Over the plain houses
(Book)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Published
Spartanburg, SC : Hub City Press, [2016].
ISBN
9781938235214, 1938235215
Status

Description

A Depression-era Appalachian farm wife is branded as a witch by her fundamentalist husband when she bonds with a USDA agent who has traveled to the North Carolina mountains to instruct regional families on how to modernize their homes and farms.

Copies

LocationCall NumberStatus
Downers Grove Public Library - 2nd Floor - AdultFICTION FRANKS, J.On Shelf
Frankfort Public Library District - StacksFICTION FRANKS, J.On Shelf
Glen Ellyn Public Library - Adult FictionFIC FRANKS, JULIAOn Shelf
Grande Prairie Public Library District - StacksFIC FRAOn Shelf
Matteson Area Public Library District - StacksFIC FRANKSOn Shelf
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More Details

Published
Spartanburg, SC : Hub City Press, [2016].
Format
Book
Physical Desc
271 pages ; 24 cm
Language
English
ISBN
9781938235214, 1938235215

Notes

Description
A Depression-era Appalachian farm wife is branded as a witch by her fundamentalist husband when she bonds with a USDA agent who has traveled to the North Carolina mountains to instruct regional families on how to modernize their homes and farms.

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

In Eakin, a small town in Appalachian North Carolina, Irene Lambey lives in excessive austerity with her preacher-husband, Brodis: no electricity, no dancing, no piano playing. To satisfy her nostalgia for her former, more self-possessed life, Irene sneaks out of the house at night to commune with keepsakes from her past, which she stores in a nearby cave. Sensing her distance, Brodis becomes suspicious and rapes Irene one night after she returns from the woods. Traumatized, Irene struggles to justify leaving her life with Brodis. Franks poetically depicts Irene's damaged inner life of synesthetic daydreaming and dizzying confusion. A historical thread involving the Department of Agriculture explains Brodis' deep feelings of emasculation and insecurity: the department wants to help modernize Eakin, from farming to homemaking. This subplot, though well poised to further enrich Franks' narrative, plays an unfortunately minor role. The ending, also, leaves something to be desired in light of Irene's suffering, but readers curious about religious fundamentalism and women overcoming societal pressures will be moved by this courageous character.--Grant, Sarah Copyright 2016 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Library Journal Review

This riveting debut novel is both a portrait of a dysfunctional marriage and the tale of one woman's journey to freedom and redemption. Set in the mountains of North Carolina in 1939, it introduces -Irenie Lambey, who is trapped in a destructive relationship with husband Brodis. While a well-respected preacher in his community, Brodis is quickly revealed to be a controlling, violently abusive tyrant in private. Irenie's misery is abated somewhat by the arrival of independent-minded -Virginia Furman, an agent for the Department of Agriculture who is sent into the mountains to help families modernize their homes and farms. Through nightly wanderings in the woods and in her friendship with Virginia, Irenie finds happiness and for the first time envisions what her life would be like free of her husband. Eventually, Brodis discovers her trips and convinces himself that she is a witch. Afraid for himself and believing that he is ultimately saving his marriage, Brodis commits an unimaginable act that leaves the entire community reeling. -VERDICT -Readers who enjoy a seamless blend of drama and historical fiction with an -Appalachian flavor such as Harriette -Arnow's The -Dollmaker will delight in discovering the work of Franks, a promising new writer.-Mariel -Pachucki, Maple Valley, WA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Kirkus Book Review

In the mountains of North Carolina, a dour preacher begins to suspect his wife is a witch after she befriends a well-meaning agent from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Set in 1939, Franks' disquieting debut is the story of Irenie Lambey, a restive farm wife living a smaller life than she'd intended. Her husband, Brodis, is a preacher whose fundamentalism prohibits even piano playing, making Irenie's day-to-day existence so claustrophobic that she's taken to sneaking out in the middle of the night for long walks: "the only part of her life that belonged to her alone." Everything changes when Irenie meets Ginny Furman, a USDA agent assigned to teach the local women how to modernize their homes (sample course offering: "Linoleum Makes Easy Cleaning"). Irenie is attracted to Ginny's independence, and the two become friends. But after Brodis learns of Irenie's secret walks, he starts to believe his wife has come under the influence of a diabolical force, resulting in a chain of events that leads to catastrophe. Franks is at her best bringing to life 1930s Appalachia, creating fully drawn characters as idiosyncratic as the language they use (a man is described as a "slope-shouldered do-less," goose bumps are "the all-overs," etc.). She works especially hard to humanize Brodis, taking his religiosity seriously and avoiding caricature. But in going to such great lengths to explain how Brodis came to believe what he believes, she drains the story of some of its energy, focusing too much on his back story and his long-simmering resentments and not quite enough on Irenie's (much more unpredictable) journey. Ultimately, Brodis' role in the novel is much like his role in the marriage: sucking up more oxygen than is his due. Though at times unevenly paced, Franks' debut is a thoughtful exploration of one woman's quest to live life on her own terms. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Franks, J. (2016). Over the plain houses . Hub City Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Franks, Julia, 1964-. 2016. Over the Plain Houses. Spartanburg, SC: Hub City Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Franks, Julia, 1964-. Over the Plain Houses Spartanburg, SC: Hub City Press, 2016.

Harvard Citation (style guide)

Franks, J. (2016). Over the plain houses. Spartanburg, SC: Hub City Press.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Franks, Julia. Over the Plain Houses Hub City Press, 2016.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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