book review: The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

"The story of what happens when a wife and mother puts all her efforts into the house, and not the home. Fortunately, irreparable damage is averted when Lester, the father, takes over the role of homemaker." Reads the recommendation in The Gentle Art of Domesticity for The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. With that introduction the plot was pretty simple to guess. The real genius of Fisher is her spot-on psychology. She infuses each character of this little world with thoughts so much their own that they leap off the page. By the time you come to the last chapters you can almost predict how each will react next.

I loved this book. It has been added to my mental "changed my life" bookshelf. I have always assumed that parenting ought to be learned ahead of time, if at all possible, and certainly involve outside expertise. This book dumps that idea on its head. Instead offering that parenting is so much more about the discovery--rather than the marshaling--of small charges.

The Home-Maker shows plainly how some women will never truly be happy in the home, some will adore being at home, and some will straddle the domestic and world spheres. What's more they will each succeed and excel. They will each be feminine and fascinating. Without any preachiness at all The Home-Maker manages to apply the concept of "choose what you'll love and you'll never work another day" to homelife.

Fisher illustrates clearly a concept that modern society tries to ignore: parenthood involves sacrifice. Specifically the stay-at-home parent. Of course, we all know this, but we try to jump around it prattling off about taking care of ourselves, finding outside interests, broadening our horizons. Through her characters Fisher shows the different approaches one might take but she never ignores the implacable fact that being a parent involves sacrifice. This alone makes the book worth reading.

Lastly, if nothing else, The Home-Maker is a worthwhile read just for being a well-written tome of domestic literature.

Gratitudes:

1. I am grateful for book recommendations.
2. I am grateful for touch.
3. I am grateful for water.
4. I am grateful for comfortable furniture.
5. I am grateful for kind friends.