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In the Land of the Living: A Novel

by Austin Ratner

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231976,373 (3)None
A dazzling story of fathers, sons, and brothers - bound by love, divided by history. The Auberons are a lovably neurotic, infernally intelligent family who love and hate each other-and themselves -- in equal measure. Driven both by grief at his young mother's death and war with his distant, abusive immigrant father, patriarch Isidore almost attains the life of his dreams: he works his way through Harvard and then medical school; he marries a beautiful and even-keeled girl; in his father-in-law, he finds the father he always wanted; and he becomes a father himself. He has talent, but he also has rage, and happiness is not meant to be his for very long. Isidore's sons, Leo and Mack, haunted by the mythic, epic proportions of their father's heroics and the tragic events that marked their early lives, have alternately relied upon and disappointed one another since the day Mack was born. For Leo, who is angry at the world but angrier at himself, the burden of the past shapes his future: sexual awakening, first love, and restless attempts live up to his father's ideals. Just when Leo reaches a crossroads between potential self-destruction and new freedom, Mack invites him on a road trip from Los Angeles to Cleveland. As the brothers make their way east, and towards understanding, their battles and reconciliations illuminate the power of family to both destroy and empower-and the price and rewards of independence. Part family saga, part coming-of-age story, In the Land of the Living is a kinetic, fresh, bawdy yet earnest shot to the heart of a novel about coping with death, and figuring out how and why to live.… (more)
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Sometimes you read a book and it's not particularly great, but it's not terrible, and you reach the end going 'What was the point, exactly?' And In the Land of the Living is definitely one such book. A story covering the life of Isidore Auberon and his two sons (though one far more directly than the other), this was one that was difficult to connect to or relate with on any level for me - not because the characters didn't go through things that I can personally identify with, but because there just wasn't a depth to them that really allowed the reader to get beyond the surface.

The narrative has some interesting moments, but has just as many that weren't all that engaging. And the characters themselves were posited in such a way that they seemed like they were meant to be larger-than-life, but their actions weren't congruent or consistent with that and it made the whole story seem even more distant.

That said, I didn't really dislike the book, which is why I've given it 3 stars. It's possible someone else might read it and find it easier to relate to, but otherwise it's just a quick, somewhat mindless read, to me...

(eGalley provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.) ( )
  crtsjffrsn | Aug 27, 2021 |
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A dazzling story of fathers, sons, and brothers - bound by love, divided by history. The Auberons are a lovably neurotic, infernally intelligent family who love and hate each other-and themselves -- in equal measure. Driven both by grief at his young mother's death and war with his distant, abusive immigrant father, patriarch Isidore almost attains the life of his dreams: he works his way through Harvard and then medical school; he marries a beautiful and even-keeled girl; in his father-in-law, he finds the father he always wanted; and he becomes a father himself. He has talent, but he also has rage, and happiness is not meant to be his for very long. Isidore's sons, Leo and Mack, haunted by the mythic, epic proportions of their father's heroics and the tragic events that marked their early lives, have alternately relied upon and disappointed one another since the day Mack was born. For Leo, who is angry at the world but angrier at himself, the burden of the past shapes his future: sexual awakening, first love, and restless attempts live up to his father's ideals. Just when Leo reaches a crossroads between potential self-destruction and new freedom, Mack invites him on a road trip from Los Angeles to Cleveland. As the brothers make their way east, and towards understanding, their battles and reconciliations illuminate the power of family to both destroy and empower-and the price and rewards of independence. Part family saga, part coming-of-age story, In the Land of the Living is a kinetic, fresh, bawdy yet earnest shot to the heart of a novel about coping with death, and figuring out how and why to live.

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