The House Girl: A Novel

"The House Girl’s premise is compelling. It’s easy to get swept up in this quietly dramatic novel, an interwoven depiction of two heroines separated by 150 years. A 17-year-old slave, Josephine, in pre-Civil War Virginia, is a brilliant, overlooked visual artist. Lina, a young attorney in 2004 Manhattan, tackles an unprecedented reparations case that names Josephine’s descendant as plaintiff. As recounted by fresh-voiced debut novelist Tara Conklin, both stories explore our roots, delineating what makes us flee and what makes us whole."