Story House    by Timothy Taylor Order:  USA  Can Knopf, 2006 (2006) Hardcover     Reviewed by Michael Graves Story House is a book about two half brothers born six months apart, who share a famous architect father. The father however has a minor part in this novel that develops into a major character study of the brothers. Even the plot, although interesting, appears as background to display the significant differences between the two protagonists. The sibling relationship is extreme and antagonistic, but at a distance. Yet the brothers seem to have a mutual respect for each other's very different lives. One is an architect and the other deals in counterfeit brand names. This is not a book for the odd minutes caught while commuting but rather requires dedicated, uninterrupted attention to both language and character development. Timothy Taylor has the ability to transport the reader into the world that he creates, which in this case is not easy stuff as the book is heavy with architectural allusions and constructs. The novel is very challenging and a definite intellectual endeavor. It probes many issues that confront us - marriage, having children, sibling relationships, father-son conflict - and as such would be excellent material for book club discussions. Taylor has written two very different novels, where the only common factor is that they take place in Vancouver, Canada. Story House leaves us with eager anticipation of the author's next work that will no doubt take us in a new direction. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Contemporary books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews