The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
nathanklainer's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
emloueez's review against another edition
5.0
I feel like I read so many books from the perspective of unnamed narrators and vaguely sketched-out protagonists (which I like! I read these on purpose) so it was kind of nice to read something with characters who are so human and fleshed out. Franzen is funny? Who knew!
cocolbishop's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty long and doesn’t have chapters. But a great story with complex characters.
unfilteredlets's review against another edition
4.0
More like a 3.5 ⭐️
Some ups and downs, but overall well written.
Some ups and downs, but overall well written.
tarakingwrites's review against another edition
4.0
Well, here's something: I'm about eight pages in and it's already knocked me on my butt. I read the first paragraph three times before I could go on. Phew. This one's gonna be a doozy.
philipachen's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
lcgerstmann's review against another edition
2.0
*Spoilers*
This is a horror story. Except without vampires, zombies or werewolves. The monster is old age....and it is terrifying.
A disturbing look into the deterioration of a family and a marriage and of the mind and body.
The story takes place in the late 90s and is about an elderly couple in the midwest and their three adult children. Enid (the mom) wants nothing more than to spend one last Christmas together in the house where she raised her family. The problem is... her family. Her husband Alfred is suffering from Parkinson's and dementia, on top of that, he is a typical Archie Bunker, an asshole to everyone, especially his wife. Their children are all on the precipice of their own mid-life crises and unable to deal with the demands of an ailing father and needy mother. The oldest Gary, is your stereotypical upper middle class suburbanite in denial about his own mental health. Denise is a hardworking and successful chef under constant scrutiny from her mother for her lack of a husband and children who is just coming to terms with her homosexuality and this realization ruins her career. The youngest, Chip, is a horny, irrational teenager trapped in a man's body. He loses his job as a professor at a liberal college over an affair with a student and ends up involved with a Lithuanian gangster. They are all a mess. They are all completely self-absorbed. This family is dysfunctional.
I'm ok with dysfunctional but I had a hard time with this family because only once in the whole story did I think they actually gave a damn about each other. They obviously don't like one another, but they should love each other at least a little, that is what the basis of a family is, right?!
What probably made this book even harder for me to read was that it coincided with me visiting my grandparents. They are of the same generation as Enid and Alfred. They are actually so much like Enid and Alfred it is scary. My grandfather was a very proud man and his body and mind are failing him, as you an imagine, he is not taking this very well. The parts of the story where Alfred falls into a bout of dementia are hard to read and not only because of the excessive use of the word "turd". Then Alfred wants to kill himself, you can understand why and you can understand why his son just might let him and that is disturbing. My grandmother could give Enid's neediness and nagging a run for its money. I'm not sure her own children like her anymore either, I know they would give her some Mexican E if they could. I'm a mom. I'm at times needy. The idea of my children not liking me or loving me is frightening.
This book is remarkably well written. I'm sorry to give it two stars, it just left me feeling...too old.
This is a horror story. Except without vampires, zombies or werewolves. The monster is old age....and it is terrifying.
A disturbing look into the deterioration of a family and a marriage and of the mind and body.
The story takes place in the late 90s and is about an elderly couple in the midwest and their three adult children. Enid (the mom) wants nothing more than to spend one last Christmas together in the house where she raised her family. The problem is... her family. Her husband Alfred is suffering from Parkinson's and dementia, on top of that, he is a typical Archie Bunker, an asshole to everyone, especially his wife. Their children are all on the precipice of their own mid-life crises and unable to deal with the demands of an ailing father and needy mother. The oldest Gary, is your stereotypical upper middle class suburbanite in denial about his own mental health. Denise is a hardworking and successful chef under constant scrutiny from her mother for her lack of a husband and children who is just coming to terms with her homosexuality and this realization ruins her career. The youngest, Chip, is a horny, irrational teenager trapped in a man's body. He loses his job as a professor at a liberal college over an affair with a student and ends up involved with a Lithuanian gangster. They are all a mess. They are all completely self-absorbed. This family is dysfunctional.
I'm ok with dysfunctional but I had a hard time with this family because only once in the whole story did I think they actually gave a damn about each other. They obviously don't like one another, but they should love each other at least a little, that is what the basis of a family is, right?!
What probably made this book even harder for me to read was that it coincided with me visiting my grandparents. They are of the same generation as Enid and Alfred. They are actually so much like Enid and Alfred it is scary. My grandfather was a very proud man and his body and mind are failing him, as you an imagine, he is not taking this very well. The parts of the story where Alfred falls into a bout of dementia are hard to read and not only because of the excessive use of the word "turd". Then Alfred wants to kill himself, you can understand why and you can understand why his son just might let him and that is disturbing. My grandmother could give Enid's neediness and nagging a run for its money. I'm not sure her own children like her anymore either, I know they would give her some Mexican E if they could. I'm a mom. I'm at times needy. The idea of my children not liking me or loving me is frightening.
This book is remarkably well written. I'm sorry to give it two stars, it just left me feeling...too old.