Book Detective

The first novel by acclaimed Greek writer Lena Manta to appear in English translation, The House by the River is an intimate, emotionally powerful saga following five young women as they realize that no matter the men they choose, the careers they pursue, or the children they raise, the only constant is home.

Theodora knows she can't keep her five beautiful daughters at home forever--they're too curious, too free spirited, too like their late father. And so, before each girl leaves the small house on the riverside at the foot of Mount Olympus, Theodora makes sure they know they are always welcome to return.

A devoted and resilient mother, Theodora has lived through World War II, through the Nazi occupation of Greece, and through her husband's death, and now she endures the twenty-year-long silence of her daughters' absence. Her children have their own lives--they've married, traveled the world, and courted romance, fame, and even tragedy. But as they become modern, independent women in pursuit of their dreams, Theodora knows they need her--and each other--more than ever. Have they grown so far apart that they've forgotten their childhood house in its tiny village, or will their broken hearts finally lead them home?

The End of the Point by Elizabeth Graver

Evidence of Things Unseen by Marianne Wiggins

Wise Men by Stuart Nadler

Gift Of Stones by Jim Crace

The Underground Man by Mick Jackson

The Madness of a Seduced Woman by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer

Gentian Hill by Elizabeth Goudge

The Shooting Party by Isabel Colegate

Divining Women by Kaye Gibbons

Unravelling by Elizabeth Graver

Pretty Boy Floyd by Larry McMurtry

Godric by Frederick Buechner

The Love of Stones by Tobias Hill

Ursula, Under by Ingrid Hill

Swallowing Grandma by Kate Long

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd