Keeper of the House
REVIEWS
"One of the Ten Best Books of the Year."
—Charleston Post and Courier
"Godwin tells the engrossing story of a world-renowned South Carolina house of prostitution, from its inception during the Depression to its growth during World War II to the end of its 40-year life. Told from the perspective of Minyon, a black teen sent by her dying grandmother to the formidable white madam, the novel relays a rich history as Minyon grows and develops and eventually runs the luxurious house herself.... Throughout, we are privy to the secrets of a public house and a memorable cast of strong female characters, black and white."
—Booklist
"Minyon Manigault is 14 when her grandmother sends her to live and work for a white madam as a housekeeper in a South Carolina brothel. Minyon tells her story in a haunting first-person narrative. Her voices changes and grows as she matures…This is a wonderful, lyrical, and touching story. Highly recommended."
—Library Journal
"Taking as her inspiration a legendary, now-defunct bordello in her native state of South Carolina, Godwin has penned a new perspective on the world's oldest profession in her radiant second novel. In beautifully rendered and flawlessly maintained Gullah speech that occasionally whispers of the easy lyricism of Zora Neale Hurston, Minyon narrates the 40-year history of Hazelhedge..."
—Orlando Sentinel
"This is an exceptional and moving novel, but what I most admire about it is Rebecca Godwin's use of voice. Minyon's voice is beautiful music, a cello, a harp, a gospel moan, and it remains in the ears, reverberating endlessly, long after the last note is played."
—Reginald McKnight, author of The Kind of Light that Shines on Texas and I Get on the Bus
"Keeper of the House is quite simply one of the most beautiful novels I have ever read. Lend your ear to the astonishing music of Minyon Manigault's voice, yield your heart to her remarkable tale, and you will want to claim her as kin. Rebecca Godwin is a writer whose gifts go far beyond ‘talent.' She is wise compassionate, daring; she has made a book of deep and lasting value."
—Susan Dodd, author of Mamaw and The Mourner's Bench
"Keeper of the House is an exciting combination of sophisticated artistry and plain, down-home storytelling. Godwin's women are a rainbow of realities: strong and vulnerable, tragic and pathetic, funny and coarse, refined and bawdy, perceptive and shallow, giving and self-centered, and somehow always full of dignity."
—David Bradley, author of The Chaneysville Incident and co-editor, The Encyclopedia of Civil Rights in America
"Keeper of the House is a beautifully mesmerizing tale that will long be remembered. An absolute triumph."
—Jill McCorkle, author of Ferris Beach and Carolina Moon
"An impressive, contemplative, and introspective second novel by the author of Private Parts....Hazelhedge [the brothel] is like a bottled miniature of the outside world, and Godwin paints it well, picking up nuances in speech and movement that lend depth to an already vivid portrait. A strong, clear story—food for thought."
—Kirkus Reviews
"A deft, entertaining novel…Narrated in the colloquial Gullah dialect spoken by many African-Americans in the South, the novel touches on 20th century race relations, but readers will be more affected by its human issues of motherhood, self-discovery, and moral strength."
—Publishers Weekly
"A touching story—sensitive and tender, yet surprisingly powerful. Minyon Manigault is an invincible, unforgettable heroine who will stay with you long after the last page has been turned."
—Southern Book Trade
"Godwin renders the entire story in a distinctive modified Gullah dialect, rhythmic, poetic and completely believable. It's amazing how she's gotten inside the skin of a woman of a different race and background, and brought her along from girlhood to her sunset years with such authenticity."
—Anderson Independent-Mail
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