The Good House
A Novel
-
-
4.1 • 658 Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
The Good House, by Ann Leary, is funny, poignant, and terrifying. A classic New England tale that lays bare the secrets of one little town, this spirited novel will stay with you long after the story has ended.
Now a major motion picture starring Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline!
Hildy Good is a townie. A lifelong resident of a small community on the rocky coast of Boston's North Shore, she knows pretty much everything about everyone. And she's good at lots of things, too. A successful real-estate broker, mother, and grandmother, her days are full. But her nights have become lonely ever since her daughters, convinced their mother was drinking too much, sent her off to rehab. Now she's in recovery—more or less.
Alone and feeling unjustly persecuted, Hildy finds a friend in Rebecca McAllister, one of the town's wealthy newcomers. Rebecca is grateful for the friendship and Hildy feels like a person of the world again, as she and Rebecca escape their worries with some harmless gossip and a bottle of wine by the fire—just one of their secrets.
But Rebecca is herself the subject of town gossip. When Frank Getchell, an old friend who shares a complicated history with Hildy, tries to warn her away from Rebecca, Hildy attempts to protect her friend from a potential scandal. Soon, however, Hildy is busy trying to protect her own reputation. When a cluster of secrets becomes dangerously entwined, the reckless behavior of one person threatens to expose the other, and this darkly comic novel takes a chilling turn.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hildy Good is a realtor in Wendover, the little Massachusetts town where she's lived her entire life. Smalltown life inevitably brings smalltown gossip, and Hildy is no exception: "I know pretty much everything that happens in this town. One way or another, it gets back to me." Suffering from alcoholism and marital problems, Hildy's always in search of distractions. Emboldened by a self-professed ability to read people bordering on what she considers ESP Hildy finds the intrigue she's been looking for when Boston hedge fund owner Brian McAllister and his wife, Rebecca, move to town. With her characteristic vigilance, Hildy soon uncovers a burgeoning affair between Rebecca and a local psychiatrist. As confidante, blackmailer, and real-estate broker to both Rebecca and Peter, the psychiatrist who rents the upstairs office, Hildy's entanglements not only threaten the lives of others but also tease out her own problems and self-delusions. In this second novel (after Outtakes from a Marriage), Leary creates a long-winded and melodramatic Peyton Place, but convincingly displays the corrosive and sometimes dire consequences of denial and overconfidence.
Customer Reviews
The Good House
Really enjoyed this one. Interesting that the whole book is one woman’s stream of consciousness, that a totally fascinating story can be based on her thoughts. It’s a sort of mystery too- little by little you are given bits of information that increase your understanding of the characters, especially the protagonist.
Wicked good read!!!
Have to admit, I saw this book recommended in People magazine of all places. Being a rag, I wasn't sure about the 4 star review, but I decided to chance it. I'm not sorry. Wonderfully written, wry, cynical, hilarious and captivating. And all of that occurs in the same chapter. You will love Hildy Good. Mrs. Leary is a terrific writer and I WILL read her again!
"LUSH" character piece
I was drawn into the accurate and LUSH depiction of the alcoholic in denial. A nice piece of fiction, as well as a cautionary tale of the power the disease of alcoholism to guide us and blind us at the same time.