The Turner House
ABOUT
THE BOOK
For over fifty years the Turners have lived on Yarrow Street. Their house has seen thirteen children get grown and gone-and some return; it has seen the arrival of grandchildren, the fall of Detroit’s East Side, and the loss of a father. But when their powerful mother falls ill, the Turners are called home to decide their house’s fate and to reckon with how their past haunts-and shapes-their future. The Turner House is a striking examination of the price we pay for our dreams, and the ways in which our families bring us home.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
It’s 2008 in Detroit, and the thirteen adult Turner siblings must decide what to do with their family home, worth only one-tenth of its mortgage. Flournoy shines a light on the workings of a large family, while also creating a nuanced portrait of Detroit from the time the Turner patriarch arrived during the Great Migration to the 2008 recession. A beautifully written family saga.
Angela Flournoy’s critically acclaimed debut novel tells the story of a city, a family and their home as they navigate the changes taking place in the world around them. The reader sees how hard it is to escape the ghosts of the past as we experience the Turners’ struggle to cope with problems that are both unique to them and universal to all families.