House: A Memoir

By Michael Ruhlman

Book Overview

Michael Ruhlman?s uncanny knack for taking a wide range of subjects and making them completely his own has gained him acclaim and popularity. In his latest offering, he owns the subject both figuratively and literally: his home. Housereally began in 1901 when a family moved into a brand-new house in Cleveland Heights?full of hope for the future and pride in their stunning home. But as time moved on, upkeep began to wane and, in the end, the house went on the market. And there it stayed for quite some time, until the Ruhlman family decided to buy the dilapidated building.With the always-tedious home-buying process and expensive repairs soaring into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the American Dream can seem like the American Nightmare. Detailing the purchase and renovation of a single family home, Houseexplores the importance of the place we live in, our yearning to establish it, and the importance of the actual structure, its impact on our intellectual and spiritual lives, and on the struggles of a family. Packed with useful information and stories written with a storyteller?s flair, Houseis a dramatic narrative by a gifted writer who eloquently concludes that be it ever so humble, a castle or a row house downtown, there?s truly no place like home.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670033839
• ISBN13: 9780670033836
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 243 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

One of the reasons we moved home...

My husband is a native Clevelander, and we met in the city before moving to Florida shortly after our marriage. We were there 2 years when I read a review on this book, and it was one of the catalysts in bringing us back to Cleveland, snow and all. Michael Ruhlman is a gifted writer, and this is clearly his love letter to his home and neighborhood. I loved it, although I'm not sure if it will be as well-received by people who do not know and love Cleveland Heights the way I do! Fascinating.

Old House Woes

As a native Clevelander, this book about an old house right around the corner from where I went to college really hit home (no pun intended). I enjoyed reading about the history of Cleveland and the venerable neighborhood where the Ruhlman family live, and sympathized with them as they undertook a massive home remodeling. A good mix of history, house and family issues. Definitely would recommend this one, along with the author's other books.

Historic home revisited

Ruhlman's latest book focuses on his family's renovation of a hundred year old Victorian home in the Cleveland Heights section Cleveland. Ruhlman manages to weave a history of suburbia, and America's tense relationship with its very idea, with a personal remembrance of renovating something from the studs. His discussion of the history of the Cleveland Heights section as well as his own home's owners helps to bring the area to life; I found it to be an interesting look at a city that is struggling to regain some of it's urban power. The changing nature of suburbia is the backbone for much of what he writes - how America, an ever moving nation, has changed it's view on not only suburbs but also on the very notion of home and family. He also discusses the problems this presents for him, questioning why he and his wife are choosing to subject themselves to living in the attic of their new home while contractors built what must be one of the most beautiful kitchens in the world! Ruhlman does not shy away from the tensions that are laying under the surface of his life. And even if he does not flesh them out fully or always understand his desire for this massive Victorian structure, he is honest in his confusion. In a few instances Ruhlman can get a bit preachy about what it means to have a home. In some ways he invest too much in the actual physical property rather than what makes his house a home: his family, his wife, his neighbors, even his cooking. That would be the only slight drawback to an otherwise excellent read, one that has you thinking about the nature of urban development as well as laughing about the ups and downs of major renovations.