From House to House

Merry Christmas, everyone!  It's a quiet morning here in Cincinnati, Ohio.  It snowed a little last night, just enough to give the world a bit of white frosting. No one's up but me, so I thought it would be a good time to post another report on my reading progress . . .

Having finished The Gun Seller, by the man who plays House on TV, I decided to switch to something different, this time a non-fiction book by one of my favorite authors, Tracy Kidder.  That book, entitled House, is about an actual house, the kind that gets built and people live in.

Published in 1985, House is the story of the building of a custom-designed house in Amherst, Massachusetts, from conception to completion.  Kidder introduces us to all the people principally involved in the project--owners, architect, builder, carpenters--and we get to know them over the course of the book.  That might sound like a dull story, but it's actually quite interesting.  Tracy makes it into a suspenseful narrative because of all the problems that arise, both practical and interpersonal.

I started reading this book about 15 years ago, but didn't get past the middle, so I'm having to start over to remember all the people and events.  But again I'm involved, with the project and the people, to the point where I'm waiting to see what happens.

So far, the plans have been made, the ground has been broken, and the builder is trying to come to an agreement on price with the owners.  There are negotiations, with the builder trying to stand firm on his price and the owners trying to get him to come down.  There's discussion about fundamental differences in the way people view how such deals should be made--the old "dicker vs. non-dicker" controversy.  Some people hate to dicker; other people live for it. That conflict comes up early in the book.  At this point, I don't know how they're going to resolve it.  I'll keep you posted.

This is the second of Tracy Kidder's books; the first was The Soul of a New Machine, published in 1981.  That was the story of a group of computer designers, back in 1978 when computers were still big and mysterious.  It's a fascinating look at that culture and gives readers insights into how our computer revolution came about.  I really enjoyed it.  In fact, remembering it now makes me want to read it again. 

Tracy Kidder writes about people in their environment, always with intelligence and compassion.  He's written about school teachers, residents of an old folks' home, small town police, crusading doctors, and even his Army detachment in Vietnam.  His latest is about a Haitian doctor.  I've read all but two--the Vietnam memoir and the latest.  I've started and will eventually finish the book about school teachers, Among Schoolchildren.  It's on my list.