The Good House - BookWyrm

Paperback, 496 pages

English language

Published July 6, 2004 by Atria Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-7434-4901-4

(5 reviews)

The home that belonged to Angela Toussaint's late grandmother is so beloved that the townspeople in Sacajawea, Washington call it the Good House. But that all changes one summer when an unexpected tragedy takes place behind its closed doors, and the Toussaint's family history—and future—is dramatically transformed.

Angela has not returned to the Good House since her son, Corey, died there two years ago. But now, Angela is finally ready to return to her hometown and go beyond the grave to unearth the truth about Corey's death. Could it be related to a terrifying entity Angela's grandmother battled seven decades ago? And what about the other senseless calamities that Sacajawea has seen in recent years? Has Angela's grandmother, an African American woman reputed to have "powers," put a curse on the entire community?

A thrilling exploration of secrets, lies, and divine inspiration, The Good House will haunt readers long after …

The home that belonged to Angela Toussaint's late grandmother is so beloved that the townspeople in Sacajawea, Washington call it the Good House. But that all changes one summer when an unexpected tragedy takes place behind its closed doors, and the Toussaint's family history—and future—is dramatically transformed.

Angela has not returned to the Good House since her son, Corey, died there two years ago. But now, Angela is finally ready to return to her hometown and go beyond the grave to unearth the truth about Corey's death. Could it be related to a terrifying entity Angela's grandmother battled seven decades ago? And what about the other senseless calamities that Sacajawea has seen in recent years? Has Angela's grandmother, an African American woman reputed to have "powers," put a curse on the entire community?

A thrilling exploration of secrets, lies, and divine inspiration, The Good House will haunt readers long after its chilling conclusion.

3 editions

Erin reviewed The Good House by Tananarive Due

Review of 'The Good House' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I had a really good time with this. It’s slow, provides a lot of details, but I was fine with that in the same way I was fine with it in Plain Bad Heroines. It lets me linger in the atmosphere.

Loved that the story involved vodou and lwas. Great creepy moments, disturbing moments, horrifying moments.

I don’t think the characters were super deep, and I’d have loved more, but then I think it’d have been a different book. The characters and their struggles are pretty standard fare.

I would love to see a movie of this. I hope that it’s on someone’s radar what with the surge of Black stories getting told in film and TV.

My love for this book has one really big caveat. What on earth was going on with Myles and Angela the morning after they had sex? I could not process why I was …

I had a really good time with this. It’s slow, provides a lot of details, but I was fine with that in the same way I was fine with it in Plain Bad Heroines. It lets me linger in the atmosphere.

Loved that the story involved vodou and lwas. Great creepy moments, disturbing moments, horrifying moments.

I don’t think the characters were super deep, and I’d have loved more, but then I think it’d have been a different book. The characters and their struggles are pretty standard fare.

I would love to see a movie of this. I hope that it’s on someone’s radar what with the surge of Black stories getting told in film and TV.

My love for this book has one really big caveat. What on earth was going on with Myles and Angela the morning after they had sex? I could not process why I was reading about Myles thrusting into a half asleep, seemingly unaware Angela. That is not consensual. I was like, is he possessed now?? What is going on?? I kept waiting for something to be said about it, for him to have a stomachache… nothing. Did Due think that was romantic?? I am so baffled.

Also, thoughts on the ending: I did feel a little disappointed that all the bad stuff was taken away. It felt a little bit like, “it was all a dream!” But ultimately I decided, some stories can have happy endings like this. And in this case, it didn’t feel unearned.