Joan Silber
Household Words
A Novel
"Unqualified praise goes to this rarity:
an extraordinary novel about ordinary
people."
—Chicago Tribune
THE YEAR I S 1940, and Rhoda Taber is pregnant
with her first child. Satisfied with her comfortable
house in a New Jersey suburb and her reliable husband,
Leonard, she expects that her life will be predictable
and secure. Surprised by an untimely death,
an unexpected illness, and the contrary natures of her
two daughters, Rhoda finds that fate undermines her
sense of entitlement and security. Shrewd, wry, and
sometimes bitter, Rhoda reveals herself to be a wonderfully
flawed and achingly real woman caught up in
the unexpectedness of her own life.
"Silber's writing is strong and richly detailed, spotlighting
the drama inherent in everyday lives."—Washington
Post
"Silber has an extraordinary ability to convey the
texture of everyday relationships, the progression of
time through small changes and hazily defined seasons."—
Chicago Sun-Times
"A brave, wise, quite nearly heart-breaking
book."—Ms.
JOAN SILBER won a PEN/Hemingway
Award for Household Words and was a National
Book Award finalist for Ideas of Heaven. She
teaches at Sarah Lawrence College and lives
in New York City.
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Also Available:
Ideas of Heaven
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