Roommates Wanted

Roommates Wanted by Lisa Jewell (2007) 461 pages

Leah lived with her boyfriend across the street from a rather distinctive three story tall building in need of updating. For three years, they watched the comings and goings of the people inside, wondering who the people were: a rather reclusive man with thick curly hair and muttonchop sideburns, a young woman with a guitar, another woman who frequently changed her appearance, a young man of nineteen, and more.

We learn that a poet named Toby was given the house 15 years ago as a wedding present by his absent father. There was one old man, a sitting tenant, who remained in the house when they moved in. When Toby's wife left him after a month, Toby advertised for more roommates to fill the house, preferring to have artists and other creative types, with the rent negotiable. He had no trouble filling the rooms in the house, but basically withdrew from the world, seldom even interacting with his tenants.

Toby learns that his father will be visiting in a few months and wants to see if Toby has been successful in his poetry career and improved his house. (He has not.) When circumstances bring Toby and Leah together in an extraordinary incident, they become friends. Toby confesses that he needs to find a way to get his tenants to leave so that he can sell his house and move on with his life. Leah helps Toby find a contractor to renovate his house and she and Toby plan ways to help his quirky tenants at the same time.