Housekeeping is the story of Ruth and Lucille, orphans growing up in the small d
esolate town of Fingerbone in the vast northwest of America. Abandoned by a succ
ession of relatives, the sisters find themselves in the care of Sylvie, the remo
te and enigmatic sister of their dead mother. Steeped in imagery of the bleak wi
ntry landscape around them, the sisters' struggle towards adulthood is powerfull
y portrayed in a novel about loss, loneliness and transience.
