5 starting-my-new-year-in-reading-with-an-absolute-BANG 🎉 💥 🎇 stars to White Houses 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

My grandmother had a saying that what you were doing when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve is what you will be doing all year long. I always thought it was some kind of scare tactic. 😂 I shared that with some of my book friends, and they were told a similar saying, but instead it’s what you do on New Year’s Day. I’ll take that and run with it because I was reading this book on that day, and you know what that means?! I’m in for a bang-up reading year! 🙌

Amy Bloom knows how to weave a story. I don’t even think it took me a full paragraph to become immersed. White Houses is told from Lorena Hickok’s point of view, as if she’s talking right to you and telling you the story. What a life she has to share with the reader. She had a tough childhood infused with abuse and abandonment, but wow, did she ever come out swinging as a journalist for Associated Press asked to cover FDR’s first run for president.

This book is about Lorena Hickok’s life, but even more than that, it’s a tale of friendship, devotion, and love; love between Lorena and Eleanor Roosevelt. This is a work of fiction, and I had to remind myself of that repeatedly. It truly reads like the most fascinating memoir. While I now know there are a large number of letters available between Lorena and Eleanor, there’s a lot left to interpretation, which historians have long-debated. In this book, whether it’s true or not, it was genuine and immersive. I was mesmerized by their love for each other- hook, line, and sinker.

I want to be careful, though, and say that this book is NOT a romance, nor is it a historical romance. It’s most definitely historical fiction with a strong backdrop of early 20th century life- from The World’s Fair, the Lindbergh kidnapping, and FDR’s presidency (and his affairs...). It just so happens that an alluring companionship between Eleanor and Lorena unfolds within these pages.

Thank you a million times to Amy Bloom, Random House, and Netgalley for the early copy. White Houses will be published on February 13, 2018.

Things I knew: Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt had an estranged marriage, one where they lived together separately. Eleanor was, as people said then, FDR’s legs. She could and did travel the country getting in touch with the people and reporting back. Eleanor was smart and FDR’s equal in that. Eleanor was no beauty and Franklin kept several women who were, nearby. The media was different in those days. Behavior that was tolerated and kept hidden from the public then would not be now.
Things I didn’t know: The extent of Franklin’s dalliances openly accepted and not reported on by the media. Eleanor openly had her own lover.
Lorena Hickok, known as “Hick” was a self-made woman who came from nowhere and a past nothing life. She became a renowned journalist and was assigned to FDR’s presidential campaign in 1932. This is when she met Eleanor, who didn’t completely impress Hick at the time. But over time Hick saw the intelligence and soul that was inside Eleanor’s less than beautiful body and a love became mutual between them. It amazed me now to know that she lived openly in the White House, her relationship with Eleanor common knowledge even to FDR. I read this thinking that by “allowing” that relationship his own dalliances with his entourage could be excused.
This story is Eleanor’s and Hick’s and is told by Lorena Hickock. It is a quiet love story between two lost souls. In the telling we are given insight into Lorena’s upbringing and the treatment Eleanor received from her mother and FDR’s. It’s no wonder two souls searched out for the beauty that lies beneath and found it. No matter the ups and downs, the together times and separations, in the end Hick and Eleanor had a love that endured it all.
I didn’t know that.

*4.5 stars*

I've been a fan of Amy Bloom's ever since reading Come to Me, so I was thrilled when I received an ARC for her newest novel, White Houses. I've also been interested in learning more about Eleanor Roosevelt, whom I know little about her other than her status as a progressive, feminist icon.

White Houses is about the love affair between Roosevelt and her "first friend," Lorena Hickok. For several years, Hick lived in the White House with Roosevelt, and attended many of the official events. Theirs was a relationship that was ignored or overlooked, but just barely. The novel takes us through Hickok's painful childhood to the events that led to her meeting the soon-to-be First Lady, and then through the long years of their relationship. This is often a painful novel to read (for its candidness), and I found myself wondering if things might have been different for Hick and Eleanor had they lived in current times. Sadly, I don't think so.

Bloom's exquisite prose does more than tell us the story of two extraordinary women, however. We see the very human lives of other famous historical figures: Amelia Earhart, Franklin Roosevelt (with all his foibles and faults), and the terrible realities of both the Depression and World War II. There is longing, and sadness, and love that survives decades.

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for an ARC.

White Houses depicts Lorena Hickock, "Hick's" relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt. This topic has been covered before, both in fact and fiction. Bloom's rendition is ok. It was neither mesmerizing nor boring, but rather staid.

I was much more interested in learning about Hicks as a young girl than the drawn out memories of her relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt. I wonder how this novel would have read had it been told in Eleanor's voice instead. I wish there were more scenes showing how the Roosevelt children reacted to the relationships of their parents, a bit more depth about Eleanor, tad less about the successes of Hick. Overall, regardless of these voids,I felt compelled to the narrative.

‘White Houses’ by Amy Bloom is a wonderfully written book. While the book is historical fiction the book is based on fact. The book opens the possibility of an intimate relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and her companion, Lorena Hickok, an AP reporterd. Hick was assigned to cover Franklin D. Roosevelt's first presidential campaign when she first met and later established a close friendship with the future First Lady. Based on more than three thousand letters between the two women, the book allows for the very probable story of their love affair.

Lorena Hickok, known as “Hick”, has an intriguing story in her own right. She is a survivor of childhood abuse. She also became famous because she was the lead reporter on the Lindbergh child kidnaping. This notoriety gets her assigned to the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. Amy Bloom has done extraordinary research for this story. Ms. Blooms writing skills are phenomenal. I did enjoy the story. The book reads like a memoir as it is told from Lorena’s point of view. The story gives life to the would-be relationship between Eleanor and Hick. Through this book we get a better picture of what type of woman Eleanor was and what Eleanor and Hick meant to each other during a time when lesbianism was shunned.

The narrative moves back and forth from the 1945, just after FDR died. The story shares
their beginnings and their past relationship. The point of view is told by Lenora and we get a better understanding of what these two women meant to each other. We learn through Lorena’s eyes about FDR’s extramarital affairs, which I knew nothing about. We, the readers, also learn some interesting information about the Lindbergh kidnaping. Although it moves a little slowly at times, it's a poignant love story. It also gives a serious look at history that I found moving, and thought-provoking I was hoping that Ms. Bloom would have included some of her sources for more reading on this subject.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Random House through NetGalley.

I had no idea about FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt's affairs, especially Eleanor's. While this is fiction, Bloom worked from the "particulars and facts of geography, chronology, customs, and books by actual historians." The result is a story about Eleanor's relationship with her First Friend, Lorena Hickok, told from Hick's perspective. It's written in a way that feels authentic and entirely plausible, and both women are fascinating.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC and unbiased review.

Whilst watching (and sleeping to, it seriously is incredibly effective as a sleeping aid) PBS miniseries The Roosevelts, I was surprised to see the insignificant amount of screen time given to Eleanor’s lesbian affair. Albeit in no small way owning to the fact that the PBS went after just about every other detail with the sort of exhaustive attention that resulted in a seemingly endless program. I mean it does end eventually, I just haven’t made it there yet. Not because it isn’t fascinating and well done, but because I can’t seem to stay awake long enough for it. This book, to quite the opposite effect, was selected on a sleepless night and finished in more or less one sitting. And it is exclusively about the love of Eleanor’s life, which apparently wasn’t her charismatic spouse, but a stout, no nonsense female reporter. Told from the perspective of the latter, it unfolds in alternating timelines, and with a passion for ardent, at times I struggled to reconcile it with the image of Eleanor Roosevelt as she exists in public knowledge, from diffident wife to an outspoken supporter of liberal (quite so for the times) ideas. Lorena, of whom I knew not much at all going in, comes across as a talented writer, romantic and (surprisingly…see photos, consider the era) a total player. The narrative’s perspective is obviously biased, Roosevelt is not just a president, he’s a romantic rival. In fact his great accomplishments are somewhat underplayed, here he comes across mostly as a charming handsome womanizer, not one of the greatest president this country has ever had. Lorena and Eleanor’s romance seems credible, much of it outlined within actual historical facts and correspondence…oh, what letters they wrote back in the day. But, of course, not quite meant to have a proper fairy tale happy ending, too many outside factors, too many ideas and ideals and causes. For me, it was very enjoyable to have a fictionalized account to go with the documentary one, sort of like adding the color to the black and white format, quite literally, in this case, the tv miniseries are strictly B&W. It’s good to know the facts, but nice to have the embellishments as it were. I think I shall do some more research to round up my general knowledge of the situation. Maybe the embellishments were too embelishy? There was certainly some froufrou writing going on. I’m not familiar with the author, but her other titles seem to be heavily lovecentric, so this did veer into women’s fiction now and then, but it read nicely, very elegant sort of narrative with oh so much (too much?) lovely love language. And then at times it was just genuinely sweet, like reflections on the way relationships progress and mature with age. Whatever you may think of the book, there’s still a pretty awesome fact that great many decades ago a beloved First Lady had a lesbian love affair while at the White House during one of the most trying times in American history and apparently with her husband’s consent. Now that’s a story. Life…sometimes is really is stranger than fiction. And now I have both fictional and nonfictional accounts, so my brain can pick and choose and eventually create its own version of the events from an educative perspective. Thanks Netgalley.

This is a swooningly beautiful book, both in its story and in its writing! I love everything Amy Bloom has written, and I especially love this book. This is excellent historical literary fiction, and the language is so beautiful. One of those delicious books to savor for a long while!

(I never envied a wife or a husband, until I met Eleanor. Then, I would have traded everything I ever had, every limo ride, every skinny-dip, every byline and carefree stroll for what Franklin had, polio and all.)

I never thought I would find a fictional novel about Eleanor Roosevelt and her “scandalous love” for her friend Lorena Hickok ( Hick) to be so romantic. It’s not Eleanor though, it’s Hick’s life that I couldn’t get enough of. By turns horrifying and exciting, I wanted to save her from her disturbingly abusive, poverty-stricken upbringing and celebrate every success and thrill she worked so hard for later in life. Hick’s musings about Eleanor’s children rang true, mothers aren’t real people in the eyes of their kids, even as they grow into adulthood. Mothers take care of things, and certainly weren’t expected to be sexual beings with needs, more so back in the day. Women were meant to be proper, Eleanor seems to be forgiven nothing yet Franklin certainly was indulged by his children, for his passions be they women or anything else. Eleanor seemed to belong to a different time, how different things could have played out in our modern times. One thing that was certain then, her children were needy, it was she who carried them and who was betrayed by their loyalties. Hick’s life has made her perceptive, and she is the eye into the marriage of the Roosevelt’s. Hick tells the story of Eleanor’s motherhood too, and the resentment she feels in the treatment she often witnessed that Eleanor received as the children aged.

Eleanor’s desire to know ‘once upon a time’ tales from Lorena’s childhood was crushing, and the differences in their suffering vast. Eleanor may have been a disappointment to her mother, for lack of beauty but Lorena’s life is a nightmare by comparison, one that makes any tale of woe in Eleanor’s memory seem golden. Though similar loses are shared between the ‘companions’ the differences are extreme. Suffering is a strange best, but it’s hard to feel sorry for the wounds that seem so miniscule when held up against what Lorena has survived. There is a part in the novel where Eleanor is doing the proper thing of a first lady, dining as only those during the depression should, bland food, nothing of pleasure that her grand status can certainly afford and Lorena’s thought “…Eleanor, you have never eaten food like this in your life, except when you wanted to,” expresses perfectly how those with nothing would feel. Eleanor means well, she wants to relate to the people, to be deserving of her place in history, and yet there is something so funny, a little condescending about it. It comes off as ridiculous and yet there is something tender and delicate about Eleanor, who looked like a bruiser, how deceiving our bodies are.

This is a beautiful love story, Hick’s is there when Eleanor loses Franklin, and even grieves herself with the country for the loss of a great man. She is there to feel the wounds Eleanor suffers when her children are disloyal, as she tells it “Eleanor’s body is the landscape of my true home.” It’s fascinating someone who came from dirt was able to make her way into the household of the White House, and into the heart of Eleanor. That Franklin tolerated it seems very progressive considering the times, and of course he had his freedom to devour the ladies, which he did with gusto but one wonders what sort of man he must have been, to allow this affair to flourish under his roof. Yes, theirs was a marriage of convenience, nothing shocking there really, but someone with his power, particularly in those days, could easily deny his wife her romantic freedoms.

What a read! I adored Hick. I don’t always devour fictional novels about real people, in fact the idea often horrifies me because the liberty fiction gives the author seems to rob people of their truth. Yet I’ve read a few that have really moved me and I add this one to that list of favorites. This is one to add to your TBR pile in 2018!

Publication Date: February 13, 2018

Random House

Amy Bloom's new novel illuminates a relationship I've heard about but didn't know about--that of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickock. This story is Miss Hickocks.

Despite her talent as a writer, and her gritty ability to rise above her depressing childhood, this first-person story still unfolds as one of loss rather than achievement. Clearly that was Amy Bloom's artistic choice and it was an interesting one. I would have preferred to look at Hickock's career and her personal life through a rosier lens, but that would be a different book. WHITE HOUSES is a story of love, and longing, but not one of fulfillment.

I have not read any contemporaneous accounts of Eleanor Roosevelt's relationship with Miss Hickock, so my impressions are dependent on Miss Bloom's fidelity to her sources. The story paints a picture of a passionate relationship filled with challenges, frustrations, and a political and social environment that would not condone a male homosexual "outted" in the administration---so, what would it look like if the First Lady is engaged in a scandalous relationship?

I appreciated the exposure to this relationship through Ms. Bloom's novel. It was emotionally draining for me as a reader -- so, I can only imagine the toll the relationship took on Ms. Roosevelt and Ms. Hickock. I would enjoyed a more balanced perspective on the two women's lives , but this was Ms. Hickock's story--I finished the book curious as to whether Eleanor Roosevelt's account would have differed.

In essence, I found Lorena Hickock a sympathetic character, but not a particularly appealing one. I found it challenging to imagine her as an object of love for Elinor Roosevelt.

In "White Houses," Amy Bloom endeavors to describe. In lush romantic prose, the feelings that may have existed between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her dear friend Lorena Hicock. Upon finishing the book, I immediately started googling the myriad cousins and/or mistresses that played a role in FDR's life as well as several other side characters. I feel my reading experience would have been greatly enriched had I known more about them.

This is really three and a half stars rounded up. I was not completely conquered by this novel because, after an interesting beginning about Hick's triumph over adversity during childhood, the author stopped looking at the historical background and went into endless descriptions of feelings and... more feelings. Possibly my expectations were wrong and the author wanted this to be all about love rather than history. Great if you want to read a love story but don't be fooled: this is not really a historical novel.

Lorena Hickok, better known as Hick, met Eleanor Roosevelt while working as a reporter in 1932, just before Franklin D. Roosevelt became President of the United States. This was the beginning of the love story that consumed both hearts for the rest of their lives. Lorena had grown up dirt poor in small town USA. She was abused and lonely but her quick wit and determination led her to become the nation’s best known female reporter. Eleanor, distant niece of Theodore and fifth cousin of Franklin grew up in a famous wealthy family and attended English finishing school. She was undoubtedly the most famous First Lady and her desire to save the world one act of kindness at a time filled her years in the White House with incomparable success. She and Franklin had six children. Franklin had many, many relationships outside of the marriage and Eleanor had Hick. Hick was known as the First Friend. Narrated through Hick’s sharp, humorous, intelligence and deep love for Eleanor this fast paced peek into the lives of these fascinating women was completely unputdownable. I have loved all of author Amy Blooms’ novels and this latest is at the very top of my must read 2018 list. Her writing and choice of words as the story was whispered in my ear captured my imagination and heart. Amy Bloom has put her magical touch on these historical figures and it is as if she went back in time and they told her what to write. Highly recommend this incredible read.

I dont usually read books like this, but I was drawn to it after reading the description. I wasn't disappointed. I will recommend this to friends and read other books by this author.

I've always admired Eleanor Roosevelt for her accomplishments and courage and now I also admire Lorena Hickok, her friend and companion. "Hick" narrates WHITE HOUSES and describes her godawful childhood and her journalistic success as an AP reporter. Hick interviews ER for the AP before FDR's first presidential campaign and the two women become close friends for their entire lives, Hick even living in the White House off and on.

Only got a third of the way thru this book before I put it down. Maybe because I have read so much about Eleanor Roosevelt?? Probably will not recommend it.

“In many dreams I've held you near,
Now, at last, you're really here.
“Where have you been?
I've looked for you forever and a day
Where have you been?
I'm just not myself when you're away”
-- Where Have You Been lyrics by Kathy Mattea

When Franklin D. Roosevelt was campaigning to become the 32nd President, Lorena Hickok was one of many reporters covering his campaign. Through this, she meets, and is befriended by Eleanor Roosevelt, despite their vast differences, economically and scholastically. Where Lorena Hickok, or “Hick” as she was called, was raised in an impoverished part of South Dakota, among the poorest of the poor, sexually abused, physically abused, and always, always hungry. Eleanor was raised without need. Hick worked in a man’s world, and could be brash and sometimes vulgar. Eleanor was the poster woman for compassion and endurance.

Their friendship may not have been rooted in conventional backgrounds, but their friendship blossomed, nevertheless. After FDR’s election, her status as “first friend” was a well know, if not openly acknowledged, state of affairs. And as this relationship deepens into more than just infatuation, more than just friendship, their bond becomes something seemingly unbreakable.

Amy Bloom gives us a glimpse into the private lives of these two public women, and the love they shared behind closed doors. What Bloom does bring to this is a wonderful insight into the times, and how these two women met and were irresistibly drawn to the other, seeing in each other the pieces that were missing in their lives. How their love changes over time. It is a love song, with a lifetime of verses.

Throughout, this story is relayed with a bit of veneration for their beautiful life-long love, a wonderfully imagined and told story of love. The writing seems subtly perceptive, if not consistently elevated, but there are moments, most notably the final chapter, which were so beautifully written that it took my breath away.



Pub Date 13 Feb 2018


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group - Random House

First off, thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of White Houses. So, I am not really sure how I feel about this book. I was very excited to read it as I love historical fiction and Eleanor Roosevelt is a fascinating person that I was eager to read more about (albeit in a fictional setting). While I found the story interesting, I was often times confused. It may just be me, but I had trouble in some places keeping track of some of the characters and what the point was the author was trying to make. Also, this book focuses a lot more on "Hick" who is a fascinating character though I did not relate to her often throughout the book. And it takes a rather disparaging view of FDR which may be based on reality but I was surprised (need to go back and read up on this some more). The book was well written and about an engaging person/time in history, but I just did not feel connected to the characters or the story like I was hoping. Glad I read it as it was of interest to me, but left me feeling somewhat disappointed in the end.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35879608-white-houses" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="White Houses" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1504622710m/35879608.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35879608-white-houses">White Houses</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/115220.Amy_Bloom">Amy Bloom</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2205392174">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
This book is a work of fiction based on the relationship of Eleanor Roosevelt and her long time friend and companion, Lorena Hickock. Lorena’s voice narrates this story. <br />They both seemed to be lost souls that found together, what they both never had in life, and it was written in a beautiful and intimate way. <br /><br />Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy!
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/12851291-karen">View all my reviews</a>