Family

Audiobook version from Audible.com, read by Hope Davis. This was my first experience with Anna Quindlen's work, and I chose to listen to this book on the strength of the user reviews. It did not disappoint. It has been a long time since I've become so immersed in the emotions of a story that I completely lost my sense of the real world around me. I found myself standing completely still, crying in the middle of a room with my headphones on and no idea how much time had passed. Hope Davis does a fine job reading the story - I found her pacing and emotion fit the main character's voice very well, but I did have some difficulty distinguishing between the voices of minor characters. I highly recommend this audiobook. ( )

Mary Beth Latham, who runs a landscaping business, and her eye-doctor husband Glen are the parents of 14-year-old twins Alex and Max and 17-year-old Ruby. The first half of the story is Mary Beth’s biased narration of her family’s life. She's the first to admit that her marriage to dull but decent (her word, not mine), Glen, continues on slow burn. Son Alex, the soccer star, is popular in his own way as is self-confident Ruby, who is finally past her bout of anorexia. Only Max, geeky and socially awkward, seems to still be struggling, although he does seem to like his therapist who specializes in twins and is a twin himself. His only friend is Ruby’s boyfriend, Kiernan. Ruby is sure that she has outgrown Kiernan, but he continues to hang around her house "mooning" over her and adopting her family as his surrogate family since his own parents’ have had a nasty divorce. Mary Beth handles small business crises and her Mexican workman. That could be another story by itself. She and her friends commiserate over their children, in not quite believable language...but not much is said about their marriages, Kiernan, has mental problems that Mary Beth has either missed or simply ignored, although they’ll seem glaringly apparent to the reader. She goes berserk and commits a horrendous act of violence against Mary Beth’s family and only Mary Beth and Alex survive, and the remainder of the book details their road to emotional recovery. Unfortunately, while Anna Quindlen’s a pro at writing of the life of a woman like Mary Beth, the actual plot is hard to believe. The murders are obviously meant to shock.... and they do. Mary Beth’s guilt over a brief affair she had with Kiernan’s womanizing dad years ago just doesn't ring true. The outpouring of support she receives from friends and family is just too sweet and much too redemptive. I didn't hate the story, and I have really liked other books by this author, but this one seemed to be an unsatisfying mix of melodrama and the mundane. Three stars for old times sake. ( )

Started good, but second half of book a disappointment. ( )

3.5 Stars

CW: Brutal murder of family, teen murderer hangs himself, obsession and stalking, depression, survivor guilt, grief

Well that was a book of two halves.

It's not a spoiler to say that something shocking and violent occurs around the midway point and that the trajectory of the characters lives changes significantly. Whilst I was at no point bored during the first section it was essentially a recount of the day to day lives of this unremarkable family. We learn about the challenges facing some of them and the dynamics between the people in their orbit. Then wham! Everything changes. At first I was glued to the pages following the incident but then the story stretched on a bit and I felt worn down by the emotions. It was still a compelling read though. This was a great exploration of grief after tragedy and I thought the characters felt authentic and relatable.

( )