The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken 4.5/5 stars

Hey, guys! Sorry I forgot a post.  I decided to go see Age of Ultron instead.

This review might be a bit different from most because I read it as an independent reading project in English class, so it might be formatted a bit differently.  Anyway, I couldn't decide what book to read and raided my sister's bookshelf.  And there was The Giant's House.

The Cover:

The Cover:

It shows James's shoes next to Peggy's.  It's very simple, but definitely works really well for this book.  They also mention shoes a lot, so it is actually connected to the story! Always a plus in my book.  A cover

Official Description:

The year is 1950, and in a small town on Cape Cod twenty-six-year-old librarian Peggy Cort feels like love and life have stood her up. Until the day James Carlson Sweatt–the “over-tall” eleven-year-old boy who’s the talk of the town–walks into her library and changes her life forever. Two misfits whose lonely paths cross at the circulation desk, Peggy and James are odd candidates for friendship, but nevertheless they soon find their lives entwined in ways that neither one could have predicted. In James, Peggy discovers the one person who’s ever really understood her, and as he grows–six foot five at age twelve, then seven feet, then eight–so does her heart and their most singular romance. 

My Summary (SPOILERS!):

The Giant’s House by Elizabeth McCracken is a book about love, loneliness, and all the points in between. The fictional romance novel tries to prove that the loneliest people, the people who are different than others can still find their own version of happiness. It shows that happiness can be found in a variety of forms and that it’s never found where expected. Elizabeth McCracken displays this message through Peggy Cort, a librarian who only loves her work, and James Sweatt, a boy cannot stop growing, even when he towers over everyone else. This unlikely pair immediately connect. Peggy lives vicariously through James, who in turn lets Peggy make him feel normal. James slowly dies, and Peggy realized that she’s in love with him. She wants only to be near him and inside his comforting bubble. James proposes to Peggy, but she denies his offer because she cannot convince herself that James wants to marry her. James passes away soon after; Peggy is distraught and mistakenly spends a night with James’s absent father and becomes pregnant. However, she decides she will bring up her baby as James’s son and is finally happy. She finds her own happiness, even when the odds are against her. She is no longer alone.

My Review:

(Again, it's a little different than normal because it was originally an English paper)

I really enjoyed this book. It tackles difficult themes such as the concept of happiness as well as the complexities of fitting into society and how some people cannot fit. 

For example, James’s height, while not his fault, places a thick curtain between his life and the lives of his peers. No one can see him without marking him as different, and no one can avoid seeing him. His height is a visible distinction from others that cannot be overlooked, no matter how hard he tries, he cannot fit in.

Peggy’s divergence from society, however, is not as obvious. It is in the way that she flinches when someone touches her arm in conversation and her love of literature and order over everything else. Her personality differs from others, so they ignore her and never make an effort to truly know her. 

As a result, Peggy and James believe themselves inadequate and think that no one will ever love them. The Giant’s House shows that it understands the inability to fit into society through the plight of James and Peggy. It seems to truly understand and manages to get through its message: even the loneliest and most offbeat people can find someone to care about them. 

The characters of The Giant’s House are truly complex. Their thought patterns and tendencies feel natural and relatable. The reader can easily understand them and their reasoning. Peggy, our first person protagonist, is complicated and fiercely independent in a way that has to be respected, if not agreed with. She seems like a person who I could pass on the street on the outside, but inside, she simmers in a volcano of thoughts, facts, and emotions simply waiting for an explosion. 

Even the supporting characters, such as James’s mom are very well developed and have their own motives. The characters do not just remain stagnant; they all experience incredible character development as the novel goes on. Their opinions and attitudes change with their circumstances. Elizabeth McCracken did an amazing job developing these characters and making them feel real.

I loved this author’s writing style, a cross between melancholy and sarcastic. It was very refreshing to read. 

My only hesitation about The Giant’s House came about in its last few chapters. They cover Peggy’s life for the next twenty years in as many pages. These chapters are practically an epilogue, and I despise epilogues. Many people enjoy knowing everything that will ever happen to the characters, but I would much rather imagine it myself. Peggy’s later life is out of character for her, and I wish that the book ended earlier. 

The informal epilogue aside, I enjoyed this book and grew emotionally affected by it. It is a novel of quality, and I would recommend it.

Phrase: 

Terribly uncomfortable shoes

Happy Reading!

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