The Irresistible Henry House
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Product Description
It is the middle of the twentieth century, and in a home economics program at a prominent university, real babies are being used to teach mothering skills to young women. For a young man raised in these unlikely circumstances, finding real like and learning to trust will prove to be the work of a lifetime. In this captivating novel, bestselling leader Lisa Grunwald gives us the sweeping tale of an irresistible hero and the many women who like him.
From his earliest days as a “practice baby” through his adult adventures in 1960s New York City, Disney’s Burbank studios, and the delirious world of the Beatles’ London, Henry remains handsome, charming, universally adored—and never entirely accessible to the many women he conquers but can never entirely trust.
Filled with unforgettable characters, settings, and action, The Irresistible Henry House describes the cultural tumult of the mid-twentieth century even as it explores the inner tumult of a young man trying to transcend a hurt childhood. For it is not until Henry House comes face-to-face with the real truths of his past that he finds a chance for real like.Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best Books of the Month, March 2010: To the ranks of iconic mid-century modern men Gump and Garp, add The Irresistible Henry House. As imagined by Lisa Grunwald, inspired by the peculiar beginnings of a real baby, Henry’s life unspools with more realism and intention than Gump’s, with less a sense of dread than Garp’s. But Henry and his tale have the same nearly-magic magnetism. Henry arrives in the world as a “practice baby,” passed between a dozen young women at the Practice House of Wilton College’s Home Economics program in a decidedly pre-Spock era that discouraged mothers from holding babies “too much.” From the beginning, Henry inspires in women the desire for his exclusive attention–but none want them more than Martha Gaines, the program director, who has spent her career overseeing the proper raising of a string of “house” orphans who were eventually adopted out.
Unable to let Henry go, Martha raises him as her own. Burdened by her need and bewildered by his own inability to reciprocate affection, Henry retreats into a silence that buys him banishment to a school for troubled teens in Connecticut, far from Martha’s grasp. In these mute years, Henry hones his aptitude for drawing and experiences the benefits of knowing instinctively how to please women (sometimes including Mary Jane, his real childhood sweetheart). His skills open doors for him at Disney Studios to draw Poppins penguins, and in London for Yellow Submarine. The multidimensional generations of women in his life make a fascinating microcosm of the cultural revolution that redefined the expectations of all American women in the latter half of the 20th century. But it’s Henry’s struggle to define the desires of his own heart that propels this tale, culminating in a scene as transcendent as Carver’s Cathedral. –Mari Malcolm
Amazon Exclusive: Lisa Grunwald on The Irresistible Henry House
This novel starts with a photograph, and my writing it started the same way. I was trolling the Web five years ago, looking for entries to add to
Initially, the journalist in me wanted to know what had happened to that baby. The novelist in me questioned the same question. There was a brief skirmish. But when I read that the babies raised this way were returned to their orphanages and adopted like any of the additional infants, the novelist in me won out. Lacking access to more information, I had a feeling that fiction would be if not weirder than at least longer than truth.
Still, the time frame in which the novel would be set plunged me into my first attempt at writing past fiction, and additional facts finished up being vital to Henry House’s tale. A few examples of fun facts I establish along the way:
- Far from offering just the “MRS degree” that became part of its reputation, home economics–in teaching women about cleaning, cooking, and household equipment–provided an nearly revolutionary path to subjects traditionally thought of as men’s province: chemistry, biology, electrical engineering.
- One of the most well loved childcare experts in the 30s and 40s recommended a firm handshake as the best way to greet one’s young children.
- In the early 20th century, children with what we now know as learning disabilities were still being sent to institutions with names like the Custodial Asylum for Unteachable Idiots.
- It was Walt Disney’s own thought to replace the tuxedoed waiters in the book of Mary Poppins with the animated penguins who dance in the movie; as a child he had permanently thought tuxedoed men looked like penguins.
- It wasn’t really the Beatles who did the language parts for Yellow Submarine.
All of these facts landed in my private file of “who knew?” and subsequently landed in the novel as well. But the central fact remained that the baby in the picture had ongoing his life being cared for by multiple women, and I knew that no matter what else happened in the book, that weird fact would shape the heart of my character and, I will hope, the heart of the book. –Lisa Grunwald
(Photo © Jon LaPook)
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First, let me tell you what this novel is not. It is not the tale of an emotionally stunted, yet lovable cad who learns his life lessons from the varied and more emotionally mature women with whom he has a series of affairs. I thought it would be light-hearted romp punctuated with poignant moments. Not so.
I won’t go into detail about the plot – additional reviewers will do this. As a replacement for, I will focus on themes. This novel explores the deeper issues surrounding human emotion, our interactions with one another and our interdependencies. The tale questions two major questions, “How much ‘practice’ do we need before achieving emotional maturity and how many people might we hurt along the way?” The answer to the first question seems to be that there is a continuum. Some of us are born with emotional stability while others take years to set up a sense of self and the corresponding confidence; others still never achieve a level of comfort. The answer to the second question is less clear but it reminds us that sometimes we act while at additional times we are acted upon.
There are no truly lovable characters in this tale but I bet you admit more than one of them from your own life.
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
I establish myself really immersed in the very beginning of `The Irresistible Henry House.’ Henry was born in 1946 and immediately placed in an orphanage. This orphanage was affiliated with a college, which had a Home Economics Program. This Program allowed young college girls to `practice’ their mothering skills. Long tale fleeting, Henry had six `practice mothers,’ along with Martha Gaines.
Martha Gaines was one weird woman whose apparent needs were endless. At first, I felt some sympathy for Martha, but that changed. She is a controlling woman whose possessiveness is most distasteful. Martha’s like of Henry appeared to be the type from which one may smother.
There are a number of issues in this book that deserve discussion. For example, was it appropriate to raise infants utilizing a guidebook or, for that matter, any one set of tenets [Dr. Spock, etc.]. Infants are only able to communicate, initially, by crying. Is it ever right to allow an infant to weep and `time’ this crying?
Back to Henry and his development. As the book progressed, I sensed that Henry was going to be `different.’ Honestly, I thought that we were heading towards Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and/or an Attachment Disorder. I do judge that it was the latter from which Henry suffered. But, Henry seems to have had a life.
During a stint away from home, he becomes to some extent comfortable with his art teacher and his wife. Throughout Henry’s life, he seems able to maintain some tie with Mary Jane, Martha, as well as sporadic contacts with his birth mother. But, Henry’s ability to read social cues are, to some extent, missing.
Henry’s life is a long journey. I felt as if I were part this journey at point times. Certainly, this book held my interest during his infancy, his time at Humphrey, and I could even `see’ Henry’s drawings at Disney. But, I left Henry at Disney and did not follow him to London.
While I do not especially like fantastical reads, I did delight in Lisa Grunwald’s prose. I felt that her writing skills together with her fertile imagination carried this book. Additionally, there were many discussions in my home regarding `maternity place.’ If workplaces do not have Day Care attached to them, perhaps `maternity place’ policies need to be revisited.
I did not like this book, but, I did like it. The major problem that I encountered with this book was its `believability.’ Ms. Grunwald appears to have utilized her colorful imagination together with her writing and researching skills. I hope that her book finds its audience. Individuals who loved `Gump’ or `Garp’ will undoubtedly find this book as entertaining.
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
“The Irresistible Henry House” follows the titular character from infancy to early adulthood. It features Henry House who starts his life as practice baby for the home economics program at a prestigious East Coast university. Each week is spent with a different rotating mother under the watch of the teacher, Mrs. Gaines.
Henry grows up lacking building close attachments to anyone. His behavior easily changes from person to person, giving each person what he/she wants in order to get what he wants. With one practice mother, his favorite color might be blue, with another it might be red. He learns how to make people like him and make people feel special. But, he is incapable of forming attachments to people. As he grows up, he leaves a series of women bewildered by his behavior.
I disliked most of the characters in this book, but still establish the book appealing. It gave me insight into the mind of a person who doesn’t really care about anyone and contrasts that with the neediness of others. Plus, it was eye opening to learn about the views of 1940s parenting and the thought that orphans were used as in home economics classes to teach future mothers parenting skills.
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
Although I really loved reading Lisa Grunwald’s novel, THE IRRESISTIBLE HENRY HOUSE, I establish the ending anti-climactic. Perhaps that’s where the genius lies in the tale because additional endings might have seemed gratuitous or unctuous, but it left me hanging and lacking closure. Maybe the point was so devious that it went over my head. Or maybe that’s how the leader wanted us to feel: empty, longing, and lacking answers just like the main character “Henry.” Either way I felt that something was missing and that the ending could’ve been stronger.
The tale revolves around a “practice baby,” orphans used in home economics classes–circa 1919-1969–at different Universities to teach young women about childcare, named Henry House. Henry grows up, being passed around like an item, never knowing any real security, since the practice mothers come and go. The only person who is constant in his life is the instructor for the practice house students, Martha Gaines, who decides to adopt Henry and he starts to resent her.
Henry grows into a handsome young man, a total lady-killer, who goes from woman to woman, permanently dreaming about a secure and pleased family tree life but never understanding why it’s unattainable for him. People just drift in and out of his life. He finally he meets another “practice baby,” a young woman who was part of the same program as Henry when they were babies, and slowly starts to unravel the mystery about himself by observing her.
Along the way, the tale follows Henry through the turbulent 60s as he goes from New York City, Berkley, Los Angeles, and London, on an adventure that reads like a history lesson on pop culture. He lands a job at Disney, effective as an animator, doing films like “Mary Poppins” and “The Jungle Book,” and then goes to London to work on the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine.”
“Hair-The American Clannish Like-Rock Musical” also facts into the tale, along with all the additional events that exemplify the 60s like acid trips, JFK & MLK assassinations, marijuana etc.
Grunwald did a really excellent job weaving persons moments into the book, so there’s a correlation between Henry’s tale and persons real events, and the writing flows, never apt dull or schmaltzy.
Anyway, if you’re looking for a excellent book to snuggle up with that gives you a glide-on-the-wall perspective of life during the 50s & 60s, surrounding a touching tale about a baby who grows into a man forever searching and yearning for like, I recommend THE IRRESISTIBLE HENRY HOUSE.
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
This wonderful book, truly original and irresistible itself, ongoing with the leader’s fascination with a picture of a baby with “rougish eyes” who was a “practice baby” for Cornell students in a home economics program. Her search for what befell such babies resulted in the creation of Henry House. Common practice in universities from 1919 through the late 60’s, such babies were passed off like “human batons” to give young women hands-on mothering experience, remaining in communal care for the first year (possibly two) of their lives, they were they returned to orphanages for adoption. Subsequent studies have proven the need for single person bonding, and the resultant dissociative autonomy scars Henry as he makes his way through life. His special circumstances, being chosen to remain as an adoptive son by the housemother, make further difficulties and confusions for Henry. But the fact is, he is blessed with above average artistic talents and charm, qualities that make his transitions possible, also his experiences with seminal events of the mid-century landscape he inhabits. Henry and the country come to age simultaneously, and while the ending seems a bit inchoate and puzzling, the reader is left satisfied.
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5