Our Mother's House

by Julian Gloag

Book Overview

"Mother died at 8:58" So begins this story of seven extraordinary children who, faced with the unknown terrors of an orphanage, decide not to report their mother's death. They bury her in the garden,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671774166
• ISBN13: 9780671774165
• Release Date: November 1971
• Publisher: Pocket
• Length: 295 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Hard-to-find Book

I remembered reading an interesting book many years ago that my now-deceased mother (who was an avid reader) recommended. That book was "Our Mother's House" and I wanted to get a copy for my college-age niece for Christmas. And I was able to do just that!

Our Mother's House

I read this book when I was about 12 years old, in the 70s. The shocking drama of the kids and how they tried in their desparate ignorance to solve their problems has stayed with me all these years. It is one of my all time favorite books.

Haunting like a single violin

I inhaled this book over the course of a few days, and I am not one to analyze literature, but even from that hazy impression I can tell that this is an exceptionally well-written book. Lord-of-the-Flies-esque, the storyline is a enthralling study of child psychosis (not implying that they're insane), with characters that come to life from ink and paper. But the ending was a bit of a let-down (it was written very confusingly), and the proper language got on my nerves after a while (did children really talk like that back then?), but aside from all that, I do recommend this book, to anyone who has read 'Lord of the Flies' and found the setting hard to relate to.

A forgoten masterpiece

This novel has often been compared to William Golding's "Lord of the Flies," but I find "Our Mother's House to be far better. This story of young children left to fend for themselves after their mother's death doesn't need a desert island for a setting: it is fascinating in its own right. Buy it!

A story I'll never forget

I read this book as a teenager; and it has haunted me since. Not filled with the gore of much of today's graphic horror, this tale of a family's secret and decent into twisted madness based on childish rules and concepts of order has one of the most chilling plot bits I can remember- a child shunned to death. If you can find it, read it!