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Stolen House Steals Affections
The Stolen House of Light, Susan Estall, c.2009, 280p, River Pearl Press, Inc. $14.95US
Susan Estall succeeded wonderfully well in writing a unique and finely constructed story with her lucid poetic
prose. Her main characters are Sarah and Linnea, more than friends and less than sisters, having shared an
upbringing in Linnea’s family home. Previously Sarah had spent part of her childhood wandering homeless in
America with her unstable mother after her Bengali father died. The action, set in a fictional Illinois town,
develops when as adults the women have married and each has a daughter, and both mothers are passionate
about the preservation of homes, especially homes with history. Both women are financially strapped and in
need of a home of their own. When a couple retires to Florida , their 1853 home, once a station on the
Underground Railroad, becomes available for $1.00. Unless it is moved, it will be torn down. The question is
which woman will take advantage of this rare opportunity? Will it be Sarah, whose homeless background gives
her an emotional priority, or Linnea, who recently experienced the death of her beloved husband? Sarah
selflessly defers to Linnea, an act which infuriates her husband, Tyler. His focus is getting his family a house on
a nearby inherited property whose existence he keeps as a surprise from his wife. As a result of his love for
Sarah, he commits a crime that, once uncovered, causes a severe but temporary rupture in the friendship
between Sarah and Linnea.
Skillfully embedded in the story is the information about the technical details of house moving, its history, and
the green movement it aids. Estall knows first hand since she and her family bought a house for $1.00 and had
it moved to Main Street, USA. Readers also learn about the Underground Railroad. In one of the most moving
parts of the story, a diary
left in the contested home shows the feeling of compassion in the wife who provides shelter to people escaping
slavery. Sarah’s own mixed heredity and the presence of a racially mixed couple further suggest the need for
inclusion and a respect for diversity. Reflecting her career as a family therapist, Estall has also written a
powerful description of Linnea working through her grief, long delayed after her husband’s death and reignited
by a further loss.
Certainly, in a book that celebrates house movers and history, the reader will gain lessons of the heart, and of
history, with the satisfaction of a story well told.
Christine Myles, former head of the English Department at Curie High School in Chicago
The Stolen House of Light, Susan Estall, c.2009, 280p, River Pearl Press, Inc. $14.95US
Susan Estall succeeded wonderfully well in writing a unique and finely constructed story with her lucid poetic
prose. Her main characters are Sarah and Linnea, more than friends and less than sisters, having shared an
upbringing in Linnea’s family home. Previously Sarah had spent part of her childhood wandering homeless in
America with her unstable mother after her Bengali father died. The action, set in a fictional Illinois town,
develops when as adults the women have married and each has a daughter, and both mothers are passionate
about the preservation of homes, especially homes with history. Both women are financially strapped and in
need of a home of their own. When a couple retires to Florida , their 1853 home, once a station on the
Underground Railroad, becomes available for $1.00. Unless it is moved, it will be torn down. The question is
which woman will take advantage of this rare opportunity? Will it be Sarah, whose homeless background gives
her an emotional priority, or Linnea, who recently experienced the death of her beloved husband? Sarah
selflessly defers to Linnea, an act which infuriates her husband, Tyler. His focus is getting his family a house on
a nearby inherited property whose existence he keeps as a surprise from his wife. As a result of his love for
Sarah, he commits a crime that, once uncovered, causes a severe but temporary rupture in the friendship
between Sarah and Linnea.
Skillfully embedded in the story is the information about the technical details of house moving, its history, and
the green movement it aids. Estall knows first hand since she and her family bought a house for $1.00 and had
it moved to Main Street, USA. Readers also learn about the Underground Railroad. In one of the most moving
parts of the story, a diary
left in the contested home shows the feeling of compassion in the wife who provides shelter to people escaping
slavery. Sarah’s own mixed heredity and the presence of a racially mixed couple further suggest the need for
inclusion and a respect for diversity. Reflecting her career as a family therapist, Estall has also written a
powerful description of Linnea working through her grief, long delayed after her husband’s death and reignited
by a further loss.
Certainly, in a book that celebrates house movers and history, the reader will gain lessons of the heart, and of
history, with the satisfaction of a story well told.
Christine Myles, former head of the English Department at Curie High School in Chicago