Study for Obedience

A powerful, compressed masterwork for fans of Shirley Jackson and Claire-Louise Bennett. The youngest child of many siblings, she moves from her birth place to a remote northern country to be a housekeeper to her brother. Soon after she arrives, a series of unfortunate events occurs, and she is accused of wrongdoing.

Format: Hardback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 06 July 2023
Publisher: Granta Books

"The Housekeeper" is a novel that has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2023, winner of the ScotiaBank Giller Prize 2023, and named as one of Granta Magazine's Best of Young British Novelists 2023. It is a powerful and compressed masterwork that will appeal to fans of Shirley Jackson and Claire-Louise Bennett.

The story follows a woman who moves from the place of her birth to a remote northern country to be a housekeeper to her brother, whose wife has just left him. The woman is the youngest child of many siblings, and from an early age, she has attended to their every desire, smoothing away the slightest discomfort with perfect obedience and the highest degree of devotion.

However, the country she arrives in is not what she expected. It turns out to be the country of her family's ancestors, an obscure and reviled people. Soon after she arrives, a series of unfortunate events occurs, including collective bovine hysteria, the demise of a ewe and her nearly-born lamb, a local dog's phantom pregnancy, the containment of domestic fowl, and a potato blight.

The woman notices that the local suspicion about incomers in general seems to be directed particularly in her case. She is being accused of wrongdoing, but in a language she cannot understand and so cannot address. Despite her diligent and silent toil in service of the community, she feels their hostility growing, pressing at the edges of her brother's property.

The novel is a powerful exploration of the complexities of human relationships, particularly the relationships between siblings and the tensions that can arise between different generations. It is also a commentary on the power of language and the ways in which it can be used to manipulate and control people.

"The Housekeeper" is a masterful work of fiction that will leave readers thinking long after they have finished reading it. It is a must-read for fans of contemporary literature and anyone who appreciates a well-crafted and thought-provoking story.

Weight: 206g
Dimension: 198 x 130 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781783789931