A Good House (43 page)

Casino and Other Stories

Praise for Bonnie Burnard's
A Good House

“Wondrous … Burnard unrolls the tapestry of the narrative without ceremony or writerly pyrotechnics, in a deceptively simple style reminiscent of
The Bird Artist
by Howard Norman.… All that life has to offer is served up effortlessly, with clarity, understanding, and insight.… A gem of a book.”

—Valerie Ryan,
The Seattle Times

“
A Good House
is a deep read. You keep finding more and more satisfaction in the unshowy craft, the unique vision of this writer who can tell you hard truths, hopefully.”

—Alice Munro, author of
The Love of a Good Woman

“Beautifully written. The ordinary moments of life become luminous, lovely, under this compassionate eye.”

—Elizabeth Strout, author of
Amy and Isabelle

“
A Good House
received the 1999 Giller Prize, Canada's most prestigious literary award (previous winners include Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood), and it's easy to see why.… At once ambitious and wonderfully understated … The language is as plain—as elemental, if you will—as the people she so lovingly, and exactingly, describes. Taken together, these accumulated details work to create the illusion of life itself.”

—Sanford Pinsker,
The Washington Post Book World

“
A Good House
is at least a ‘three hankie read,' and it earns every one of them.… A good house? No, a great house, and a fabulous book. Bravo.”

—Mindy Werner,
News & Observer
(Raleigh, North Carolina)

“Their [the characters'] small dramas will linger in your thoughts long after you've put
A Good House
back on the shelf. Burnard has justly earned her place there alongside fellow Canadian authors Alice Munro, Carol Shields, and Margaret Atwood.… Solid as an oak beam.”

—Deborah J. Waldman,
People Weekly

“It is a tale that takes its time, a story that gains power by the sheer accretion of details.… You have your favorites [characters], but Burnard convinces you with her humanity and her patience that they all matter, they count, in the way that every member of a family counts. And that is an achievement.”

—Heller McAlpin,
Newsday

“Absorbing … Burnard is an inviting writer with a remarkable eye for detail, and so much of what she has to say about family and neighborly love is authentic and important.”

—Gabriella Stern,
The Wall Street Journal

“A deeply moving story of the truths of family life.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“One of those quietly resonant novels that memorably portrays a family and a place as time presses on.”

—
Kirkus Reviews
(starred review)

“A true book, one to be treasured and shared with a sister, father, or best friend.”

—Jackie Pray,
USA Today

A GOOD HOUSE
. Copyright © 1999 by Bonnie Burnard. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address Picador USA, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

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ISBN 0-312-42032-3

First published in Canada by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

First Picador USA Edition: October 2001

eISBN 9781466891586

First eBook edition: March 2015