Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

Ruth narrates the story of how she and her younger sister Lucille are raised by a succession of relatives in the fictional town of Fingerbone, Idaho (some details are similar to Robinson's hometown, Sandpoint, Idaho). Eventually their aunt Sylvie (who has been living as a transient) comes to take care of them. Initially they become a close knit group, but as Lucille grows up she comes to dislike their eccentric lifestyle and she moves out. Then when Ruth's well-being is being questioned by the courts, Sylvie returns to living on the road and takes Ruth with her.

The 634th greatest fiction book of all time


This book is on the following lists:

  1. - 47th on Harvard Book Store Staff's Favorite 100 Books (Harvard Book Store)
  2. - 53rd on 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction (Larry McCaffery)
  3. - 85th on The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time: The List (The Observer)
  4. - 88th on In Which These Are the 100 Greatest Novels (ThisRecording.com)
  5. - TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels (TIME Magazine)
  6. - 100 Best Novels Written in English (The Guardian)
  7. - The 75 Best Books of the Past 75 Years (Parade Magazine)
  8. - What Is the Best Work of American Fiction of the Last 25 Years? (New York Times)
  9. - The 100 Greatest American Novels, 1893 – 1993 (Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com)

Buy This Book

Name Binding Sales Rank Lowest New Lowest Used Published
housekeeping Paperback 3492429 $37.95 $22.76
Housekeeping 1st (first) edition Text Only Hardcover 5629163 $189.02 $17.54
Housekeeping: A Novel Paperback 75209 $5.88 $1.43 2004
Housekeeping Mass Market Paperback 334591 $12.00 $0.01 1984
Housekeeping: A Novel Hardcover 618644 $54.23 $2.83 1981
Housekeeping: A Novel Audio CD 1209596 $3.68 $3.68 2005
Housekeeping: A Novel Paperback 53098 $15.62 $0.94 2004
Vida hogareña (Narrativa) (Spanish Edition) Kindle Edition 4556285 $14.99 2016
Housekeeping: A Novel Reprint Edition by Robinson, Marilynne published by Picador (2004) Paperback Paperback 816372 $11.27 $5.43
Housekeeping Paperback 3506238 $11.97 $2.15
Housekeeping Paperback 5759300 $11.76 $0.01 1991
Housekeeping Mass Market Paperback 1918659 $105.46 $0.01
Housekeeping Hardcover 2976371 $59.98
By Marilynne Robinson Housekeeping: A Novel (1st First Edition) [Hardcover] Hardcover 1138088 $565.54 $42.89 1980
Housekeeping: A Novel (Picador Modern Classics) Hardcover 278396 $12.05 2015
Housekeeping (Fortieth Anniversary Edition): A Novel (Picador Modern Classics) Audio CD 5647312 $21.89 $36.42 2020
Housekeeping Audio Cassette 12632203 $35.00 2006
Housekeeping Paperback 3427640 $8.68 $0.82
Housekeeping Audio CD 12849535 $8.16
Vida hogareña (Narrativa) (Spanish Edition) Hardcover 6132324 $23.54 2014
Housekeeping Publisher: Picador Paperback 1919290 $10.02 $5.06
Housekeeping: A Novel Audio CD 760776 $2.29 $2.27 2005
Housekeeping: A Novel Kindle Edition 26452 $8.89 2004
HOUSEKEEPING Mass Market Paperback 1207350 $18.75 $0.01 1984
Housekeeping: A Novel By Marilynne Robinson Paperback 575878 $8.67 $5.37 2003
Housekeeping: A Novel Paperback 1438438 $0.10 $0.01 1997