Reviews

All This Could Be Yours by Jami Attenberg

emilyfine's review

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Jami Attenberg writes with both brevity and wit. This is a dysfunctional family saga that revolves around the deathbed of an asshole patriarch. Each chapter is told from a different vantage point, including the coroner that performs the autopsy. I laughed out loud frequently, guffawed in many instances, and found the book a ton of fun!

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elle_gee_likes_books's review

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dark tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Unnecessarily graphic. Certain chapters didn’t make sense. Nothing tied together. No lessons learned. Not an enjoyable read 

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gregz_newdorkreviewofbooks's review

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4.0

(First appeared at https://www.thenewdorkreviewofbooks.com/2019/10/all-this-could-be-yours-toxic.html)

My dad was about the nicest, most generous man you could ever meet. So, to me, reading about a guy like Victor Tuchman is rather eye-opening. Victor is the patriarch of the massively dysfunctional family inhabiting Jami Attenberg's fantastic new novel All This Could Be Yours. He is also about the most despicable character you can imagine. Thankfully, as we meet him at the beginning of the novel, he's on his deathbed in a New Orleans hospital, having suffered a heart attack.

But that leads his estranged daughter Alex, a Chicago lawyer, to begin to wonder why he was the way he was — a career criminal who beat and cheated on his wife and emotionally damaged his children. And beyond that, Alex wonders why her mother Barbra stayed with Victor all these years. So as Alex and Barbra pace outside his hospital room, as he is comatose, waiting to die, she grills her mother on their past, hoping to both learn about her evil father, but also to find any clues about her own troubles with relationships.

This is a novel about toxic masculinity, yes, which Victor encapsulates in its purest form. There really is no limit to his depravity. But it's also a novel about toxic relationships. Alex herself is divorced, and while her ex-husband is basically a good man, he has one fatal flaw: He just can't stay faithful. So, is he a good man? As well, Alex's brother Gary, who is holed up in an AirBnB in LA, and refuses to come to New Orleans to see off his father, has a HUGE relationship issue with his wife Twyla. We soon find out why, in one of the more shocking twists in any book I've read in awhile. Read this book alone to find out what that twist is!

Attenberg introduces us to several minor characters along the way who all have some sort of relationship malfunctions, as well. Relationships are really tough, even when both parties are fully committed. But they're all but impossible when one isn't. And when they break, they have lasting, long-term consequences.

All this sounds as heavy as the sweltering New Orleans summer heat. But remember: This is Jami Attenberg. And she's really, really cool. So this is a pleasure to read at every turn. I don't know if this is my favorite Attenberg novel — that might still be The Middlesteins. But this is certainly in the top tier, and very highly recommended.

shandrareads's review against another edition

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1.0

Hated it is an understatement. Questioning my sanity for pushing through this. I don’t get the praise for her writing, it was disjointed and overblown. Horrible switching between first and third person randomly. This book had such promise but what a waste. The “secrets” were cliché and predictable. I could go on a rant but that would mean spoilers. I get what she was trying to do, to create a picture of a dysfunctional family, but this is way too lengthy, tedious and has way too many unnecessary details that bring zero value to the overall picture. And yet what’s even more infuriating is that even with all the details there’s a certain lack of depth for certain things. I’m sure that was on purpose but it irked me to no end. The stand alone stories are the absolute worse, completely unnecessary stupid plot fillers.

janey's review

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4.0

Lots of great, quirky, messed up characters. I especially liked the peeks Attemberg gives us into the thinking of peripheral characters, for some reason that made the whole book come together and feel more true to me.

jaclyncrupi's review

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4.0

There are a few writers who I feel write books just for me – Katherine Heiny, Curtis Sittenfeld, Kristen Iskandrian and Jami Attenberg – all American women of my generation who I feel have a definite shared sensibility that really resonates with me. I love Attenberg’s various literary devices deployed to make us consider our shared humanity, or lack thereof, and she puts them to great use here. A man like Victor was always going to be a tough character to read but I loved how rather than make this book about a bad man, Attenberg focussed on the good, if flawed, people who surrounded him. The minor characters she pulls in bring much needed respite, too. This didn’t quite hold me in its grip as tightly as some of Attenberg’s previous novels but I still loved it.

cindyshirld's review

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2.0

Talk about dysfunctional people and a very dysfunctional family. Wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be based on the synopsis. Did not like any of the characters. Found it hard to follow through with all the timeline jumps. Also confused as to why there were certain characters introduced that did not contribute to the plot at all.

ayemwhy's review

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

angelaac's review

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

maceyshofroth's review

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2.0

Good writing but I truly couldn’t tell you what the point of the book was. I don’t think a book can stand on just well written characters. There’s really not a plot.