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The House Girl: A Novel by Tara Conklin
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The House Girl: A Novel (edition 2013)

by Tara Conklin (Author)

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1,4928712,049 (3.67)53
A novel of love, family, and justice follows Lina Sparrow, an ambitious first-year associate in a Manhattan law firm, as she searches for the "perfect plaintiff" to lead a historic class-action lawsuit worth trillions of dollars in reparations for descendants of American slaves.
Member:MHanover10
Title:The House Girl: A Novel
Authors:Tara Conklin (Author)
Info:William Morrow (2013), 374 pages
Collections:Your library, Currently reading, Wishlist, To read, Read but unowned, Favorites
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Tags:to-read

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The House Girl by Tara Conklin

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» See also 53 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 87 (next | show all)
between 2 and 2.5 stars. i really, really liked this at the beginning. it was captivating and interesting and i was interested in both of the stories. i was unsure of feeling this way when i looked up the author and found she (at least) appears to be white.

toward the end of the book it was definitely not as compelling to me as the way it wrapped up (and leading to the end) seemed a little easy and unlikely. but i like the idea and the early execution, for sure. ( )
  overlycriticalelisa | Dec 20, 2022 |
I've tried to get into this book twice now but no dice. I'm not sure why I can't keep with it but it just feels like a chore going back to the book. ( )
  fellanta13 | Feb 14, 2022 |
Good, but a fairly superficial handling of all the weighty topics the author decided to take on. Slavery, addiction, abandonment, suicide... The list goes on. I can't help but feel as though this book was written by someone privileged, for someone privileged. (I happen to be that someone, so I guess it worked.) A solid novel, but I'm not tripping over myself to recommend it. ( )
  Cerestheories | Nov 8, 2021 |
Although I normally do not like books that switch between characters and/or time frames, this author did an excellent job of it because I actually looked forward to finding out what was happening in each person's life. The idea of trying to win a case for the long ago relatives of slaves seems wrong to me but liked the thinking that there should be more done to remember the efforts of people wanting to help slaves get a better life. This makes you think of present day versions of "slave" work as the lawyer Lina realized her life both at work and at home was more similar to Josephine the house slave. ( )
  kshydog | Dec 13, 2020 |
In the mid-19th century house slave Josephine is planning to escape. Current day, Lina is a lawyer. Her law firm wants to file a reparations lawsuit, but needs to find a descendant to represent. While Lina looks for such a descendant, she is drawn into Josephine’s story. Josephine is thought to be the real artist behind the art supposedly created by a white woman, the woman Josephine serves.

I may have that summary a bit “off”. I listened to the audio, but I’m not going to fault the narrator for my loss of focus. I have listened to this narrator before and rated those books 4 and 5 stars (for the 5 star book, she as one of a few narrators). So, unfortunately, I did lose focus many times in this book, so I never really cared about the characters and I wasn’t all that interested in the story. ( )
  LibraryCin | Sep 21, 2020 |
Showing 1-5 of 87 (next | show all)
Her understanding of history and instinct for detail make The House Girl a remarkably assured debut.
added by 4leschats | editBookPage, Julie Hale (Nov 1, 2013)
 
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For Freya and Luke
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Mister hit Josephine with the palm of his hand across her left cheek and it was then that she knew she would run.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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A novel of love, family, and justice follows Lina Sparrow, an ambitious first-year associate in a Manhattan law firm, as she searches for the "perfect plaintiff" to lead a historic class-action lawsuit worth trillions of dollars in reparations for descendants of American slaves.

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Two remarkable women, separated by more than a century, whose lives unexpectedly intertwine...2004:  Lina Sparrow, the daughter of an artist,  is an ambitious young lawyer working on a historic class-action lawsuit seeking reparation for the descendants of American slaves.  1852:  Josephine is a seventeen-year-old house slave who tends to the mistress of a Virginia tobacco farm-an aspiring artist named LuAnne Bell, whose paintings will become the subject of speculation and controversy among future collectors.  Lina's search to find a plaintiff for her case will introduce her to the story of Josephine.  Was she the real talent behind her mistress's now-famous portraits?  It is a question that will take Lina from the corridors of a modern corporate law firm to the sleek galleries of the New York city art world to the crumbling remains of an old plantation house.  Along the way, Lina will unearth long-buried truths about Josephine and about herself...and just maybe achieve long-overdue justice.  (ARC)
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