Read more
A lush, evocative story about a fractured Jamaican family and a daughter determined to reclaim her home.When Pearline receives grave news about her ailing father, she abruptly leaves Brooklyn for her childhood home in Jamaica. But Pearline isn't prepared for a tense reunion with her sisters or for her father's startling deathbed wish that she repair their long-broken family legacy and find the sister and two brothers no one has seen in more than 50 years.
Moving through time and place, from modern-day Brooklyn and Montego Bay to 1930s Havana and back again,
The House of Plain Truth is a journey through generational secrets and a family coming to terms with its past.
Inspired by the author's own history, this soulful novel explores a fascinating story of immigration, divided loyalties, and what one woman must sacrifice in her attempt to find home.
About the author
Donna Hemans is the author of two previous novels,
River Woman and
Tea by the Sea, which won the Lignum Vitae Una Marson Award. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in
Electric Literature,
Ms. Magazine, and
Crab Orchard Review, among others. She is also the owner of D.C. Writers Room, a coworking studio for writers based in Washington, D.C. Born in Jamaica, she lives in Maryland and received her undergraduate degree in English and Media Studies from Fordham University and an MFA from American University.
Summary
A lyrical, lush, evocative story about a fractured Jamaican family and a daughter determined to reclaim her home.
When Pearline receives grave news about her ailing father, she abruptly leaves Brooklyn for her childhood home in Jamaica. But Pearline isn’t prepared for a tense reunion with her sisters or for her father’s startling deathbed wish that she repair their long-broken family legacy and find the sister and two brothers no one has seen in more than 50 years.
Moving through time and place, from modern-day Brooklyn and Montego Bay to 1930s Havana and back again, The House of Plain Truth is a journey through generational secrets and a family coming to terms with its past.
Inspired by the author's own history, this soulful novel explores a fascinating story of immigration, divided loyalties, and what one woman must sacrifice in her attempt to find home.
