Reviews for A house like a lotus

The average rating for A house like a lotus based on 2 reviews is 1.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-11-01 00:00:00 Sandeep Singh This is one of the L'Engle books I struggle with the most - the blatant homophobia in particular. I've never understood the big climactic crisis between Max and Polly - my impression is always that Max got drunk and weird (which might be a little upsetting), but I just can't see any signs of seduction - I think that's just people transferring their own homophobic fears there...... The supposedly sympathetic characters (starting with Meg and Calvin) talk in hushed tones about Max being a lesbian like it's akin to pedophilia or being a serial killer. Not okay. Also, I DO. NOT. GET. the character of Zachary Gray - I know he's supposed to be slick and attractive and all, but he just repels me, and I can't imagine why Polly O'Keefe (or Vicky Austin) ever gives him the time of day, much less spending all that time with him. L'Engle obviously saw some value in him as a character (or plot device) - maybe just because of the words she could put in his mouth - but I think he's awkward and out of place and completely unbelievable and utterly icky. As an adult, I have to say that the relationship between Polly and Renny squicked me out too. She's 16 and he's an intern at the hospital (therefore, in his mid-to-late-20s at LEAST), and no one has a problem with them dating? Yeah right. I just can't handle that.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-04-09 00:00:00 Hoa Tran Maybe it's because I've done so much work with people who have a history of sexual abuse, but this book struck me as mostly being about would-be predators and actual predators. I don't care if it's 1984 or 1954 or 1864, it's still creepy for a dude in his mid- to late 20s to be dating a 16-year-old, and to seduce her when she's at her most emotionally vulnerable. The book's structure is also kind of nonsensical, and it is never wise to have the story you're telling in flashback be more interesting than the story of the present. The love interest in the present - Zachary Grey - is a creeper and also insufferable, and Polly herself (excuse me, Polyhymnia) has virtually no personality of her own. It's hard to root for her, or feel sympathy for her as she gallivants around the world or lives at home with her accepting parents on an island off the coast of South Carolina. And then there are the maybe-predatory lesbians with their deadly tropical diseases - I actually don't think this even is an AIDS metaphor, but if it is, it doesn't make any sense as one. Considering this is a later book for L'Engle, it almost seems like she took for granted the fact that people would read it. As an advertisement for travel to Greece or Cyprus - it's so great when you get to randomly leave school to take a gofer job at a conference of wordly writers! - it's A++. As a novel, it's a bit of a mess.