HOMESTEAD [Hardcover]

Rosina Lippi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 24, 1997

A breathtaking saga of three clans and their linked destinies in a remote alpine village.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The setting for this poignant novel is Rosenau, an isolated Austrian Village, and the story encompasses generations of villagers and their intimate lives. The magic of the novel lies in the author's ability to make the faraway seem familiar, even when it is tragic or brutal. Structured as short stories told from the viewpoints of different members of the village, the novel follows their intertwined lives from 1909 through 1977, layering story upon story to develop the village and the characters.

Lippi's characters are nothing short of wonderful. There is, for example, Johanna, whose heart is torn between her love for Francesco--a soldier hiding in the Austrian Alps--and her sister Angelika, who hides her dependence upon Johanna behind not-so-subtle reminders of familial duty. And there is Katharina, whose impulsiveness causes her to betray her two half-brothers for a ride in a Nazi motorcar, and Stante, who proves his worth not only in the Wainwright's workshop but also by his courage withstanding the Nazis. The character portrayals are based upon Lippi's own experiences living in Austria for four years. You'll hate for these stories to end.

From The New Yorker

By the time you finish the first of these linked stories, you can hardly bear to have it end.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 210 pages
• Publisher: Delphinium; 1st edition (December 24, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883285143
• ISBN-13: 978-1883285142
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #721,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I have a small, quiet life and a big, active imagination.

In 2000 I left academia and I've been writing full time ever since. I have three publishing personas: the Rosina Lippi who wrote Homestead, Tied to the Tracks, and The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square; Rosina Lippi-Green who has a lot of academic publications to her credit; and probably best known, her Sara Donati persona. Sara is responsible for what is generally referred to as The Wilderness Novels, a six volume series of historicals set on the New-York frontier between 1792 and 1824.

While historical fiction is my first and abiding love, I also really like writing contemporary novels, though they don't fit into any particular genre and thereby stump the marketing and advertising people. Laura Vivanco of Teach Me Tonight has called my two most recent novels contemporary romantic emotional-mystery fiction. Rosina-the-former-academic likes all the syllables. The other Rosina bristles at the need for genre labels.

I was born and raised in Chicago and am now settled down with the Mathematician in the Pacific Northwest, on a hillside between the San Juan Islands and the Cascade Mountains. We are recent empty-nesters, still trying to adjust.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a lovely, stunning surprise..., January 20, 2000

By 

JILL MAROTTA - See all my reviews

This review is from: Homestead (Paperback)

I only happened upon Homestead after finishing (and really enjoying) Into the Wilderness. I was looking for the "Wilderness" sequel release date, and discovered it's author's real name was Rosina Lippi, and not Sara Donati! So, I found Homestead, and it was a lovely, stunning surprise! Actually, the only flaw I could find with the book, was the change in author's names, as I might have missed it! Homestead is a deeply layered, moving, work of art. Every word conservatively, and thoughtfully used, and touches the reader somewhere down deep. A must-own, and visit often novel.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Watch for the family trees, July 16, 2001

By 

Carol Peterson Hennekens (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Homestead (Paperback)

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I would have enjoyed it a great deal more if the family trees had been placed in the front of the book rather than in the appendix (since I was a good girl and didn't skip ahead to the end). Considering there is a whole story devoted to a postcard mailed to "Anna" where the intended receipient could have be half of the village, keeping track of the names is tricky. The family trees are really helpful - if you know they are there.

Otherwise, the format of the book makes for good reading. The book is a series of episodes in the lives of the women in three families. They aren't quite short stories since characters and plot lines reappear every so often. At the same time, the stories are distinct enough that I was able to put the book down between chapters.

Bottom-line: A pleasant read with the chance to armchair travel into life in a small Austrian village. Our book group liked the book a great deal although it didn't stimulate an extensive discussion.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is an unsung masterpiece!, October 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Homestead (Paperback)

Why hasn't this book been lauded more loudly? I stumbled on it and had never heard of it. These wonderful, interrelated stories capture the entire 20th century in one Austrian mountain village. Each chapter tells the story of one of the peasant women, and sometimes the real "end of the story" only comes in a future chapter. Touching and true, these stories show how little changes in the basis of a woman's life: love, children and work. Each woman's emotional life is laid bare in a short chapter. The course of the century leaves its mark as the wars wreak their misery even on this little isolated village, and of course the women are left to mourn.

You will love this book and will want to pass it on so you can talk about it with your friends!