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A review by takeahike
Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg
4.0
This debut novel was long-listed for both the Man Booker Prize and National Book Award. It is a contemporary literary fiction told from several points of view.
The night before her daughter’s wedding, June Reid watches as her house explodes in flames with her daughter, her daughter’s fiancé, her ex-husband and her boyfriend, Luke all inside.
“Before now she would have felt exhilarated by the idea of existing without obligation or consequence, but the experience is nothing like she once imagined. This is a half-life, a split purgatory, where her body and mind coexist but occupy separate realities.”
June loses her entire family in one fell swoop. Hers isn’t the only loss; Luke’s mother loses her only child and her daughter’s fiancé’s family must deal with the loss of their son.
“We talk less now. There are car rides and Sunday mornings and entire meals when Mimi and I don’t speak a word to each other. Not out of anger or punishment, but we’ve learned that grief can sometimes get loud, and when it does, we try not to speak over it.”
With each chapter, the story unfolds from the point of view of a different character. These characters are flawed people dealing with profound loss, grief, guilt, regrets, and finally forgiveness and acceptance.
“Rough as life can be, I know in my bones we are supposed to stick around and play our part. Even if that part is coughing to death from cigarettes, or being blown up young inside a house with your mother watching. And even if it’s to be that mother. Someone down the line might need to know you got through it.”
This is mostly a sad story, but it ends with hope.
The night before her daughter’s wedding, June Reid watches as her house explodes in flames with her daughter, her daughter’s fiancé, her ex-husband and her boyfriend, Luke all inside.
“Before now she would have felt exhilarated by the idea of existing without obligation or consequence, but the experience is nothing like she once imagined. This is a half-life, a split purgatory, where her body and mind coexist but occupy separate realities.”
June loses her entire family in one fell swoop. Hers isn’t the only loss; Luke’s mother loses her only child and her daughter’s fiancé’s family must deal with the loss of their son.
“We talk less now. There are car rides and Sunday mornings and entire meals when Mimi and I don’t speak a word to each other. Not out of anger or punishment, but we’ve learned that grief can sometimes get loud, and when it does, we try not to speak over it.”
With each chapter, the story unfolds from the point of view of a different character. These characters are flawed people dealing with profound loss, grief, guilt, regrets, and finally forgiveness and acceptance.
“Rough as life can be, I know in my bones we are supposed to stick around and play our part. Even if that part is coughing to death from cigarettes, or being blown up young inside a house with your mother watching. And even if it’s to be that mother. Someone down the line might need to know you got through it.”
This is mostly a sad story, but it ends with hope.