The Hundred-Year House

By: Rebecca Makkai

Narrated by: Jen Tullock

Meet the Devohrs: Zee, a Marxist literary scholar who detests her parents' wealth but nevertheless finds herself living in their carriage house; Gracie, her mother, who claims she can tell your lot in life by looking at your teeth; and Bruce, her step-father, stockpiling supplies for the Y2K apocalypse and perpetually late for his tee time. Then there's Violet Devohr, Zee's great-grandmother, who they say took her own life somewhere in the vast house, and whose massive oil portrait still hangs in the dining room.

Violet's portrait was known to terrify the artists who resided at the house from the 1920s to the 1950s, when it served as the Laurelfield Arts Colony - and this is exactly the period Zee's husband, Doug, is interested in. An out-of-work academic whose only hope of a future position is securing a book deal, Doug is stalled on his biography of the poet Edwin Parfitt, once in residence at the colony. All he needs to get the book back on track - besides some motivation and self-esteem - is access to the colony records, rotting away in the attic for decades. But when Doug begins to poke around where he shouldn't, he finds Gracie guards the files with a strange ferocity, raising questions about what she might be hiding. The secrets of the hundred-year house would turn everything Doug and Zee think they know about her family on its head - that is, if they were to ever uncover them.

In this brilliantly conceived, ambitious, and deeply rewarding novel, Rebecca Makkai unfolds a generational saga in reverse, leading the listener back in time on a literary scavenger hunt as we seek to uncover the truth about these strange people and this mysterious house. With intelligence and humor, a daring narrative approach, and a lovingly satirical voice, Rebecca Makkai has crafted an unforgettable novel about family, fate, and the incredible surprises life can offer.

©2014 Rebecca Makkai (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"[A] gleeful tale of ghosts, vengeance and family secrets.... The darkly funny Makkai seeds the narrative with so many mysteries and surprises...that those 100 years race by." (People, "The Best New Books")

"Makkai guides her twisty, maximalist story with impressive command and a natural ear for satire. Equal parts screwball comedy, intellectual sex farce, historical drama and old-fashioned ghost story, The Hundred-Year House sometimes feels like the precocious love child of John Irving’s The Hotel New Hampshire and a rousing game of Clue." (The New York Times Book Review)

"A big-hearted gothic novel, an intergenerational mystery, a story of heartbreak and a romance, all crammed into one grand Midwestern estate.... A juicy and moving story of art and love and the luck it takes for either to last." (Los Angeles Times)

haunting

haunting is the best description I can give this story the muti layers and generations seemed to be hidden behind mist until the author pulled back the curtain. and we certainly get answers about their lives but we are some how left with new different questions. leaving me feeling like can we ever truly know the answers to the people from generations passed. I really enjoyed this. different from anything I've ever read.

So what............

I really wanted to like this book, but i really couldnt get into it.
I may come back to it at a later date and relisten, but for now I cant recommend it.

Hmmmm

What made the experience of listening to The Hundred-Year House the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the "mystery" of the house and wondering exactly "who" the characters were.

Would you recommend The Hundred-Year House to your friends? Why or why not?

If the story had stuck with just the 2 most recent generations I think I would have enjoyed it more. When it went back to the earliest years of the house I honestly lost interest and even got a little confused.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed out loud frequently over some of the comments made by some of the characters!

Not conducive for audio book

I expected to love this book because I think the author is wildly talented but I kept getting lost listening to it. I think it’s a tricky one and it might’ve been easier to read a hard copy.

Still thinking about it, weeks later.

Would you listen to The Hundred-Year House again? Why?

I absolutely would. Knowing the full story, I'd like to revisit the parts I thought were about one thing, but were really about something else. It's a rich story with characters you come to love, flaws and all. There is a sweetness and a satisfaction to the wrap up.

Needs Untangling

Fascinating, listened to it three times through to untangle it all. should that be necessary?

Two novels in one.

Very powerful, funny and engaging and well-performed. The modern characters fade behind the vivid lives of the artists who take over the story just when you think it is ending.

Great Book Immediately Placed On My ReRead Pile

i love how this novel jumped back in time to four generations of inhabitants of the hundred-year house. starting in the "now" and going back with so many secrets intertwining all three generations. every section answers questions, gives you more questions, and wraps you up in the secrets and lies and intensity of the house.

i loved the character development, even in the shortest sections -- i loved the interactions between the artists, the owners, the caretakers and the house itself. the house was the main character (obviously) and held all the secrets in its walls and under it's soil and in every part of it.

would read again.

It's no THE BELIEVERS

The characters are complex, per usual, and the relationships and events fraught with tension but you simply don't care much about anybody in the book.

Inventive and well written, but not quite what I was looking for

I really enjoyed the first part of this book, but enjoyed the second two parts a bit less. I'm still going to give it 3 stars because I think it's inventive and well written. It's cleverly put together, but for some reason I just preferred the 1999 storyline to the earlier bits (the book goes in reverse chronological order). I can't really say too much more about the plot without spoiling it, so I won't.

The characters were kind of unlikable, but that didn't bother me, because they were pretty interesting (the ones in 1999, anyway). I got a particular kick out of the struggling academic who had resorted to secretly being a ghost writer for a Babysitters' Club style pre-teen book series. Hilarious!

I liked The Borrower, and I think this book is better. It just wasn't quite what I was looking for, but that's not the author's fault.