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From a beloved and bestselling master of speculative fiction comes this chilling tale of a soulful loner who must overcome demons from his past -- and the demons he unwittingly unleashes -- when he starts renovating a faded Southern mansion. As Homebody eloquently proves, no contemporary writer outshines Orson Scott Card in crafting unlikely heroes or in suffusing the everyday world with an otherworldly glow. Don Lark's cheery name belies his tragic past. When his alcoholic ex-wife killed their daughter in a car wreck, he retreated from the sort of settled, sociable lifestyle one takes for granted. Only the prospect of putting a roof over other people's heads seems to comfort Lark, and he goes from town to town, looking for dilapidated houses he can buy, restore and resell at a profit. In Greensboro, North Carolina, Lark finds his biggest challenge yet -- a huge, sturdy, gorgeous shell that's suffered almost a century of abuse at the hands of greedy landlords and transient tenants. As he sinks his teeth into this new project, Lark's new neighborhood starts to work its charms on him. He strikes up a romance with the wry real estate agent who sold him the house. His neighbors, two charming, chatty old ladies, ply him endlessly with delicious Southern cooking. Even Sylvie, the squatter Lark was once desperate to evict from the old house, is now growing on him. But when Lark unearths an old tunnel in the cellar, the house's enchantments start to turn ominous. Sylvie turns cantankerous, even dangerous. There's still a steady supply of food from next door, but it now comes laced with increasingly passionate pleas for Lark to vacate the house at once. In short, everybody seems to want to get rid of him. Whether this is for his own good or theirs, Lark digs in his heels for reasons even he's not sure of. He embarks on a struggle for his life -- and his friends'-- against a house with a past even more tragic than his own. If Lark wins, he gets the kind of home and community he's always dreamed of. If he loses, all is lost....… (more)
User reviews
This old house is supposed to be Don Lark's "find of a lifetime" for the financial sercurity he desperately lacks.
From the thrills, the mystery, and the suspense this book is a number one on my shelf. The characters are well thought out, deeply moving, and one can relate to them and their tribulations. I will recommend this book every chance I get!
This book seemed to throw me off at first because I wasn't sure where the leads were tying into the previous details. I realized that the style of this book simply had several sub-plots within an overall plot that recurrently picked back up. This book was unique and enjoyable due to its ability to create suspense and interest in its small mysteries without depicting horror or disturbing scenes. Although the house in this book is haunted, the suspense is appeasing and delightful and not at all scary. The plot and sub-plots are slightly random and obscure, but the characters are likable and well developed and descriptions are detailed and wonderful!
All in all, I am generally in love with his work, and that won't change. This one, though, well, it will not keep a place in my heart for long. (It will keep a place on my shelf, though. It wasn't *that* bad.)
When Don buys a run-down, falling apart home to restore it, he is surprised to find a squatter living there. He learns more about the house from the squatter and the neighbours and things don't quite go as planned.
I enjoyed it, mostly, but I was hoping for creepy and I really didn't find