Persephone Books discussion

I'm just getting into House-Bound...has anyone else started reading? I found a couple interesting blog posts about this book, which should get the discussion started:

http://thecaptivereader.com/2011/02/2...
http://bookssnob.wordpress.com/2010/0...
http://myporchblog.blogspot.com/2009/...
http://heavenali.wordpress.com/2013/0...

I am reading it, but I am only 40 pages in. It is fascinating, though.

Yes, it has been interesting! I'm still near the beginning. I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for Rose doing her own housework...first world problems!!

I've finished the book but I haven't had time to check out the blog posts!

I agree Gina, I found it hard to relate to Rose at first - it took me a while to appreciate how big the house was, and the fact that she would have been brought up with absolutely no idea how to cook. So I didn't get why it was such a big deal.

On the other hand I could completely feel how anxious she was about the children, the boys in such danger and Flora with her particular problems, and all so far away. (view spoiler)[I did cry when one of them was killed and it still chokes me up now thinking about it! (hide spoiler)]

I've read the blog posts now and they do make some interesting points. They all stress that the servant question is not the real theme of the book but only a starting point, and it's the family relationships that are really central.

I particularly liked what this one http://bookssnob.wordpress.com/2010/0... says about that:
"Rose sees herself, her husband, and her daughter, as ‘House-Bound’; shut up in their own metaphorical houses with the doors and windows barred, unable to open themselves up to those around them and share the emotional turmoil within. As she learns to clean her physical house, Rose begins to get rid of the clutter inside her own mind and heart..."

The other point I particularly liked in the blog posts was what this one http://myporchblog.blogspot.co.uk/200... says about Major Hosmer:
"[He] always seems a little too conveniently placed, propelling the story forward in somewhat unnatural ways. Rather than feeling like he is part of an organic literary whole, he seems more like an omnipresent deus ex machina whose only value is to help Peck advance the action."

I never quite believed in Major Hosmer as a character when I was reading - I couldn't figure out why, but that explains it very well.

I am still reading, only 90 pages in, but so far I am really enjoying how Peck builds upon Rose's troubles. I agree, they are first world problems, but the transition from a life in which she is free to think and self-examine and read and enjoy, to a life in which she is constantly working at tasks that never end, it rings true to me. And I think Peck sees quite clearly that it is a very small problem on the global scale, and a very large problem on the personal scale, how to keep your selfhood when your day is wrapped in monotony.

I find it interesting that at least so far, Rose is trying to keep things to the previous standard, and that it is pointed out that it never occurs to Stuart to help. He suggests things Rose might do differently, but never considers doing anything himself. Peck clearly sees that the 'standard of living' they had is something of a catch-22, that it relies upon a vast amount of other people's labour, and that for Rose to try to maintain it when she is not even able to enjoy it is more about facades and ideals. I am looking forward to seeing how it develops.

Well, I have finished, and I am rather disappointed. I think Peck did not reach as far as she might have in it.