The House of the Soul

by Annie Dawson

A feel-good novel that was completely enlightening.

The book is more than just a story; it’s is an evolution. It was detailed and in-depth but yet light enough not to have the weight of the world on its shoulders. I like a story that requires an element of contemplation and this does just that, not in a preaching type of way, no more by example.

It showed the options that Ella faces now, evaluating the course of her life that she is beginning to feel is verging on being humdrum.

The normalcy of day to day life has all but extinguished the spark of spontaneity and while she may be a woman of a certain age, that doesn’t mean that she was willing to continue to allow the weight of domesticity define her, she is more than that, she just needs to work out where her life is heading now.

The story was well written and emotionally strong, it showed Ella in a light that allowed the vulnerability of her reflection or should I say her need for reflection to come through. It had an evocatively mental strength running though it and it was that strength that encouraged me as a reader to not only pick up on but to also comprehend the deep undertones that I think the author was encouraging me to explore in my own life.

I loved the prose and attitude that Ella brought to the page, as she made her way through the decisions that were running amok in her mind as she re-evaluated not only the decisions she had already made, but the path her life was currently on.

While I understood that she almost felt compelled to compare her life with that of her friend Teri, its human nature to want to feel the grass on the other side of the street under our toes, the big decision is where it is worth crossing the street to have it. Teri and Ella were streets apart, I just hoped that Ella would see that sooner rather than later.