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A review by tricky
Family Baggage by Monica McInerney
2.0
This is a book about family and the secrets that are made. The story is mean't to centre on Harriet who is recovering after a nervous breakdown brought on by not being with either of her parents when they died. Harriet has not been able to cope with much and finds herself thrown into taking a tour group when her brother falls ill. Harriet is not perturbed but is reassured the her adopted sister Lara will be there to assist. Of course Lara is not there and it sets off a chain of events where family history is questioned and misunderstandings are resolved.
I struggled to like this book, I struggled to connect to the characters and I really struggled to enagage with the story. What really made it difficult for me was all the character introspection that went on and on. After a while I really got tired of Harriet droning on about how she felt Lara was treated better, how she felt wronged for not being with her parents and every other crappy part of her life. Then there was Austin who really was bordering on one of the most unlikeable male characters I have read. Just so patronizing and so awful.
The story was well constructed, all the characters had endings and everything turned off really well for everyone, so happy endings all around. That made it a bit predictable and maybe that is why people love these books. It was not for me.
I struggled to like this book, I struggled to connect to the characters and I really struggled to enagage with the story. What really made it difficult for me was all the character introspection that went on and on. After a while I really got tired of Harriet droning on about how she felt Lara was treated better, how she felt wronged for not being with her parents and every other crappy part of her life. Then there was Austin who really was bordering on one of the most unlikeable male characters I have read. Just so patronizing and so awful.
The story was well constructed, all the characters had endings and everything turned off really well for everyone, so happy endings all around. That made it a bit predictable and maybe that is why people love these books. It was not for me.