"This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival." —Rumi
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In Guest House, the pull of a shy ingenious boy changes Melba Burns' solo life forever.
One late summer day, Melba is stopped in her in her tracks at the site of
a terrible accident. She parks her car, quits her job and retreats into her beloved farmhouse seeking peace. But peace and Melba’s new roommate, JoLee Garry, have
never met. JoLee brings boyfriends, booze and layoffs into Melba’s household,
not to mention an alcoholic husband who has kidnapped their son Matt.
The Garry family trails sorrows, thrills and unexpected guests into Melba’s life.
She feels, almost too late, the power of protecting what you love.
One late summer day, Melba is stopped in her in her tracks at the site of
a terrible accident. She parks her car, quits her job and retreats into her beloved farmhouse seeking peace. But peace and Melba’s new roommate, JoLee Garry, have
never met. JoLee brings boyfriends, booze and layoffs into Melba’s household,
not to mention an alcoholic husband who has kidnapped their son Matt.
The Garry family trails sorrows, thrills and unexpected guests into Melba’s life.
She feels, almost too late, the power of protecting what you love.
What Readers are Saying about Guest House
"GUEST HOUSE is perhaps the most rapid-fire novel of domestic hope
and strife you’re likely to read all summer."
--Ben Fulton,THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
"No way are books dead. Not with writers like this out there."
--Jesse Kornbluth, HEAD BUTLER
"The people living in GUEST HOUSE are as particular and real—and flawed—as our neighbors, our friends, ourselves. In this remarkably generous novel Barbara Richardson chronicles not only the betrayals and sorrows of the human heart, but the love and
hope and caring that heals it."
--Molly Gloss, author of WILD LIFE
"This book reminds me of Keri Hulme's extraordinary BONE PEOPLE, which won
one of the world's great literary prizes, the Booker, some twenty-five years ago.
But Richardson's prose is more graceful than Hulme's, and her characters
seem even more alive."
--Ed Kanze, author of OVER THE MOUNTAIN
AND HOME AGAIN
"Richardson, who is part comedienne, part landscape artist and part Zen master, reveals
the vulnerability of her characters with utmost delicacy . . . there is salvation here,
and it happens in this addictively-readable and often hilarious novel."
--Lisa Jones, author of BROKEN: A LOVE STORY
and strife you’re likely to read all summer."
--Ben Fulton,THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
"No way are books dead. Not with writers like this out there."
--Jesse Kornbluth, HEAD BUTLER
"The people living in GUEST HOUSE are as particular and real—and flawed—as our neighbors, our friends, ourselves. In this remarkably generous novel Barbara Richardson chronicles not only the betrayals and sorrows of the human heart, but the love and
hope and caring that heals it."
--Molly Gloss, author of WILD LIFE
"This book reminds me of Keri Hulme's extraordinary BONE PEOPLE, which won
one of the world's great literary prizes, the Booker, some twenty-five years ago.
But Richardson's prose is more graceful than Hulme's, and her characters
seem even more alive."
--Ed Kanze, author of OVER THE MOUNTAIN
AND HOME AGAIN
"Richardson, who is part comedienne, part landscape artist and part Zen master, reveals
the vulnerability of her characters with utmost delicacy . . . there is salvation here,
and it happens in this addictively-readable and often hilarious novel."
--Lisa Jones, author of BROKEN: A LOVE STORY
If you missed the nation's first literary Truck Stop Tour -- view it here!
The Inspiration for Guest House Video
Chapter One of Guest House
"This novel is like snuggling up in bed with a big mug o' tea and a large slice of carrot cake and relaxing
your entire heart . . . " —Lisa Jones, author of Broken: A Love Story
your entire heart . . . " —Lisa Jones, author of Broken: A Love Story
