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Book Review of Household Gods

Household Gods
gilesgoatboy avatar reviewed on + 60 more book reviews


A woman lawyer in present day California is entirely caught up in justifying her grievances that led to her escalating struggles to maintain the lifestyle she's convinced is no less than her due, but exasperatingly beyond her reach.
As her coping strategies continue to fail, she despairs one evening before sleeping, looking at the two carved faces on the plaque of household gods from the Roman empire period, purchased during the honeymoon in Austria of her now bitterly failed marriage.
Wouldn't it be so much better to live in those simpler times when these wise-looking savvy little gods protected the home? She'd be totally free to start over without all her current burdens.
These little gods haven't had any attention for over two centuries, so they're delighted to be invited for input once again...
The following morning, Nicole wakes up in a different setting and a completely different body of a local resident woman about her age in the region of Vindabona near the Danube in the province of Pannonia, the origin of her little plaque. Her wish has been granted and she's got to fit in fast or the locals will consider her suddenly gone mad.
Her very survival depends on a sucessful and rapid adjustment to the uncompromising reality of "freedom" in her new existence, and she has a lot to learn that is going to slowly alter her entire view of life and her part in it from here on in.
Readers will remember this story, it is very effective in so many ways. On many levels it is enlightening, entertaining and thought-provoking. It is certainly the most compelling I have read with a time-travel theme.