The Good House
A few days ago I read and finished one of my now favorite books The Good House, written by my favorite professor at the moment, Tananarive Due. I am so thankful that this book was assigned to us for her class I am currently taking: The Sunken Place: Racism, Survival, and the Black Horror Aesthetic.
I’m not going to lie, I started the novel three days before the due date of us finishing it and I have no regrets since the story was still very fresh in my mind. And I’m a fast reader.
As we talked about her book, she brought up many themes within her novel. ALERT, there are spoilers. Themes of this novel include isolation, racism, abuse, addiction, Vodun, marginalized communities, and my favorite, generational trauma.
A multitude of things crossed my mind and I made so many connections with the story and the characters but the emotions of each character is what made the biggest impression on me.
The first character I immediately connected with was Angela. From the very first chapter, I see Angela dealing with trying to fix the relationship with her abusive husband. Now, did Tariq ever hit her? Probably not. Nowhere in the book does it say he does but he has the characteristics to become this partner who physically abuses her. Angela thinks to herself, “Tariqs demeanor often mimicked his rugged look; unyielding, impatient, even unkind. He made her nervous” (12). As I usually do when reading non-fiction or informational texts, I highlight sentences that I can relate to or words that I can make use of, but within fiction, I always highlight thoughts/statements that just get me. How can I explain to the world that my partner does not hit me but he makes me nervous! It is such a distressing feeling when you do not feel safe around the person you love.
The second character I connected to was Myles. Now, Myles understands my heart. Myles is the complete opposite of Tariq. He’s kind, patient, and honest. He had a pining love for Angela ever since they dated in high school. Most people think that young love isn’t real or that it’s void, but it isn’t. Sometimes the emotions you have for somebody last longer than you intend. These feelings can ruin relationships without you being aware of them. Myles married after college. He chose his ex-wife for the “aspects that reminded him of Angie — the worst, stormiest parts” (244).
Searching for the person you want to forget in strangers is painful. Especially when those strangers now make a home in your life.
Last, Gramma Marie. I can’t relate to Gramma Marie on a personal level but she is the character I have the most empathy for. All of the wisdom she has given to Angela throughout her adolescence is sprinkled throughout the novel. But her wisdom is the result of her suffering.
“Anything that comes too easy is a lie” (88).
“People are born to die” (279).
I know how much a broken heart can turn you into a shell of a person. Gramma Marie never got her happy ending. But. My professor wrote such a satisfying ending. An ending where Gramma Marie is who she was before all of her trauma. The self that belonged to only her.
After Angela destroys the Baka, she experiences something in the woods: a celebration. She recognizes her Gramma Marie celebrating, but she looks different.
“Her grandmother’s face was much more playful than Angela ever remembered, her eyes brighter. And the way her body moved, so unrestrained! From the way Gramma Marie’s chest jiggled, she couldn’t be wearing a bra. This was not the same Gramma Marie who had sat primly in her library while she tutored in Sacajewa, wearing the same navy blue skirts and white blouses day after day” (460).
Finally, atonement. This was a way for my professor to re-write her happy ending. Finally free from all the pain her life handed to her. The Gramma Marie, Angela needed to encounter to make different life choices. Angela’s miracle.
