Since I loved ‘The Hours’, I intented to read all Michael Cunningham’s other books. The Cunningham quest started with A home at the end of the world.

This is the story of people living life without a blueprint. They are outsiders, misfits in several ways: Bobby, kind and open, but haunted; clever, gay Jonathan, unhappy with his directionless life; and fiercely independent Clare, searching for a future to match her dreams. Jonathan and Clare live their lives in New York like a married couple. Bobby moves in with them. Bobby and Clare fall in love, scuttling the plans of Jonathan to father Clare's child. Then, when Clare and Bobby have a baby, the three move to a small house in upstate New York to raise "their" child together. The caretaking for the ill friend of Jonathan gives the story a critical turn. A Home at the End of the World masterfully depicts the charged, fragile relationships of urban life today.

Background information on the book is to be found at Kelly Writerhouse Fellows. You can find here discussions with Cunningham and a critical response to ‘A home at the end of the world’.

I loved the book. It’s a beautiful and human story written in exquisite language. So I decided to start a bookring. Participants are:

1. Hawkette (Australia)
2. debnance (USA)
3. janaqq (USA)
4. mysteryfan03 (USA)
5. squirrel818 (USA
6. Sherria (USA)
7. vhackett (Canada)
8. tho (Portugal)
9. mfa (Portugal)
10. Letra (Portugal)
11. swan-scot (Scotland,UK)
12. Mafaldica (Spain)
13. PinkManager (Greece)
14. ecritures (Netherlands)
15. jgralike (Netherlands)
16. dutch-flybaby (Netherlands)
and then back to me, yvonnep (Netherlands)

Has arrived at my door in Australia. Look forward to reading this one. It comes with a very cute bookmark!

A story about the search for love, the concept of home, and the acceptance of who we are.

I was quite frustrated with myself when I first picked this up, cos I was still recovering from illness and still wasn't well enough to do long sittings. But this book was really good; I wanted to read!!

There were a couple of passages that I really enjoyed...

'We'd hoped vaguely to fall in love but hadn't worried much about it, because we'd thought we had all the time in the world. Love had seemed so final, and so dull-love was what ruined our parents. Love had delivered them to a life of morgage repayments and household repairs; to unglamorous jobs and the fluorescent aisles of a supermarket at two in the afternoon. We'd hoped for a love of a different kind, love that knew and forgave our human frailty but did not miniaturize our grander ideas of ourselves. It sounded possible. If we didn't rush and grab, if we didn't panic, a love both challenging and nurturing might appear. If the person was imaginable, then that person could exist.' (p.172)

...and...

'As the blue silhouette of the house appears ahead of us I remember that home is also a place to escape. This is ours; we have it to run from and we have it to return to.' (p.336)

Have sent today so that it can continue it's travels...off to the States - lucky little book!

A Home at the End of the World arrived today all the way from Australia! I am looking forward to reading it. The Hours was an amazing read. I will set aside my current read and jump right into this one!

I've read The Hours twice, saw the movie The Hours, listened to The Hours on audio, read Mrs. Dalloway once and watched Mrs. Dalloway the movie once. I've become a Michael Cunningham fan based on a single book, The Hours.

So I was very eager to read this book, A Home at the End of the World. Cunningham deals with many of the same themes and issues in A Home as he does later and in more depth in The Hours: mom-son relationships, gay relationships, death, the empty feeling of modern life.

Cunningham did not disappoint. Like in The Hours, the characters in A Home wander through life, waiting for true love and a sense of purpose to arrive in their lives. But neither true love nor a sense of purpose arrive in ways the characters hoped or anticipated; nevertheless, the characters find these, but not where they'd expected and not in ways they planned.

Release planned for Monday, September 29, 2003 at Postal System: Bookring/Bookray in Alvin, Texas USA.

I'm mailing this off to our next bookring member. She asked that I hold off mailing the book to her until this week, so I'm sending the book off tomorrow!

Thanks Debnance for waiting until I returned from my trip! I have 2 books in front of this, but am anxious to check it out! I will journal again.

While a little mundane, this was a very good book. I liked the way that the author wove the tale with different people telling the story. And the way that you knew who was writing each chapter. (dont you hate it when a story skips viewpoints, but you have to read a while to figure out who is talking? ) Anyway, thanks for letting me read this book!! I will be sending it on its way soon.......

received this in the mail and i will read it asap.

I didn't know if I was supposed to like the characters in this book or not. They all seemed so selfish but at the same time I guess that really lent the story a sense of reality. I enjoyed this book though and it was certainly worth the time.

Released on Sunday, February 22, 2004 at to a fellow bookcrosser in Westport, Connecticut USA.

Got this in the mail today, and it's the only bookring/ray in my possession for a change! That means I'll get to start reading it right away. I'm looking forward to it.

I finished this book this morning, and I've still not really decided what I think about it. It took me a few chapters to get into the story, but I eventually got really caught up in it. I read until I couldn't keep my eyes open last nite, then didn't get out of bed until I had finished it this morning. I'm not sure why.

The characters weren't particularly likeable, but perhaps that's because they were very real. I never really felt for any of them ; they all seemed rather selfish and wrapped up in themselves, to me. Still, I wanted to find out what happened to them, maybe because I wanted them to figure themselved out. Other than Alice, none of them seemed to do that. They just wandered through life, aimlessly searching but not seeming to know what it was they were trying to find.

I'm glad I read the book, and I'll likely read more of this author, because he managed to suck me in so effectively, even though I didn't like the characters. Thanks for sharing it yvonnep!

I'll send this one out this week, assuming I get an address from the next person on the list.

Sent out today to vhackett. Hope you enjoy it!

Hi Everyone - Firstly I need to apologize for holding up the bookring!! This one must have come on a busier than usual week cause it went onto the bookshelf without being journalled (my first offense) and then was forgotten about til a few weeks ago (strike 2)!! However, I finished it this week and it was excellent, excellent, excellent!! I would recommend it to anyone. Cunningham's writing draws you into the story and his characters are flawed but redeeming - I wish the best for Jonathon, Bobby and Clare... Now on to tho...

It's with me now :-) I've been really looking forward to reading this book, so I hope I can get to it soon ...

A very touching story about characters who seem so real they could be your next door neighbours ... No one is perfect and everyone is looking for happiness in their own selfish way.
Like the previous readers, I couldn't feel pity or joy for any of the characters, but their story slowly grows on you... Thanks yvonnep, for organising this bookring :-)

Since mfa just had her beautiful baby girl, and won't have much time for reading during the next weeks, this book will be mailed to letra instead :-)

Thank you Tho :)

I'm looking forward to reading this. I've read "The hours" almost two years ago (which was the first book I've read through BC) and loved it - this will be my second book by Michael Cunningham.

I'm sorry that I've been keeping this book for so long. I've started reading it a few months ago but it just wasn't the right moment for this book, so I'll mail it to Swan-scot as soon as she sends me her address. I will borrow another copy sometime in the future, as I definitely want to finish it :)

The book arrived today and I look forward to reading it. Unfortunately I'm in the middle of exams, so it may take a wee while. But after Tuesday, when the exam I'm dreading most is over, I hope to find a few minutes each day to read. I need a break from studying.

This book was beautifully written, some of the sentences are almost poetic. I enjoyed seeing the story from the different characters' view points, although they became rather similar towards the end of the book. Despite the characters being rather unlikeable, after reaching adulthood, and far too introspective for me, I was drawn into their drama and felt emotionally involved.
Thank you for sharing this yvonnep.

I see from Theresa-A's bookshelf, she has asked to be omitted from any rings at the moment (and be added at the end).
I'll post this to vi0let in Finland as soon as I receive her address.
1 June 2005: vi0let has asked to be skipped too. I'm waiting to get postal details from PenelopePitstop.
6 June 2005: PenelopePitstop has asked to be skipped too! I've written to Mafaldica (Spain)

Posted to Mafaldica (Spain) today.

Lo he recogido hoy del correo.