The Smell of Other People’s Houses (Review)

Even if we don’t like to admit it, everyone has those books that were cover buys. I certainly do. But I’ve never bought a book for its title…until this one. Of course, the cover is nice too. But The Smell of Other People’s Houses is just so evocative. I was intrigued as soon as I heard it.

It seemed like everyone that had read The Smell of Other People’s Houses either loved it or hated it. Which, of course, made me all the more curious to read it and find out which way I sided.

The answer is…I loved it.

The Smell of Other People’s Houses follows four teens living in Alaska over the course of one year, as they each face their own struggles, unaware that their paths are going to inextricably intersect in one way or another. 

Hank: Playing guardian to his brothers as they run away from home.

Alyce: Forced to choose between familial duties and her own dreams.

Dora: Hopes for locks on every door and that her father won’t be home anytime soon.

Ruth: Seduced by the smell of other people’s houses.

“Sometimes you can be inserted into another person’s life just by witnessing something you were never really supposed to be a part of.”

The writing of this story is heavy with description, focusing on…you guessed it…smell, especially in the beginning. Scent isn’t usually given much attention in literature, and it was beautiful and vivid to experience in Smell. But even as the novel progressed, there were so many beautiful sentences that it was easy and enjoyable to become engrossed in. The story is somehow succinct enough to progress quickly and remain short, and yet bursting with illustrative prose, which is too often the first aspect to be skimped on in a story of this size. Hitchcock creates a perfect balance.

The words washed me easily into the worlds of the four teens, introducing them each quickly but thoroughly enough to understand who they were and what was happening to them as they rapidly begin to face some of the hardest times of their lives. 

I love stories with flawed characters which undergo difficult times, so this story certainly suited my tastes. It’s a story about growing up, and living in Alaska, and changing times, and so much more. 

It’s clear, even without reading her author bio, that Hitchcock grew up in Alaska, and used her own experiences to make the setting realistic. I did not grow up in Alaska, but I deeply related to the rural, live-off-the-land, long-and-difficult-winter atmosphere that was the backdrop for the characters stories. Although I think it would be easy for anyone to find something they can deeply relate to in this story, even if it’s not the setting.

“We don’t have to be blood to be family.”

I also loved the way the story was split into the four seasons, each with corresponding lengths (so that winter is, obviously, the longest.) It was such a small detail but added just that little extra bit to the story. Not to mention that the illustrations at the beginning of each section were gorgeous.

I was afraid, when I picked up this book that the story would be much too short to properly explore each character and have room for them to grow, especially since there were so many perspectives. But the book is neat and efficient, with a nice build of tension and a thorough enough, yet quick, resolution. It leaves everything it needs to in, and anything else out, so that only the beautiful bare bones remain. I never felt that the story lacked as I read, and I almost began to question what all these 500+ page (or even 300+ page) books were wasting their time on if this one could manage four character arcs with a proper narrative arc in less than 200 pages. 

The only small hiccup I had in my reading experience was that, when I switched from one perspective to another it was sometimes hard to remember what had been happening to them and to get back into their storyline. Part of this is because all of the perspectives are written in first person, so a cursory glance at the character name at the beginning of the chapter might not be enough of a reminder once you turn the first page. But I think part of it was also because of the way the story sucks you in and often leaves you at the end of a chapter, not exactly with a cliff-hanger, but definitely wanting to know how things turn out with the character you’ve just been reading about. It’s so engrossing that it drew me into each character’s story so completely that I would steam ahead to the next chapter for more without taking the time to re-situate myself and then would remember that I was with another person. It would only take a few pages, however, for me to then become totally engrossed in the next character and those who read it one chapter at a time rather than devouring it in large bites (like I did) will probably not have this problem.

“Did I stop believing in everything all at once, or was it so gradual I just didn’t notice?” 

I rated The Smell of Other People’s Houses 4.5 out of 5 stars. I would highly recommend it. It has a little bit of everything; literary fiction (of course), a touch of romance, a dab of mystery, and even a sprinkling of historical fiction aspects.