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★★★★

Introduction to The House of Eve

If you follow Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club, you’ve probably seen The House of Eve. With an enticing cover and an interesting description, it’s likely grabbed your attention. While it wasn’t my favorite book, it certainly was a good one that captured my attention. Here’s my review and honest thoughts about it.

Summary

Told between the perspectives of two Black women in the late 1940s and 1950s, The House of Eve handles themes of class, race, motherhood, and ambition. We have Ruby, a teenager in Philadelphia who yearns to go to college and enter the medical field. She embarks on a forbidden love affair that will change her life’s trajectory. Additionally, we follow Eleanor, a hardworking young woman who is the first in her family to attend college. Her path takes an interesting turn once she meets William, with whom she eventually faces challenges regarding having a baby. The two women’s paths cross unexpectedly, which results in lifechanging outcomes for both of them.

Context

This novel came out early last year (2023), and it quickly won much recognition. Besides being selected by Reese’s Book Club, it was also a Goodreads Choice Award recipient. The author, Sadeqa Johnson, has four other novels and multiple other awards and honors behind her name. This story was, quite interestingly, inspired partly by her own grandmother’s experience as an unwed young mother. Johnson discusses this both in the afterword and this interview here. I won’t go too far into it so as not to spoil the book, but it adds a fascinating layer of depth to the story.

Review

The House of Eve surprised me. I wasn’t sure exactly what I expected, but I think I expected it to be more similar to Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere from the description. While it did remind me of this book throughout the story, it still very much stood on its own. The characters were memorable and unique, the plot flowed, and it covered substantial topics in a very approachable way.

I’ve been reading a lot of philosophy (specifically Stoicism) lately. In a book on Aristotle’s teachings, the author stated that Aristotle claimed that entertainment should both inform and entertain us. Essentially, it should have value to us beyond simply passing the time. I read this book in one day, and though I read it quickly, I truly felt that I gained something from it. It exposed me to nuances within a community and part of a historical period that I had never read about before. After reading it, I felt intellectually fulfilled and curious, which doesn’t always happen after reading fiction. I believe that this will be the case for most readers.

What worked well in The House of Eve

Set in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the book covers a lot of concepts thoroughly. From class and race issues to relationships between women to identity as a mother, Johnson really left no stone unturned. She did a fantastic job of balancing the weight of these issues with the storytelling, and it never felt too heavy.

Throughout the entire story, all of the characters felt very authentic to me (save for maybe William, but only because he didn’t seem as fleshed out as he possibly could have been). The plot wasn’t forced, the relationships unfolded naturally, and nothing about the book felt inauthentic. Instead, I found it increasingly interesting the more that I read.

I’ve never read a story about wealthy Black families during this time, so it was totally novel to me. The majority of the stories that I’ve read have been more similar to Ruby’s story—working their way up against conditions not in their favor, battling racism, proving themselves, etc. Eleanor’s perspective was fascinating to me for this reason. I love the author’s attention to detail and the feeling of historical authenticity that she provided throughout. It was very clear that she did her research.

The concept of The House of Eve was also very interesting to me. I can’t discuss it without spoiling the book, but it revolves around Ruby’s location in the third part of the book. Beyond that, however, the focus on class was revealing. The way that Eleanor feels within William’s side of the Black community because of her skin color and the value that they place on whiteness was something I don’t often see in literature. The author did a great job exploring this.

She also gave two different women very well-rounded backgrounds and aspirations. Never once did I get frustrated that Ruby and Eleanor were too simplistic. Both women had their challenges and their realistic reactions to difficult situations. They felt like real people. For this alone, I would say that Johnson completely succeeds in her storytelling.

Regarding the voice, Johnson did a wonderful job of balancing old and new, as well as the two different perspectives. She wrote in the afterword about her inspirations, and it made me smile, as I could completely hear the influence of authors like Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou. Especially in the beginning, in Ruby’s part, it gave me Maya Angelou vibes. Part of this was probably the subject matter in the first chapter, but it was also the way that she utilized detail to set the scene. Right off the bat, this gave the story a grounded feeling of familiarity, but Johnson ensured the narrative was her own.

One thing that truly impressed me was how well she kept the perspectives separated. Not once did I confuse Ruby and Eleanor. I believe that even if they had been written in the same POV, this would remain true. This doesn’t always happen, so I was happy to see it.

I’ve seen reviews that The House of Eve is predictable, and I would agree with that. However, as I said in this post, I don’t think a story necessarily needs to be 100% unique to work. The plot may have been easy to guess, but the way the author went about it was interesting. She certainly added her own touch, and the tie to her own family’s story made it feel even more authentic.

What could have been improved in The House of Eve

One thing that I didn’t love was the choice of point of view. Ruby’s perspective is told in first person and Eleanor’s is in third person. For me, this was a bit distracting throughout, and I wasn’t 100% sure as to why the author made this choice. I’m not sure if it was to allow us closer emotional and cultural intimacy to Ruby and to reinforce the idea of Eleanor as a woman striving for poise and elegance. If it was, I still think it would have been better to stick with one POV. First person probably would have been best to capture the different perspectives and sentiments throughout, but third person would have worked, too.

My only other complaint was the pacing in the final part of the story. The book is broken into four parts. The first part was (or at least felt) the longest, which made sense to introduce the characters and set the stage. The second part was pretty long, which, again, made sense. The third and fourth parts, however, seemed to almost disappear. At the end, it felt like there was almost a rush to wrap it up. Part of it makes sense with the plot, but I did expect a bit more from the third and fourth parts, especially around the climax.

Again, this is the nature of the plot, but it did leave me wanting more. The epilogue was nice, and I do think it tied it together well, but part of me wished that that could have happened at another point in the plot as well. While the two women’s story obviously intertwined, it did often feel like I was reading two completely separate stories. A little more unity would have made the story even stronger.

Recommendations A La Carte

Conclusion

The House of Eve was a great story that covered a period and an issue in history that isn’t always covered. Johnson had a unique take and a personal tie to the story that truly drew the reader in. Although the last half of the book left me wanting more, I overall truly enjoyed this story and would recommend it. If you read it, let me know what you think!

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