Here On Earth - Softcover

Hoffman, Alice

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099750813 ISBN 13: 9780099750819

Publisher: Vintage, 1998

Synopsis

March returns to her childhood home with her teenage daughter, Gwen, to attend the funeral of the housekeeper who brought her up. Unexpectedly, though, the visit rekindles in March a passion for an earlier unrequited love. Overwhelmed by her emotions, she abandons her marriage and life commitments in pursuit of the affair. But her lover is a man of strange secrets with a violent streak, and she soon discovers him to be a Bluebeard with a sinister collection...

Here on Earth is both a darkly compelling love story and a fantastically detailed portrait of small-town life, rife with gossip, tensions and murky pasts.

An Oprah Winfrey Book Club Choice.

About this title

Review:

In this first-rate "tape turner" Hoffman once again proves her powers as a storyteller. Dialogue rings remarkably true in this reading by Susan Ericksen, which also brings out the incisive details and keen observations on nature, both human and otherwise, that Hoffman carefully deploys in this masterful narrative. When March Murray travels East with her teenage daughter to attend the funeral of the beloved housekeeper who looked after her when she was growing up, March's past comes rushing up to meet her. The present is quickly dominated by the lurking presence of her former lover, Hollis, who has patiently awaited her long overdue return. The tale is populated by those for whom love brings more sorrow than happiness: a woman afraid to commit to a relationship, a husband in love with someone other than his wife, two young people who fall for each other only to find they are close relatives, and the self-destructing love of Hollis and March. While love has the power to transform those who fall under its spell--devotion to an old racehorse turns March's daughter, a sullen teenager, into a strong young woman--the love March herself suffers robs her of nearly all sense and goodness. Hoffman deftly weaves her characters' stories against a vivid New England landscape where the past always has a grip on the present. And the listener is left at the end both satisfied and longing to hear more. --Anne Depue

Review:

"There is something irresistible about the novels of Alice Hoffman. Her themes of love, marriage, family and friendship are reassuringly familiar and her style agreeably evocative...Her stories have a quality of mystery and even darkness that puts a fresh spin on the commonplace, and at its very best can make the reader look at life from a fresh angle. If I could see things through Hoffman's eyes, I'm convinced life would be richer and more interesting... Here On Earth is a wonderful piece of storytelling" (Literary Review)

"Hoffman is shrewd and witty about the networks of gossip and affection in town, and she evokes place superbly... spellbinding" (Sunday Times)

"Imagine Wuthering Heights set in a small New England town during the last 30 years. The characters escape not to wild moors but marshes haunted by foxes and souls of drowned men-compelling" (Independent)

"Wuthering Heights meets The Horse Whisperer... riveting and memorable" (Mail on Sunday)

"A gripping novel that evokes the tensions of small-town life" (Elle)

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0099750813
• ISBN 13: 9780099750819
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304