The Yellow House

This is more than the story of a life. More than the story of a family. More than the story of the ravaged wake of hurricane Katrina. And, much more than a house itself. This is Sarah M. Brooms powerful memoir THE YELLOW HOUSE. As you read her flowing thoughts, you will discover not only her intimate relationship with a structure that held her family and friends together but what it came to symbolize to her and her family after it was laid waste post natural disaster. Once tethered to the ground that sustained them, Broom investigated, through extensive research and by interviewing members of her family, what the Yellow house stood for both literally and figuratively.

More than a memoir. A document of place and time. A look at a neglected population in a city torn apart. An historical look at New Orleans East. No longer overlooked as Broom has carefully, tenderly put it on a map.

What a pleasure it is to get to know the members of the Webb and Broom family through this book. Their strength, humor, and love for one another, are a testament to what holds us up and what keeps us up long after the beams come down. If only we could all have neighbors like them.

Sarah Broom is, or was, a journalist, and that writing style is apparent in the way she has constructed this narrative, like a house painstakingly built, from the bottom up. She goes into long and exacting detail about her family and their place in New Orleans East, to give the reader context. It’s dry going, as a way of beginning, and I’m not convinced she needed so much personal detail. But there are gorgeous moments, truly stunning writing, and at about the halfway point, when the Water comes, when there is less of that journalistic reportage and the story gets far more emotional and urgent, her book is very hard to put down. Sarah Broom is a beautiful writer. There is majesty in this book at its best.

Knowing the author was a journalist first sheds light on why all of the intimate details of this book are captured. You wade through some of it, then get to the point of Who Cares? And speed read a few chapters. There wasnt much that I liked about the book at all. I give her credit for tackling this topic.

Its an excellent mix of family history, Katrina reporting and compelling memoir. The best book Ive read about family and place for a long time. Has a lingering impression. The kind of book Id reread.

Someone chose this for our book club and EVERYONE was disappointed. I broke down and purchased it because it was so popular that I could not find it at the library; worst decision ever.

While the book had a lot of potential, it seemed to only brush over all the various issues/experiences presented. Her presentation of various family members left me wishing she had a visual family tree included in the book.

She jumped over certain timeframes with no transition; and did not connect certain parts of the story.

It seemed like she wrote her short for a magazine and someone told her: “You should write a book.” This was more journaling than actual story telling and was a thumbs down for me.

I will never trust awarded books/publicized lists as a result of the accolades this book recieved.

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