Overview
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
A New York Times Notable Book - An Amazon Top 100 Editors' Pick of the Year
Named a Best Book of the Year by O, The Oprah Magazine - Entertainment Weekly - NPR - Essence - Men's Journal - Buzzfeed - Bustle - Time Out - Denver Post - Publishers Weekly - Kirkus Reviews - BookPage - Literary Hub - Kobo - The Week - Detroit Free Press
Winner of the Paterson Fiction Prize and the Black Caucus of the ALA--1st Novelist Award
Nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award, the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Debut Author, and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Fiction
Finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Award, the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, and the Indies Choice Award
Short-listed for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction, the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Ernest Gaines Award, The Morning News Tournament of Books, the Winter Lariat List, and the Medici Book Club Prize
Long-listed for the NBCC John Leonard Prize for A Debut Novel and the Chautauqua Prize
A powerful debut, The Turner House marks a major new contribution to the story of the American family.
The Turners have lived on Yarrow Street for over fifty years. Their house has seen thirteen children grown and gone--and some returned; it has seen the arrival of grandchildren, the fall of Detroit's East Side, and the loss of a father. The house still stands despite abandoned lots, an embattled city, and the inevitable shift outward to the suburbs. But now, as ailing matriarch Viola finds herself forced to leave her home and move in with her eldest son, the family discovers that the house is worth just a tenth of its mortgage. The Turner children are called home to decide its fate and to reckon with how each of their pasts haunts--and shapes--their family's future.
Praised by Ayana Mathis as "utterly moving" and "un-putdownable," The Turner House brings us a colorful, complicated brood full of love and pride, sacrifice and unlikely inheritances. It's a striking examination of the price we pay for our dreams and futures, and the ways in which our families bring us home.
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9780544705166
- ISBN-10: 0544705165
- Publisher: Mariner Books
- Publish Date: March 2016
- Dimensions: 8.01 x 5.2 x 1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 0.6 pounds
- Page Count: 352
Related Categories
Book Clubs: Strangers in the night
Mary Kubica delivers on the promise of her much-praised 2014 debut, The Good Girl, with the chilling suspense novel Pretty Baby. Heidi Wood is zealous about helping other people. Her investment-banker husband, Chris, and tween daughter, Zoe, have grown accustomed to her holding forth on homelessness and poverty. Heidi, who works at a nonprofit organization in Chicago, takes her beliefs to an extreme when she invites Willow Greer, a young homeless woman with an infant, to move in. Willow’s presence changes the family’s dynamics in ways that Heidi never anticipated. Chris is suspicious of Willow and tries to learn about her past. As her background gradually comes to light, the Wood family begins to unravel. Chris, Heidi and Willow each have a turn at narrating the novel, and the shifting points of view illuminate different facets of the plot. Kubica pulls off this kaleidoscopic storytelling style with ease. Her portrayal of a modern family torn apart by conflicting desires is riveting—and all too believable.
CALLED TO NATURE
Leigh Ann Henion’s Phenomenal: A Hesitant Adventurer’s Search for Wonder in the Natural World is an inspiring nonfiction narrative about exploration and identity. After she gives birth to her son, Henion is haunted by the feeling that she may never again view the world the way her child does—as a magical place, teeming with possibility. With the encouragement of her husband, Henion—an award-winning travel writer—sets out to reawaken her sense of amazement through an itinerary that takes her from the volcanoes of Hawaii to the bioluminescent waters of Puerto Rico. While pursuing the quality of enchantment that often characterizes childhood, she crosses paths with spiritual leaders, scientists and all manner of travel guides. It’s a fascinating journey, and Henion chronicles it with the heart and eye of an artist. This delightful hybrid of a book blends memoir, history and philosophy into a modern meditation on motherhood and the quest for a fulfilled life.
TOP PICK FOR BOOK CLUBS
A National Book Award finalist that made many “best of 2015” lists, Angela Flournoy’s debut, The Turner House, is a timely, accessible family chronicle that’s sure to resonate with readers. The Turners—Francis, Viola and their 13 kids—lived in their Yarrow Street house on the East Side of Detroit for more than five decades. The year is 2008, and Francis has died. Threatened with the loss of the house, Viola and the Turner siblings must decide what to do. Cha-Cha, a former truck driver and the oldest son; his brother, Troy, a policeman; and their sister, Lelah, a gambling addict, carry the weight of the novel. Overall, it’s a wonderfully compelling exploration of family relationships and the generational changes that have shaped Detroit. Flournoy flashes back effortlessly to earlier eras and mixes in a ghost story for good measure. This is a virtuoso performance from a gifted new writer.
This article was originally published in the March 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
Book Clubs: Strangers in the night
Mary Kubica delivers on the promise of her much-praised 2014 debut, The Good Girl, with the chilling suspense novel Pretty Baby. Heidi Wood is zealous about helping other people. Her investment-banker husband, Chris, and tween daughter, Zoe, have grown accustomed to her holding forth on homelessness and poverty. Heidi, who works at a nonprofit organization in Chicago, takes her beliefs to an extreme when she invites Willow Greer, a young homeless woman with an infant, to move in. Willow’s presence changes the family’s dynamics in ways that Heidi never anticipated. Chris is suspicious of Willow and tries to learn about her past. As her background gradually comes to light, the Wood family begins to unravel. Chris, Heidi and Willow each have a turn at narrating the novel, and the shifting points of view illuminate different facets of the plot. Kubica pulls off this kaleidoscopic storytelling style with ease. Her portrayal of a modern family torn apart by conflicting desires is riveting—and all too believable.
CALLED TO NATURE
Leigh Ann Henion’s Phenomenal: A Hesitant Adventurer’s Search for Wonder in the Natural World is an inspiring nonfiction narrative about exploration and identity. After she gives birth to her son, Henion is haunted by the feeling that she may never again view the world the way her child does—as a magical place, teeming with possibility. With the encouragement of her husband, Henion—an award-winning travel writer—sets out to reawaken her sense of amazement through an itinerary that takes her from the volcanoes of Hawaii to the bioluminescent waters of Puerto Rico. While pursuing the quality of enchantment that often characterizes childhood, she crosses paths with spiritual leaders, scientists and all manner of travel guides. It’s a fascinating journey, and Henion chronicles it with the heart and eye of an artist. This delightful hybrid of a book blends memoir, history and philosophy into a modern meditation on motherhood and the quest for a fulfilled life.
TOP PICK FOR BOOK CLUBS
A National Book Award finalist that made many “best of 2015” lists, Angela Flournoy’s debut, The Turner House, is a timely, accessible family chronicle that’s sure to resonate with readers. The Turners—Francis, Viola and their 13 kids—lived in their Yarrow Street house on the East Side of Detroit for more than five decades. The year is 2008, and Francis has died. Threatened with the loss of the house, Viola and the Turner siblings must decide what to do. Cha-Cha, a former truck driver and the oldest son; his brother, Troy, a policeman; and their sister, Lelah, a gambling addict, carry the weight of the novel. Overall, it’s a wonderfully compelling exploration of family relationships and the generational changes that have shaped Detroit. Flournoy flashes back effortlessly to earlier eras and mixes in a ghost story for good measure. This is a virtuoso performance from a gifted new writer.
This article was originally published in the March 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.