A review by emilyinherhead
Apologize, Apologize! by Elizabeth Kelly

2.0

This novel, about a boy named Collie and his narcissistic, alcoholic, emotionally and physically abusive, Irish Catholic family, took a long time to draw me in. Not much happens aside from a lot of Collie establishing just how crazy his parents, uncle, and grandfather are, and then something does happen, and you think "okay, now we'll see some personal growth as a result of this tragedy," but then the last half of the book feels just as aimless as the beginning, only in a more plot-driven way. Like too little happens, and then too much. And neither Collie nor his family seems to change, really? There's some sort of metaphor in there about pigeons finding their way home, but overall, despite normally being all about dysfunctional family stories, I just feel "meh" about this one.