House of Daughters

Another light-weight beach read. Published in the UK as "House of Paine", I enjoyed Lynch's depiction of life on a family-run French vineyard. I also really enjoyed the details about the champagne-making. Lynch outlines at the start of the book the extensive research she conducted about the history of champagne and its process, and it really comes through in her story. I learned so much!

A vein of eccentricity runs through this story - from the rumbling ruin of a family home, a miniature pony as Clementine's indoor family pet and Le Petite Noix, the wizened sharp-witted gypsy who suddenly shows up one day, stays through the picking season and tries to guide the three sisters in their relationship. As for the sisters - Clementine, show more Mathilde and Sophie - they all harbour resentments, bitterness, pain and regrets, but their differences are sharply defined, as is the antagonism between Clementine and Mathilde. Mathilde is just mean, with a viperous tongue and I really grew tired of her constant barbs. Clementine I found to be frustrating. Hard working but prone to resorting to running away and eating when trouble or disappointment comes calling. Not surprisingly, Sophie, the youngest, is also the sweetest of three. What I found strange is that Clementine does not come across as a woman who has lived her entire life in rural France... she comes across almost as American as her sister Mathilde. As the story progresses, we get to see the complexities of the characters emerge - kind of like the hidden complexity of the champagne they work to create.

Overall, an alright summer read with some bubbly wit, a light dosing of magical realism against the backdrop of a French vineyard. show less

I enjoyed this and learned some new things about the champagne industry. Hard to imagine that 3 such different women could be sisters - I guess they all took after their mothers. It is a book filled with female characters who beget more females. I liked the way they supported each other (more or less)and made their tenuous situation work.

House of Daughters is the story of three estranged half-sisters. Clementine, the oldest, lives in a vineyard in France with their curmudgeonly old father, Olivier, and has helped him tend the vines since she was a girl. Clementine hasn’t seen her younger sister, Mathilde, since she spent the summer with them years ago and cruelly broke Clementine’s heart by pursuing the man she knew Clementine herself was in love with. But when Olivier dies and leaves the vineyard to his daughters, Clementine must share her prized vineyard with her infuriating half-sister. Even worse, it seems that Olivier had another daughter that neither Clementine nor Mathilde were aware of: Sophie. After her mother’s death, Sophie was shuffled from foster home show more to foster home, after which she lived on the streets. The Peine vineyards are Sophie’s one chance to find a family and a place to belong.

The only problem is that these sisters resent each other. Though Clementine and Sophie begin to grow closer, Mathilde still holds her sisters at arm’s-length. She hides her insecurities under a shell of cruelty and malice, but she can’t cower forever. Eventually Clementine and Mathilde’s secrets are revealed as the three sisters work together to save the Peine vineyards.

House of Daughters is a repackaging of the popular UK book House of Peine, brought to shelves for the American market. U.S. readers will love the depiction of French vineyards and the details about making champagne. Lynch obviously did extensive research on the history of champagne and how it is made (as she details in the introduction), and it shows. In the book, she goes into exquisite details about champagne and all the processes of its making. For anyone interested in the process but not willing to read a dry nonfiction book, this novel is for you.

The story of the Peine sisters is also appealing. The bond between Clementine and Sophie is sweet and develops into a real sisterly connection. They look out for each other and, slowly, Clementine begins to trust that Sophie will not hurt her. The problem comes with Mathilde. She is so unpleasant that when her predictable turnaround finally comes (much too late in the book), it simply does not matter. The reader is never going to be able to like her despite how nice she acts or how damaged she was from her childhood. It would have been nice if her transformation could have come sooner; that way the character might actually have a chance with the reader. However, real life sometime gets in the way of a reader’s pleasure, and it is understandable that a person that damaged would actually act that extreme.

House of Daughters is a cute story that will appeal to anyone who likes chick lit/women’s fiction-type books, is interested in the champagne-making process, or enjoys books set in different countries (such as Under the Tuscan Sun).

From S. Krishna's Books show less

I really enjoyed this book, a nice surprise from Sarah-Kate Lynch… after reading BLESSED ARE THE CHEESEMAKERS, I figured I enjoyed it so much knowing cheese makers from Wisconsin… but this book went far beyond, now I know so much more about Champagne! I can't convey the detail in the book but the plot keeps twisting and you keep reading until it's done and your now sad to reach the end.

Clementine è una donna inflessibile, indurita dal proprio lavoro tra le vigne e dalla vita non proprio gentile nei suoi confronti: se non fosse per quei chili di troppo, assomiglierebbe a una delle sue viti, con le radici aggrappate alla terra dei suoi avi e le membra contorte per far fronte alle avversità.
Un evento improvviso porterà con sé visite inaspettate e non gradite: la vita di Clementine sarà decisamente scombussolata e la donna si troverà a dover affrontare temi dolorosi che ha cercato per anni di tener chiusi nel suo cuore.
Romanzo frizzante come un bicchiere di champagne, che invoglia a scoprire o gustare con occhi diversi questo vino prezioso.

interesting read-- what a strained family...didn't enjoy having to turn to the back of the book to learn what french word i was reading, it took 1/3 of the book to realize there was a glossary there.

Funny and touching with a perfect, satisfying ending. And I also learned lots about wine-making and champagne. This would be a perfect vacation read.