The Turtle House

A Novel

By: Amanda Churchill

Narrated by: Joy Osmanski, Kelly Wilkinson

“A heartbreakingly resonant debut, The Turtle House is a tender, big-hearted story about women, family, and the complicated history of Texas. These characters, and their tentative, flawed stumblings toward grace, will stay with me.”—Elizabeth Wetmore, author of Valentine

“Sweeping yet intimate, Amanda Churchill’s Turtle House spans cultures and continents. Minnie and her granddaughter Lia are unforgettable protagonists, whose grit and grace will inspire you. Together, they find a way through in this gripping debut.”—Vanessa Hua, author of Forbidden City

Moving between late 1990s small-town Texas to pre-World War II Japan and occupied Tokyo, an emotionally engaging literary debut about a grandmother and granddaughter who connect over a beloved lost place and the secrets they both carry.

It’s spring 1999, and 25-year-old Lia Cope and her prickly 73-year-old grandmother, Mineko, are sharing a bedroom in Curtain, Texas, the ranching town where Lia grew up and Mineko began her life as a Japanese war bride. Both women are at a turning point: Mineko, long widowed, moved in with her son and daughter-in-law after a suspicious fire destroyed the Cope family ranch house, while Lia, an architect with a promising career in Austin, has unexpectedly returned under circumstances she refuses to explain.

Though Lia never felt especially close to her grandmother, the two grow close sharing late-night conversations. Mineko tells stories of her early life in Japan, of the war that changed everything, and of her two great loves: a man named Akio Sato and an abandoned Japanese country estate they called the Turtle House, where their relationship took root. As Mineko reveals more of her early life—tales of innocent swimming lessons that blossom into something more, a friendship nurtured across oceans, totems saved and hidden, the heartbreak of love lost too soon—Lia comes to understand the depth of her grandmother’s pain and sacrifice and sees her Texas family in a new light. She also recognizes that it’s she who needs to come clean—about the budding career she abandoned and the mysterious man who keeps calling.

When Mineko’s adult children decide, against her wishes, to move her into an assisted living community, she and Lia devise a plan to bring a beloved lost place to life, one that they hope will offer the safety and sense of belonging they both need, no matter the cost.

A story of intergenerational friendship, family, coming of age, identity, and love, The Turtle House illuminates the hidden lives we lead, the secrets we hold close, and what it truly means to find home again when it feels lost forever.

©2024 Amanda Churchill (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

A Timeless and Timely Read

Amanda Churchill’s novel provides insight into the anguish of being a Japanese-born immmigrant into the US after WWII. Minnie Cope marries an American soldier shortly after her homeland is bombed into submission by the U.S. A character of tremendous strength and keen insight, Minnie has survived war torn Japan through great sacrifice, sending money home to her family, which has never recognized her abilities. Through patience, determination and humor, Minnie learns to navigate a difficult marriage while finding ways to care for her children as she struggles to find acceptance. She and her granddaughter’s lives are thrown together, allowing them to peer at the parallel struggles each has faced or are facing. A wonderful book, painstakingly written, beautifully crafted.

The love of a granddaughter

What a wonderful turn of phrase Amanda has with her writing. I liked the shifts in times and the similarities to Minnie’s and Leah’s stories with overpowering men even generations apart. Both women were strong and resilient. Fantastic book!

Amazing story and characters

Unique , interesting to follow intertwining stories of grandma and granddaughter Loved the voices and descriptions of Japan

This is Texas

Loved it all. I grew up in Texas and this was spot on Loved the transitions between Japan and Texas too. And the depiction of Japan was enlightening and also touching. I did shed tears when the grandmother read a letter from someone dear to her One of my recent favorites-and I listen to 2-3 books a week, often having difficulty finding one that is well written about a subject that will hold me interest.

The author captured stories that epitomize the indomitable human spirit. Delightful!

As an Audible version I found it difficult to stay on track with the treks from the future to the past and back.

Gorgeous

How can a book epitomize Texas and Japan, a woman’s strength and weaknesses, a great love and disaster, the sweeping saga of a people and time who were swept away by their demigod into lands never imagined and a land of a people who’s strength is their diversity, if only they’d see it. Amanda Churchill has written just such a book, and the narration of it is grand and simple, landing just right. I loved the architectural elements in the story, building the turtle house as a frame around the reader and story, so symbolic of hopes and dreams, and yet also a haunting symbol of the yearnings of time past. “Turtles are very good luck and mean a long life.”

This is the story of Mineko. And it is the story of Lia. Grandmother and granddaughter, never particularly close but full of familial love, find their way, together, as they examine their own lives.

Loved it!

Very interesting story, great character development, wonderful descriptions without being too wordy. I enjoyed everything about this book and look forward to more by this author. The narrator was terrific, too!

Absorbing multigenerational story of Japanese Americans

An excellent debut novel, capturing great emotional detail the struggles of a Japanese American family starting after World War II to the present time- the characters were extremely well done, and the narrator was superb, especially in the voice of the grandmother

I think it would be an excellent book club book because it embodies many important topics to discuss about Japanese Society and the post World War II Japanese American experience

Give it a try!

MUST READ

How is this book not on the NYT best seller list yet?! So well written! My mom group has a book club on the side, and this book was chosen because we live in the same town as the author. It was a totally random pick, and wow does it not disappoint. The audible was fantastic, and I was easily immersed into both of the main characters lives. Hoping for more great reads from this author!

At first the halting cadence of the narration bothered me, but then it added to the authenticity of the grandmother’s story

An interesting and compelling story of a Japanese war bride and her settlement into a new world. It gave me a perspective I’d never considered before. Thank you!