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Blackbird House A Novel Ballantine Reader Circle Alice Hoffman Books

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Blackbird House A Novel Ballantine Reader Circle Alice Hoffman Books

Simply put, this is a beautiful book. It's dazzling with its prisms of colors and kaleidoscopes of dreams and all of the stories of the inhabitants of a single house over time which sits on the top of a hill almost at the edge of the world.

Blackbird House is near the ocean in Cape Cod and its got a huge history. From the original owners to present day, each family who has lived there has a story and Alice Hoffman spins her web of enchantment in each tale. Stories run from incredibly sad to inspiringly hopeful. Children, adults and old people inhabit the house and all have seen the strange white, blackbird and its descendants through the years. It all started when John Hadley had a dream of a beautiful home for his wife, Coral. But when the sea called, he took his two sons to it, though Coral had her doubts about the voyage and begged for her youngest to be left behind, but he wasn't. Coral never gave up hope that they lived through the May gale. She labored on her farm alone and planted Sweet Pea that would last for ages, but her hopes and dreams were dashed.

There is an old pond on the property where an elderly woman, who refuses to have the house updated, retrieves ice from the frozen pond. Boys fish it and once it was rumored that a sea serpent had crawled from the ocean and made the pond its home. And all throughout time, the blackbird can be seen hovering somewhere. The bird is a descendant of the original owner's pet. A bird that left black, but came home white, a sign to Coral that something terrible had happened. This sets the stage for all of the inhabitants of Blackbird House, a house that is filled with so much hope each time someone moves in and then life takes over.

The stories about Blackbird House are also stories of the times people lived through. Each generation has their own battles and triumphs and there are characters that come to life within the pages of this book. Bewitching and inspiring, this book is a treasure.


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Blackbird House A Novel Ballantine Reader Circle Alice Hoffman Books Reviews

Let's suppose there was a plot of land that was the main character of a book. I would have done better had I known that simple fact. For some reason, the version did not download properly so I just listened to the Audible version.

I could have done without the first narrator. Oh, goodness what a bombastic voice! The rest of the narrators were great. In fact, it was fun that each chapter, which was each new inhabitant of the property got a new voice many of them were fantastic!

When I finally got my to download, I did much better as I could read along with the Audible. In fact, it Whispersynched perfectly.

Alice Hoffman has become one of my favorite authors. Remember she is the one who wrote Practical Magic. So I had to grab this when it was on special. This one read similarly to the Red Garden. She refers to witches and red shoes and other symbolism that would be fun to discuss in a book group.

I may have to read this again someday as I know there was a lot more there than I absorbed. One of my issues with the book was I wanted more of each resident. I always felt each story too short. Maybe I wanted a series?
I really enjoyed this book. The short stories were each interesting and they wove together in such an intriguing way. I love Hoffman's writing because it is elegantly simple straightforward yet lyrical and loaded with meaning. These stories will stick with me.

Dr. Tracy Brower, author of Bring Work to Life by Bringing Life to Work
I've yet to read anything I didn't absolutely adore by Alice Hoffman, and Blackbird House is no exception. This book is a collection of stories that take place from the early days of Massachusetts to the present, with "Blackbird House" as almost a character unto itself linking all the different tales.

Hoffman is at her best when describing the natural beauty of the New England coast and the way the land and its rich history have shaped the people there into quirky, scrappy personalities. If you liked Illumination Night or The Probable Future, you will no doubt enjoy this book too. I grew up in Massachusetts, and it made me homesick for the cranberry bogs, the Cape mudflats, and the wild flowers still found in abundance there, as well as for a life that still revolves a little more around nature than most of the civilized world.

And of course Hoffman's story-telling craft is superb. Like box of gourmet chocolates, this book was polished off in a few days, even though I wanted to savor it longer. Alice Hoffman is always on my shortlist when I need to find a book I *know* I will like.
I'm a big fan of Alice Hoffman but I'm sorry to say I was disappointed in this collection of short stories about occupants of a house over a long span of time. I enjoyed the first story immensely, with its engaging characters, air of mystery, and beautiful prose. I could hardly wait to read on. But none of what followed matched that first story and I had to push myself to finish the book. Perhaps some stronger thematic "connective tissue" between stories would have helped me invest in the later characters and avoid feeling let down by each subsequent chapter.
Hoffman has a real knack for creating an atmospheric setting for her stories and this series of stories is no exception. I could almost feel the sharp salt air of the remote location on the Cape where this house stood and gained ever more richness over the years. Each set of occupants experienced its almost unearthly quality and added more layers, like coats of paint and wallpaper building up even while the house decayed. Some of the stories stood alone, some were connected, and I was happy to sink into the unfolding history of this farm and its people. Unfortunately, the ending just sort of faded away instead of tying anything up. I thought there might have been an effort to come full circle with the presentation of the last two characters introduced, but it wasn't very satisfying and I was left feeling like the author just got tired of writing and stopped.
Simply put, this is a beautiful book. It's dazzling with its prisms of colors and kaleidoscopes of dreams and all of the stories of the inhabitants of a single house over time which sits on the top of a hill almost at the edge of the world.

Blackbird House is near the ocean in Cape Cod and its got a huge history. From the original owners to present day, each family who has lived there has a story and Alice Hoffman spins her web of enchantment in each tale. Stories run from incredibly sad to inspiringly hopeful. Children, adults and old people inhabit the house and all have seen the strange white, blackbird and its descendants through the years. It all started when John Hadley had a dream of a beautiful home for his wife, Coral. But when the sea called, he took his two sons to it, though Coral had her doubts about the voyage and begged for her youngest to be left behind, but he wasn't. Coral never gave up hope that they lived through the May gale. She labored on her farm alone and planted Sweet Pea that would last for ages, but her hopes and dreams were dashed.

There is an old pond on the property where an elderly woman, who refuses to have the house updated, retrieves ice from the frozen pond. Boys fish it and once it was rumored that a sea serpent had crawled from the ocean and made the pond its home. And all throughout time, the blackbird can be seen hovering somewhere. The bird is a descendant of the original owner's pet. A bird that left black, but came home white, a sign to Coral that something terrible had happened. This sets the stage for all of the inhabitants of Blackbird House, a house that is filled with so much hope each time someone moves in and then life takes over.

The stories about Blackbird House are also stories of the times people lived through. Each generation has their own battles and triumphs and there are characters that come to life within the pages of this book. Bewitching and inspiring, this book is a treasure.