Looking Back - The House of Gentle Men

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

The House of Gentle Men by Kathy Hepinstall

Fiction

1999
Finished on April 14, 2002

Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

In a year of war, sixteen-year-old Charlotte sets off on a mission of love in the backwoods of Louisiana, only to be violated by three soldiers in a lonely section of the forest. Charlotte's young life is destroyed, but another life is growing inside her. Years later, in peacetime, Charlotte comes to House of Gentle Men, a mysterious sanctuary where sad, damaged women are administered to by haunted men wishing to atone for their past crimes. Here, Charolotte falls in love with one of the Gentle Men, a tormented young soldier with a terrible secret of his own. An artistic triumph of the highest order, this debut is a transcendent tale of salvation that celebrates the strength of the heart.

My Original Thoughts (2002):

Read with On the Porch Swing online book group. Reminiscent of Alice Hoffman and Laura Esquivel - mystical tone. Set in Louisiana in 1941. It took me quite a while to get interested in this book. I might have given up if it weren't a group read. A couple of surprises, but an abrupt ending that was disappointing. 

My Current Thoughts:

No recollection of this novel. Just adding it to my list of books read in 2002.