The descendants (2007)

I really liked it (of course I pictured George Clooney as Matt King throughout it.) I liked the style of writing and the characters seemed believable. If the wife wasn't already in a coma I would have wanted to kill her. It seemed for everything he loved about their relationship she hated. I did get teary when Matt King was saying his final goodbyes to his wife and was telling her all the reasons he loved her. ( )

Another one to be read before seeing the movie.
Liked it - probably like George Clooney better though. ( )

The wife of Matt King lies in a coma from a boat racing accident. Meanwhile he must decide on selling off a land inheritance that will effect all his living relatives. The Descendants is both poignant and funny, as Matt wrestles with being the parent-in-charge; carrying out his wife's last wish to be disconnected from life support and dealing with a surprise or two along the way. ( )

Yes, I read this because Alexander Payne made a movie. But wow, so glad I did. I have read many books over the years that have a first-person narrator who is wigging out with anxiety over problems, real and perceived. Most of those narrators I have wanted to slap. The whining, the angst, the self-indulgence just rankles me (maybe because it hits so close to home). But Hemmings' Matt King has the perfect narrative voice. He has REAL problems and earns every second of his emotional turmoil. I also love that the plot is utterly believable. Things don't necessarily turn out as you might expect, but it's done so right, and the characters roll with the punches well enough that you absolutely have to go with them. Supporting characters, setting, thematic elements, all good, good, good. Even incidents that in other writers' hands might play as cheap gags felt to me like moments of "yeah, crud like that happens, doesn't it." She just gets it right. I hope my library has more of her books. Hemmings has earned my continued interest. -cg ( )

Talk about a dysfunctional family. I swear, every character you meet in this book is a nutjob.

I recently rented the movie from Amazon Instant Video, and since the service gives me 30 days to start watching it I figured that would give me plenty of time to read the book since it has been in my to-read list for a while now.

To my surprise, I really liked this. That was not what I expected when I first picked it up. The writing was so awkward, made even more jarring by the use of present tense. Not to mention the narrator, a grown man, tells his story like a child -- with short, halting sentences and a seemingly short attention span.

It took me a while to get used to it, but I did, and only after that happened was I able to start enjoying this book. Matt King, our protagonist is the heir to a lot of undeveloped land in his native home of Hawaii because his ancestor married a Hawaiian princess, and now he has to sell. However, the real story is the drama of his family life, which was what got me hooked. Matt's wife Joanie is in a coma and is taken off life support; meanwhile Matt discovers that she may have been having an affair before her accident that put her in the hospital, and together with his two troubled daughters he struggles to find closure and a way to deal with a future without the most important woman in their lives.

A very touching and heartfelt story, and at times humorous and just plain twisted. ( )