A Sandstone Farmhouse

by John Updike

A Sandstone Farmhouse


At a glance:

The Story

When Joey’s mother dies, Joey returns to the sandstone farmhouse built in 1812 in rural Pennsylvania in which she was born and died. Joey lived in the farmhouse from age thirteen until he graduated from high school. After he entered college, he lived mostly in New York City but returned periodically to the farmhouse to visit. His mother lived there alone during her last years, refusing to leave and, for a while, refusing to die because she felt that the farmhouse needed her. Joey, however, resented the move to the farmhouse in his early teens because he had to leave...

(The entire page is 1630 words.)

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