The House of Eve

After the success of her book Yellow Wife, Sadeqa Johnson is back with another riveting and emotional read. Inspired by the author's own family experiences, she weaves an interesting story that incorporates the lives of two Black women in 1950's Philadelphia and Washington, DC. 

Ruby and Eleanor come from different backgrounds and social classes, yet both have similar struggles. They are each in relationships that society doesn't approve of, and they struggle with the lack of agency they hold over their own bodies - a power that remains at the mercy of government, society and religion. Through these two characters, Johnson includes important themes and issues of race, class, education, reproductive rights, prejudice, and the role of the Catholic Church's homes for unwed mothers. 

It took me a bit to get invested in the characters, but once their stories firmed up, I was pulled into the lives, struggles, loss and hope of these two women. There is some predictability to the plot, but I liked how Johnson incorporated many important topics. My only issues with the book were that Ruby and Eleanor's lives don't connect until very late in the story and that the long-held rift between Eleanor and another character was rectified too quickly and easily to be wholly satisfying. I encourage readers to be on the lookout for the brief but wonderful connection between characters from Yellow Wife within this story.

We have come a long way with respect to women's reproductive rights - but I fear we have a long way to go since some topics in this book remain issues that today's women continue to face. This is a well-researched and compassionately told story that successfully balances history and emotion within its pages. The issues it raises makes it great fodder for book club discussion and the perfect pick for fans of Heather Marshall's Looking For Jane. 

Trigger Warnings are listed after the book description below.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for my advanced copy of this book which was provided in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Sadeqa Johnson

Genre: Historical Fiction, BIPOC author

Type and Source: eBook arc from publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada

First Published: February 7, 2023

Book Description from GoodReads: From the award-winning author of Yellow Wife, a daring and redemptive novel set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, DC, that explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal.

1950s Philadelphia: fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright.

Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his par­ents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.

With their stories colliding in the most unexpected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of their lives.

Trigger Warnings: Child abuse, child neglect, miscarriage, stillbirth, infertility, forced adoption