The House of Plain Truth

A Novel

De: Donna Hemans

Narrado por: Michele Dayes

A novel of fractured family and the search to protect–or discard–what unites them, this story traces one older woman's decision to uphold the wishes of those who have departed over her sisters’ objections.

When Pearline abruptly leaves her life in Brooklyn and returns to her childhood home in Jamaica to care for her dying father, Rupert, she leaves her grown daughter to cope, overwhelmed, with her granddaughters back in Brooklyn.

But Pearline isn’t prepared for Rupert’s puzzling deathbed wish that she find siblings she hasn’t seen in 60 years. What is revealed in the wake of Rupert’s death is the secret that splintered the family. Moving through time and place, The House of Plain Truth charts the family's traumatic past in Cuba, where Rupert had sought a better life and where three of Pearline's siblings remained when the rest of the family left for Jamaica. Everything Pearline learns challenges what she knows about her family and the place she has always called home.

In lush, lyrical prose inspired by the author's own family story, this novel explores the divided loyalties within a family, the true meaning of home, and what one woman has to sacrifice to get what she ultimately wants.

©2024 Donna Hemans (P)2024 Zibby Books

good stuff

full of caribbean vouce and tradition. The nostalgic nature of the work pushes off the page to engulf you

Good story of authentic JA except rushed ending; tediously narrated

Loved the depictions of country life in Jamaica with the food, smells, trees, roads, gossip and family dynamics. But it was all a build up to an ending that wasn’t fully fleshed out. Almost like the publishing deadline crippled the climax and left no room for denouement. The narrator over emphasized and enunciated each word making it an unpleasant listen and robbing the story of its rhythm. I bought 2 more of Heman’s books hardcopy and am looking forward to finding her own voice.

Horrible narration

The narration was appalling. I would have returned the book but the story was good so I struggled through it. I think I may buy a physical copy so I can actually enjoy the story.