King Arthur Movie Tristan

title: Blackbird House


author: Alice Hoffman

genre: fiction

pages: 225

published: 2004

first line: It was said that boys should go on thier first sea voyage at the age of ten, but surely this notion was never put forth by anyone's mother.

rated: 3 out of 5










I picked up a copy of Blackbird House at my local library because I'm a big fan of Alice Hoffman's work. Her book The Ice Queen is one of my favorites. I really had no idea what this book was about. After reading it I have some mixed thoughts on it. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. It didn't grab me, I found I had to push myself to read it and finish it.


The book is a collection of short stories based on people who lived in a farmhouse in Cape Cod called Blackbird House. The stories vary from different times and events. From a mother whose sons and husband are lost at sea, to a woman who loses the man she loves to her more beautiful sister, to a pair of brothers whose only wish is to leave the small town and move on to better things. The stories are all intertwined in some way. The writing was wonderful as usual Alice Hoffman style. Here's a few of my favorite passages:

He thought about the damselflies giding over the pond, and the sound of the frogs splashing in the water, and the yellow light coming in through the windows of the house his father built. He thought about how love could move you in ways you wouldn't have imagined, one foot in front of the other, even when you thought you had nothing left inside.

Witches take thier names from places, for places are what give them thier strength. The place need not be beautiful, or habitable, or even green. Sand and salt, so much the better. Scrub pine, plumberry, and brambles, better still. From every bitter thing, after all, something hardy will surely grow. From every difficulty, the seed that's sewn is that much stronger. Ruin is the milk all witches must drink; it's the lesson they learn and the diet they're fed upon.

I kept my head down so he couldn't see my face. So I'd have a few more minutes of him thinking I was beautiful. Through the straw of my hat brim I could see that his eyes were some strange pale blue. I was done for, I knew that. I was trapped then and there.

Lion had to kiss her then and there, even though when he kissed her he felt as though he were swallowing sadness. He knew he'd never be free from whatever this was between them, not that he wanted to be, not that he ever would.

I'm glad i've read other books by Alice Hoffman, because I think if this was my first time reading her work, I may not have picked up any more of her books. For some reason this book just bored me a little at times and I found myself not being in the mood for these short stories. As I said, the writing was classic Alice Hoffman, haunting and beautiful.


Has this happened to you before? You read a book by one of your favorite authors and don't enjoy it too much?