Review: Homebody by Orson Scott Card

I first started this book several years ago when I found it in a coffee shop but then never saw it in a book store. Finally, I came across it in a used book store and tore through it in just a day.

Orson Scott Card is probably best known for his Ender Wiggin series (as well as the Ender's Shadow series), though he's written a lot of other imaginative fiction as well, and he generally writes a good story, always with a strong moral dimension. At his best, this leads to interesting, deep characters; at his worst, this can lead to moralizing. Homebody participates in both of these. This is a very character-driven novel, following Don Lark, a man haunted by the death of his daughter, who buys and renovates old houses. When he finds a gem of a mansion that's been neglected, it turns out to be haunted. As ghost stories go, however, this isn't really the horror story that one might expect. It's more along the lines of a contemporary fantasy, as far as that goes. There's some tension here, some of the trappings of horror, but it's really an exploration of loss and redemption.

At the same time, sometimes Card does seem to be a bit preachy, which is actually pretty good when you agree with his sermon, but less so when you don't. I found myself rather disappointed that one of the characters ended up being completely dropped before being more fully explored, but so it goes.

Now, I did enjoy it well enough--it kept my interest as I plowed through it, and while I'm not giving it my highest recommendation, it's worth a read if you like Card's work. 

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