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Loading... A Family Institution (edition 2011)by Howard R Reiss (Author)
Work InformationA Family Institution by Howard R Reiss
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The Midwest Book Review calls Howard Reiss "an especially gifted storyteller with a knack for creating fully developed characters and original storylines that engage the readers complete attention from first page to last." "A frank novel of family and what binds us all through our troubles, A Family Institution is a choice pick for general fiction collections." "Both the dialogue and physical descriptions of characters ring with truth and Ira's weakness-while sometimes difficult to fathom-does make the character seem more real."
Based on an event from the author's life, this is a story about an unusual mid-life crisis triggered by the discovery of an aunt who was mistreated for mental illness in the 1940's and 1950's. Coming to terms with his own family history leads to a journey of self-discovery that tests not only current relationships, but new ones as well. This novel about secrets and revenge is told with a comic touch and will have you reading until the wee hours of the morning. No library descriptions found. |
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When he is unsuccessful in pushing his secretive family for answers to the mystery he has uncovered, Ira sets off on his own journey of discovery which takes him away from his comfortable middle class life with his wife and two kids in the burbs, to a mental hospital and a dingy transient apartment shared with a bleached blond lonely but kind nurse. His quest for some answers leads him to even more questions and unravels what he thought he knew about himself and his family but then ultimately leads him to some self-evident truths that were in fact always constant and true.
In addition to loving the story, the author does a great job outlining the little known (at least to me) details about the treatment of the mentally ill throughout the late 19th and early 20th century. This historical family novel is most definitely a page-turner and will not disappoint. ( )