Dwelling Places: A Novel

By Vinita Hampton Wright

Mack and Jodie have no idea how much their lives are going to change when they decide to give up farming. Mack is hospitalized with depression, Jodie finds herself tempted by the affections of another man, and their teenage children begin looking for answers outside the family—Kenzie turns to fundamentalist Christianity, and Taylor starts cavorting with Goths. Told in the unforgettable voices of each family member, this powerful story of family life reveals the stubborn resilience of love and how sometimes the very thing we're looking for has been waiting at home all along.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 6, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061980213

Reviews for Dwelling Places

[kaitanya64 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book deals with farm foreclosure, mental illness, and death, but its overall message is one of hope and redemption.

[sunnydrk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A deep and authentic look inside a family struggling with change and loss. I like the way the story was told, it was just hard for me to get into since it was such a dark storyline. The descriptions of the land, town and character develop were good. However, for some reason I couldn't physically picture the characters.

[kebets_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Just as the land hides the history of those who have passed - so this book does. Wright creates a family deeply tied to the land, yet unable to make the transformation demanded by so many today as farming evolves into megafarms. This is a family who worked and laughed together and hid the deep depression that comes from failing at something that you are expected to succeed at. As each of the 4 family members; Mack, Jodie and their two children Young Taylor and Kenzie, search for a new belonging they first find it in others. Yet tragedy and near tragedy bring them back to one another.It was hard for me to leave this story. Maybe because it was written about southeastern Iowa, maybe because it’s sort of 40-something, maybe because they are all seeking a new dwelling place - a new transition. Whatever the reason I found myself thinking a lot about Jodie and her life.Very interesting!

[debs4jc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This introspective novel examines the lives of a rural family in crisis. The wife is so tired of trying to hold her family together. Her husband has just returned from a mental health facility. Her daughter is going through an ultra-religious phase and spends hours at the church praying. Her son dresses all in black and is fascinated with death. She herself finds herself returning the attractions of a fellow teacher. As this book goes from one viewpoint to another, we see how the family crisis mirrors a larger crisis of community, and how that community eventually helps a healing of sorts to begin. The prose of this novel is very descriptive, and the characters spend a lot of time thinking deep thoughts. Good for when you are in an introspective mood.

[mrshillreads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a book to slowly savor. It takes a little bit to get into the lives of the family; but eventually they all seem so real and their problems are so "typical". The rural setting and the loss of the farming environment strikes close to home. Everyone was working so hard to keep the family together. I think the struggle with depression was especially well done.