The House On Malcolm Street by Leisha Kelly
From the bestselling author of Emma’s Gift, comes The House on Malcolm Street, Leisha Kelly’s latest novel about finding healing in the most unexpected of places.
It is the autumn of 1920 and Leah Breckenridge is desperate to find a way to provide for her young daughter. After losing her husband and infant son in an accident, she is angry at God and fearful about the future. Finding refuge in a boardinghouse run by her late husband’s aunt, Leah’s heart begins the slow process of mending. Is it the people who surround her—or perhaps this very house—that reach into her heart with healing?
Delightful, realistic characters and skilled writing make The House on Malcolm Street by Leisha Kelly a treasure.
Leisha Kelly is the author of several bestselling historical fiction books, including Emma’s Gift, Julia’s Hope, and Katie’s Dream. She has served many years on her local library board, continuing to bring good reads and educational opportunities to her community. Once a waitress, cafe manager, tutor, and EMT, Leisha is now a busy novelist and speaker who is active in the ministries of her church. She lives with her family in Illinois.
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life. They publish resources from a variety of well-known brands and authors, including their partnership with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Hungry Planet.
This was a good book, however, it took awhile for me to actually get into the story. I found it to be a bit slow at first, and I think I felt this way because the book was written in first person, and there was an awful lot of thought and reflection for the characters and it took me awhile to read a book that was written this way.
Leah and her daughter Eliza are destitute. After the recent death of her spouse, she goes to live with her deceased husband’s elderly aunt who runs a boardinghouse. Not wanting to accept charity, Leah strives to help out around the house by tending the garden, cooking, doing laundry, anything to ensure that her and Eliza can stay with Aunt Marigold so that they aren’t forced back onto the streets. Leah’s faith in God is weak, and her daughter’s faith is as strong as can be. Throughout Leah’s life, she’s suffered from nightmares about trains. She’s terrified of the huge machines and is unsure from where her fear stems. The nightmares worsen after the death of her husband, and she longs to find peace and solace, away from those dreadful dreams.
To make matters a bit more complicated, Leah’s elderly Aunt Marigold has a surly boarder named Josiah staying at the boardinghouse. Leah can’t figure out what makes this weird boarder tick. He makes her feel uneasy, and the strangest words tumble from his mouth, making her wonder if he even knows how to think before he speaks. Marigold knows she needs to keep her distance from Josiah if they want to live amicably in Marigold’s house since his strange questions and comments make her angry, making her wonder if Josiah believes that her and her daughter are nothing more than vagrants, mooching off of her Christian aunt’s kindness.
Josiah is suffering from his own demons and he’s also getting over the loss of loved ones. He’s still healing, and Leah’s and Eliza’s sudden appearance in his life brings his grief fresh to his mind and he wishes the twosome would leave the boarding house so that he can get some peace.
I did think that the conflict between two secondary characters, Marigold and her next-door-neighbor, Mr. Abraham, had a bit of a different twist. These two elderly people are in love, however, Marigold is a Christian and Mr. Abraham is Jewish. Can a Jew become a Christian? Interesting and totally unexpected turn of events happen between these two people.
This story is a good read if you don’t want a lot of action and adventure. The story is about people working through their problems, while they work out their issues with faith in the Lord.
The House On Malcolm Street is available September 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Many thanks to Baker/Revell for providing this review copy for me.
Thanks for such a great review on this one. It does sound like a good story to read on a rainy Saturday. Another one you might want to read is by Christian author, Joy DeKok called, “Rain Dance,” which is about two women who come from opposite sides of the spectrum. One struggles with infertility and other has had an abortion. The story is very moving and powerful and shows God’s grace without condemnation.
Nice review! I liked it so much I posted a link to it on my own blog.
I thought that The House on Malcolm Street was an interesting, but heavy read. I have read several books by Leisha Kelly and enjoyed Julia’s Hope, Emma’s Gift and Katie’s Dream.
The House on Malcolm Street was not a light hearted story. The issues it deals with are heavy and make for a daunting read sometimes. Does it have a lot of meaning packed into one novel? Yes, it is likely one you won’t forget about, but it’s kind of a rainy day book, if you know what I mean.
I have also written a more in-depth review on my own site:
http://www.tracysbooknook.com.
-Tracy
Oops!
When I said a “more in-depth review” I meant more in-depth compared to the short comment I had made.
Sorry if that was unclear.
-Tracy