathing. Unadulterated loathing”.
I hated every second of this book for a plethora of reasons but here are just a few for you.
Stagey whispering/shouting in the narration
The narrator has an irritating voice and reads the book as if she is on a stage in front of a large audience. Now when she reads dialogue that is fine but when she is reciting what is in the roast beef recipe and what cookbook it comes from, it’s just plain annoying.
Quilting
Don’t get me wrong, I like the Little House books, Jane Eyre and several Jane Austen books, all of which mention sewing or quilting or things like that in one form or another. But this book went freaking overboard with it. There were huge chunks where annoying women annoyingly corrected the technique of quilting in graphic detail for the longest time. No one cares. Unless you are big into quilting and in that case, you might want to quilt instead of listen to this book.
Melodrama
This book is so melodramatic it is disgusting. There is this woman who is having trouble in her marriage because in her opinion her husband doesn’t pay attention to her. So naturally, instead of having a rational discussion about this with her husband she decides to trespass on some house in the neighborhood that is neglected and clean it cause that will make him umm… like her more I guess? Guess what? Doesn’t work. At this house she meets this dude who tells her the story of his family. In that family there are two brothers that go off to war, one favored by the mother and one not favored by the mother. Guess which one gets dead? If you said the favorite, congratulations you can predict utterly predictable melodramatic plot points! In the same family there is a woman that falls in love with a soldier that her father doesn’t approve of. I bet you see this coming-- that soldier is the son of the father. Yep. One life to live anyone?
Plagiarism
This book totally wants to be one of those great movies from the forties and really does it by ripping stuff off. So the woman cleaning the house that is not hers? Yeah, she wants to fix it up so that the husband can buy it, just like that part in It’s a Wonderful Life. They even say that the movie is the inspiration for her doing it. I thought that was bad but they also rip off, but for a couple of words, one of the most famous lines from Gone With the Wind (arguably the most melodramatic movie in history, but still a great movie, unlike this not so great book). “As God is my witness I will never go hungry again” turns to “As God is my witness I will never be made witless again” Oh yes you will.
Sexism
Every man in this book is only after women or money or both. All of the women would be fulfilled if they could be with the man that they “really belong with”. Every guy that goes to the war comes back an alcoholic or a jerk and always goes fishing or fixes cars or whatever guys are “supposed to do.” Wives are expected to quilt, clean, cook and in general “be there for their man”. I will give you that a lot of these stereotypes are lived up to in the 40’s and 50’s but dude these people are just fitting right into those without a second thought ever. There are some funny moments relating to this with the readings of marriage advice given in Ladies Home Journal and the like at the time but I can’t help but think that the woman who reads these and takes them seriously ought to meet the person who wrote them. I imagine the writer of the articles as some free -wheeling woman traveling the country on an old Indian motorbike, goggles covering her dirt streaked face, doling out crap advice for money cause it is easy to do and fuels her cross country trips. (I know that is probably not the case but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was)
Complete irrationality
The woman that cleans the old house says she is (I am not kidding) jealous of her husband’s wristwatch because it spends more time with him than she does. Does she tell him she is lonely? Never explicitly so how does he know? She repeatedly asks her husband to tell her about the war that he repeatedly says he doesn’t want to talk about. She thinks it will make them closer. I am guessing he thinks that talking about exploding corpses is unpleasant conversation. The same woman makes this pie with a Pillsbury crust expecting the husband to say to her something like “I appreciate everything you do for me” or something along those lines like the ad says he will. He doesn’t and she gets way mad at him. Ok, fair enough right? But the next day he says how much he really liked her food and that it was great and everything and she gets even madder for that. In my opinion the husband is screwed either way. In another incident instead of telling the husband what she really feels she says, “I just want a baby” and the husband says, “We can go upstairs right now” and she gets mad at him. Sorry but if you want a baby, it doesn’t magically appear and he had the right idea of how to get one. What does she want? No one can tell. She should have married a psychic.
Bad dialogue
“Look Grandpa, you can bet your bottom dollar I am gonna enjoy the hell out of some waffles.” Said waffles are disgustingly barfed up a shockingly short amount of time later.
“I’m sorry I f-ed things up.” It is pronounced with the letter, not with the actual word, like we do now sometimes. Seemed oddly out of place in 1950.
“Well I don’t know what kind of hussy girlfriend goes by herself to see a man overnight.” Maybe you don’t know but I bet you can guess!
Affairs galore
The people who own the house have affairs. The kids who originally grow up in the house have affairs with fiancées and always try to seduce women. One of them I would really say pretty much raped a woman and this dude is the guy telling the story to the housewife that is randomly cleaning the house. Those two have an affair (although the guy did leave the rape details out of his retelling of what happened implying that the woman was just too in love with him and decided to leave, no that he had put her through trauma. The neglectful husband has an affair. The house the woman is cleaning is built on a burial site of an Indian princess that killed herself for, you guessed it, having an affair. No one seems to be able to keep hormones in check.
Boringness
Even the descriptions of the battle of Iwo Jima were boring and just made me want to go to sleep. One of the most intense battles in modern history and it is so predictable that I was ready for them to get back to quilting cause you just know what is going to happen in the battle. I could not wait for this book to be over.
So to sum up- It sucked!
Pre-listen guess: I have no idea what to think about this but it looks like something that is going to bore me to tears.
June 15, 2019
Oh how I loved this book!
Dolly is a newlywed in 1950, her husband moves her to Pine Rapids, where she instantly falls in love with a large house on the hill. In her attempts to fit in she joins a sewing circle, conveniently located across the street from "her" house. The women in the sewing circle discuss the state of the house which was seemingly abandoned a few years earlier by the Mickelson family, and Dolly is enraptured by the tales of the family and the supposed curse on the house. Eventually as boredom and curiosity both set in she talks herself into going into the Mickelson house under the guise of cleaning it and checking in on it. When young JJ Mickelson returns to the house, Dolly gets caught up in her deceit and becomes more entangled with the Mickelson family story and more specifically JJ.
I did not want to put this book down. It was so enthralling.
Dolly is a newlywed in 1950, her husband moves her to Pine Rapids, where she instantly falls in love with a large house on the hill. In her attempts to fit in she joins a sewing circle, conveniently located across the street from "her" house. The women in the sewing circle discuss the state of the house which was seemingly abandoned a few years earlier by the Mickelson family, and Dolly is enraptured by the tales of the family and the supposed curse on the house. Eventually as boredom and curiosity both set in she talks herself into going into the Mickelson house under the guise of cleaning it and checking in on it. When young JJ Mickelson returns to the house, Dolly gets caught up in her deceit and becomes more entangled with the Mickelson family story and more specifically JJ.
I did not want to put this book down. It was so enthralling.
September 25, 2017
There are two separate stories going on in this book, one in the past, the other in the present. The author does a wonderful job of going from one story to the other giving the feel of a serial and making you look forward to the next chapter.
January 18, 2009
Young immigrant Knute Mickelson may not have founded the town of Pine Rapids, Wisconsin, but the sawmill he built north of the small town and the family dynasty created after his marriage to an ambitious New York woman surely were the driving forces in the growth and development of the forested northwest Wisconsin village. In her debut novel, Keeping the House, Ellen Baker recounts the multi-generational family saga of the Mickelsons as told through the experiences of Dolly Magnuson, a new resident of Pine Rapids who has developed an obsession to own the abandoned Mickelson home, “three stories of dove-gray clapboard and melancholy stained glass, trimmed in an aged white, with a stately front porch and third-floor windows on the side and front that poked up like pointed caps,” sitting high on the only hill overlooking Pine Rapids and the Bear Trap River, the hill that local superstition said was cursed -- “some Indian chief’s young daughter is buried on that hill, and the old chief put a spell on the land to keep folks off it. He said that great sorrow would come to anyone who disturbed his daughter’s resting place, and it would be the deepest kind of sorrow – that caused by love.”
In the early summer of 1950 Dolly (20 years old) and her husband Byron move to Pine Rapids where he and a fellow World War II veteran are partners in a Chrysler dealership. Dolly, who grew up in a small town herself and knows how difficult it can be to find acceptance into the best circles, quickly joins the Pine Rapids Ladies Aid group which meets in the home of 80-year- old Cecilia Fryt, “taller than Dolly, and stout, with iron-gray hair swept up in a bun, and a face like an old potato,” a long-time neighbor, but no friend, of the Mickelson family. It is through weekly attendance at the Ladies Aid quilting bee that Dolly hears the sorrowful tale of the Mickelson family.
Interwoven in the story of the Mickelsons is that of Dolly’s attempts to meet the societal expectations of a wife of the 1950s. Ms. Baker has effectively portrayed mid-20th century gender norms through use of chapter headers quoted from period publications, such as Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ Home Journal, The Modern Family Cookbook, Popular Home Decoration, Photoplay (“When he comes back [from the war’ it may take a few years for him to “find himself” – it’s [your:] job – not his – to see that the changes in both of [you:] do not affect the fundamental bonds between [you:]….”). Driven by her obsession, Dolly breaks into the Mickleson house and decides to become its self-appointed caretaker in the absence of the family. One afternoon while cleaning the kitchen , she hears a key turn in the lock and she is discovered trespassing by JJ, the prodigal grandson. It is JJ’s return to Pine Rapids that enables the final chapter in the downfall of the Mickelson family to be told.
In an interview with Random House Readers Circle, Ms. Baker said, “I don’t think that issues in relationships are ever resolved, but they are always in the process of evolving, and with time hopefully comes the ability to interrogate and restructure one’s own unconscious expectations.” By abandoning their “cursed” home in Rapid Falls, do the Mickelsons overcome the deepest kinds of sorrow – those caused by love? Do Dolly and Byron restructure their own unconscious expectations and live happily ever after?
Read Keeping the House, written by Ellen Baker, and discover for yourself.
In the early summer of 1950 Dolly (20 years old) and her husband Byron move to Pine Rapids where he and a fellow World War II veteran are partners in a Chrysler dealership. Dolly, who grew up in a small town herself and knows how difficult it can be to find acceptance into the best circles, quickly joins the Pine Rapids Ladies Aid group which meets in the home of 80-year- old Cecilia Fryt, “taller than Dolly, and stout, with iron-gray hair swept up in a bun, and a face like an old potato,” a long-time neighbor, but no friend, of the Mickelson family. It is through weekly attendance at the Ladies Aid quilting bee that Dolly hears the sorrowful tale of the Mickelson family.
Interwoven in the story of the Mickelsons is that of Dolly’s attempts to meet the societal expectations of a wife of the 1950s. Ms. Baker has effectively portrayed mid-20th century gender norms through use of chapter headers quoted from period publications, such as Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ Home Journal, The Modern Family Cookbook, Popular Home Decoration, Photoplay (“When he comes back [from the war’ it may take a few years for him to “find himself” – it’s [your:] job – not his – to see that the changes in both of [you:] do not affect the fundamental bonds between [you:]….”). Driven by her obsession, Dolly breaks into the Mickleson house and decides to become its self-appointed caretaker in the absence of the family. One afternoon while cleaning the kitchen , she hears a key turn in the lock and she is discovered trespassing by JJ, the prodigal grandson. It is JJ’s return to Pine Rapids that enables the final chapter in the downfall of the Mickelson family to be told.
In an interview with Random House Readers Circle, Ms. Baker said, “I don’t think that issues in relationships are ever resolved, but they are always in the process of evolving, and with time hopefully comes the ability to interrogate and restructure one’s own unconscious expectations.” By abandoning their “cursed” home in Rapid Falls, do the Mickelsons overcome the deepest kinds of sorrow – those caused by love? Do Dolly and Byron restructure their own unconscious expectations and live happily ever after?
Read Keeping the House, written by Ellen Baker, and discover for yourself.
December 28, 2007
I liked this book.
It is sort of a cross between "How to Make and American Quilt" and "Drowning Ruth." As in "How to Make and American Quilt," there are intermittent quilting scenes where one of the story-lines unfolds. And it is like "Drowning Ruth" somewhat because it is post Great War and that influences much of what happens, but mostly because I spent a good deal of my reading time trying to figure out where, exactly, in Wisconsin that book was set.
I can imagine Oprah taking a shine to this book, even though it isn't really a downer. While I wouldn't quite call it a romance, there are love connections, almost loves, love disasters nearly averted and horrible love disasters. I wouldn't recommend it to many men.
It is sort of a cross between "How to Make and American Quilt" and "Drowning Ruth." As in "How to Make and American Quilt," there are intermittent quilting scenes where one of the story-lines unfolds. And it is like "Drowning Ruth" somewhat because it is post Great War and that influences much of what happens, but mostly because I spent a good deal of my reading time trying to figure out where, exactly, in Wisconsin that book was set.
I can imagine Oprah taking a shine to this book, even though it isn't really a downer. While I wouldn't quite call it a romance, there are love connections, almost loves, love disasters nearly averted and horrible love disasters. I wouldn't recommend it to many men.
October 2, 2007
Ellen Baker is from Superior, Wisconsin (across the bridge from Duluth) and my mom cleans her teeth. This is her first novel, impressively published by Random House, about a housewife in the 1950's.
February 20, 2009
I was soooo disappointed in this book. Way too long, way too predictable, way too cliche. All the characters were flat stereotypes that I could not identify with or bring myself to care about. The storyline was completely unbelievable with an abrupt, unsatisfying ending.
May 14, 2008
Great premise, but very disappointing. A big long commitment of a book that just wasn't worth it.
June 16, 2010
Ick. Can you say melodrama? At its worst?
October 20, 2020
This book could easily have been nothing special -- and I'm not at all sure I would have loved it had I read it -- but the audiobook version of Keeping the House is SUPERB. Christine Williams nails the 1940s-1950s accent employed by the actresses in all your favorite black-and-white films, and as a result, I was instantly completely immersed in this WWI-WWII-era saga about the men in one affluent, small-town family and the women who support them. For me, it had all the gossipy fun of a modern-day Peyton Place, and you won't BELIEVE some of the twists as the novel nears its end and the Mickleson family secrets are finally revealed. I. Was. Shook.
If you have a strange weakness for portrayals of domestic life in the 1950s and you went through a Turner Classic Movie phase when you were 13 (anyone? anyone?), this book is for you. If you're feeling a little 'meh' about the prospect, skip this one -- I really think I loved it mostly because of the subject matter and the quirky narration.
If you have a strange weakness for portrayals of domestic life in the 1950s and you went through a Turner Classic Movie phase when you were 13 (anyone? anyone?), this book is for you. If you're feeling a little 'meh' about the prospect, skip this one -- I really think I loved it mostly because of the subject matter and the quirky narration.
December 15, 2021
I enjoyed this book- perhaps not for every reader- the time period (late 1890s through 1950), the romance of an old abandoned house, a generational family of fairly normal members, two world wars, and a small town in Wisconsin- all in one book selected by chance of the library shelf.
Trying to fulfill the wifely expectations of the ‘50’s was also a big part of the story which I found intriguing, having been the daughter of a young mother married in 1949. “After all, in the appliance ads, the model women glowed from the inside out, merely because their refrigerators were modern and sparkling clean.” P. 297. How many young wives were truly trying to live up to the expectations set forth in the popular magazines of the day?
“Keeping the House” reminded me of “King’s Row” with realistic yet not always pleasant interactions between characters. Life isn’t perfect and allowances are often made for bad decisions- in the end, most come to face the results of those bad actions in one way or another. I think this is one read worth remembering.
Trying to fulfill the wifely expectations of the ‘50’s was also a big part of the story which I found intriguing, having been the daughter of a young mother married in 1949. “After all, in the appliance ads, the model women glowed from the inside out, merely because their refrigerators were modern and sparkling clean.” P. 297. How many young wives were truly trying to live up to the expectations set forth in the popular magazines of the day?
“Keeping the House” reminded me of “King’s Row” with realistic yet not always pleasant interactions between characters. Life isn’t perfect and allowances are often made for bad decisions- in the end, most come to face the results of those bad actions in one way or another. I think this is one read worth remembering.
December 24, 2023
I had picked this book up years ago, but had put off reading it because I had read some bad reviews.
However after finally picking it up and reading it I found I quite enjoy it.
The story alternates between the Mikelson family starting in the late 1800's and Dolly a newly married housewife in 1950. The story proceeds through the ages with the Mikelson family until Dolly meets up with their grandson JJ.
At the center of the all the family drama is the great Mikelson Manor which is rumored to have been built on cursed land. The Mikelson family is by far the wealthiest family in town, but their secrets and secret longings ultimately bring them down.
Dolly is finding that marriage and her role of homemaker are not as fulfilling as she had dreamed of, and is pulled towards the abandoned old Mikelson manor, dreaming of the romance and adventure that it could bring to her life.
Each chapter has an amusing quote from old magazines and home economics texts which make me really glad I was not a housewife in the 1950"s.
However after finally picking it up and reading it I found I quite enjoy it.
The story alternates between the Mikelson family starting in the late 1800's and Dolly a newly married housewife in 1950. The story proceeds through the ages with the Mikelson family until Dolly meets up with their grandson JJ.
At the center of the all the family drama is the great Mikelson Manor which is rumored to have been built on cursed land. The Mikelson family is by far the wealthiest family in town, but their secrets and secret longings ultimately bring them down.
Dolly is finding that marriage and her role of homemaker are not as fulfilling as she had dreamed of, and is pulled towards the abandoned old Mikelson manor, dreaming of the romance and adventure that it could bring to her life.
Each chapter has an amusing quote from old magazines and home economics texts which make me really glad I was not a housewife in the 1950"s.
January 11, 2022
I had to give up on this one after a few chapters. I just could not care about the plot or the characters and I felt that the writing was subpar. In addition to that, it was way too melodramatic for my taste. Cliches abound and the dialog is trite. There are a lot of whiny, gossipy, and unhappy women in this story. Nothing uplifting here for me.
It didn't help that the narrator of this audio version was really annoying. Her vocal inflections were driving me nuts. The way she read this just didn't seem to jive with the characters, setting, or the plot.
Clean Readers: having not finished the book, I can't really give you full disclosure. However, I do know that there is infidelity. If you read the synopsis, you may find other points that might bother you.
It didn't help that the narrator of this audio version was really annoying. Her vocal inflections were driving me nuts. The way she read this just didn't seem to jive with the characters, setting, or the plot.
Clean Readers: having not finished the book, I can't really give you full disclosure. However, I do know that there is infidelity. If you read the synopsis, you may find other points that might bother you.
May 29, 2018
Let’s hear it for romanticizing misogyny and the “misunderstood” rapist! I hope the author made sure to quit writing early enough each evening that she’d have a homemade meal on the table ready for some Neanderthal to eat sans conversation, and still look good enough to be inseminated by him after she cleaned the kitchen...
I couldn’t tell if the author’s dedication of this novel to her two grandmothers was meant as commemorative or an insult.
I couldn’t tell if the author’s dedication of this novel to her two grandmothers was meant as commemorative or an insult.
July 18, 2022
A Delight!
I couldn’t read this story fast enough! The intertwining of the stories keeps you wanting for more. Full of strong female characters, you can feel each of their personalities and struggles of the times in which they lived. An interesting look at marriage, families, and secrets - an enticing read all the way through!
I couldn’t read this story fast enough! The intertwining of the stories keeps you wanting for more. Full of strong female characters, you can feel each of their personalities and struggles of the times in which they lived. An interesting look at marriage, families, and secrets - an enticing read all the way through!
July 26, 2023
I would have truly said 4.5 but I will round up because I really enjoyed this book. It was a little bit of a slow start. Once I got into it though I really liked this book. It was well written and I continuously want to come back for more.
The characters all had their own problems which were relatable in different ways. I felt some of the characters’ stories were left in a bit of a gap but overall a really good book.
The characters all had their own problems which were relatable in different ways. I felt some of the characters’ stories were left in a bit of a gap but overall a really good book.
May 26, 2022
it meandered a little, but it was ok.
February 7, 2012
I love thoughts like this: "...because she had read somewhere that nothing says 'Happy Home' to a husband like his smiling wife in an apron and lovely dress bidding him come to the table where she has a colorful, balanced, hot meal waiting." I'm sure that was a wonderful way to keep house more than half a century ago and by that standard, my home is nothing remotely happy, but I am glad that such notions are not the standard today. I would have a difficult time matching aprons to dresses and making my meals colorful AND well-balanced.
Ok. I'm done. And Cecily, you were right. I should have listened to your review (which would have been weird, since it's not an audio review).
I like the idea of a long, drawn-out family saga. And I like that the story spans two wars. I loved the quotes from '50's publications on how to be a good wife and keep a happy, healthy home. But oh my gosh, what a boatload of horrid characters. I don't think there was one I liked. And the ridiculousness of the "mysteries" that suddenly come to light were over the top. Dark secrets are great, and all, but really? The family dysfunction bordered on maudlin.
Also, I wanted to punch Dolly in the face until she fell out of the book.
Though I've seen it done, I wouldn't compare this with How to Make an American Quilt though quilting does sort of come into play, mostly as a vehicle to bring the history of the house on the hill to Dolly. But, again, I just could not attach to any character. The few that were not outright repulsive in one way or another weren't fully-developed characters, so there was nothing to care about.
I also had a problem with the reader. She started out with an odd, staccato way of speaking, adding emphasis to strange words at odd times. She sounded like an Australian trying to adopt a northern American accent while running quickly (her words kept coming out in too much breath, like she was panting quietly) but she became better midway through the book. Still, it was jarring and I'm not sure she was the best reader for these characters.
Ok. I'm done. And Cecily, you were right. I should have listened to your review (which would have been weird, since it's not an audio review).
I like the idea of a long, drawn-out family saga. And I like that the story spans two wars. I loved the quotes from '50's publications on how to be a good wife and keep a happy, healthy home. But oh my gosh, what a boatload of horrid characters. I don't think there was one I liked. And the ridiculousness of the "mysteries" that suddenly come to light were over the top. Dark secrets are great, and all, but really? The family dysfunction bordered on maudlin.
Also, I wanted to punch Dolly in the face until she fell out of the book.
Though I've seen it done, I wouldn't compare this with How to Make an American Quilt though quilting does sort of come into play, mostly as a vehicle to bring the history of the house on the hill to Dolly. But, again, I just could not attach to any character. The few that were not outright repulsive in one way or another weren't fully-developed characters, so there was nothing to care about.
I also had a problem with the reader. She started out with an odd, staccato way of speaking, adding emphasis to strange words at odd times. She sounded like an Australian trying to adopt a northern American accent while running quickly (her words kept coming out in too much breath, like she was panting quietly) but she became better midway through the book. Still, it was jarring and I'm not sure she was the best reader for these characters.
April 12, 2014
I nearly gave up on Keeping the House very early because the reader on the CD version is SO irritating. She overdramatizes nearly every line. Nevertheless, I stuck with it because I have a fairly long commute and need long audiobooks.
Well, this one is unnecessarily long. The author really strings us along. She alternates between several time periods, and often tells the same scene in more than one section, but without really giving a significantly different viewpoint as such a multiplicity of perspectives should do in order to make that technique worthwhile. This book could have been at least a hundred pages shorter. Was she being paid by the word? At one point she actually writes (I paraphrase): "He got to the top of the stairs. He could take a 180 degree turn left or right, but he always turned right, because his office lay that way." Why even mention this?? Here's another one: "He closed her door, walked around the truck, opened his door, sat down and closed his door." What kind of time-wasting padding is that?
FINALLY, I got up to the climactic moment we've been strung along for, and it's such a melodramatic cliche! *spoiler alert* Why didn't the author mention Florence the southern secretary EARLIER, so we could have had a chance at putting two and two together and solving the mystery ourselves?? I wish I had been this woman's editor. There is some good stuff here, but excessively padded and missing the impact it could have had.
Well, this one is unnecessarily long. The author really strings us along. She alternates between several time periods, and often tells the same scene in more than one section, but without really giving a significantly different viewpoint as such a multiplicity of perspectives should do in order to make that technique worthwhile. This book could have been at least a hundred pages shorter. Was she being paid by the word? At one point she actually writes (I paraphrase): "He got to the top of the stairs. He could take a 180 degree turn left or right, but he always turned right, because his office lay that way." Why even mention this?? Here's another one: "He closed her door, walked around the truck, opened his door, sat down and closed his door." What kind of time-wasting padding is that?
FINALLY, I got up to the climactic moment we've been strung along for, and it's such a melodramatic cliche! *spoiler alert* Why didn't the author mention Florence the southern secretary EARLIER, so we could have had a chance at putting two and two together and solving the mystery ourselves?? I wish I had been this woman's editor. There is some good stuff here, but excessively padded and missing the impact it could have had.
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