This is a debut novel about a family living in the Chicago area. David & Marilyn Sorenson have four adult daughters: Wendy, Violet, Liza, and Grace. The writing style is very fluid and it was an easy read. I was also invested in each of the characters to some degree, but I certainly didn't like some of them at times. What I love about character novels, however, is seeing the growth in each character as the story unfolds.
David & Marilyn have one of these amazing marriages based on unconditional love and affection. They have their problems over the years for sure, but they really don't believe that anything is more important than their relationship. They are very demonstrative in their affection for each other, which I think is sweet. Their daughters seem to always view it as a negative thing however. There is an underlying vibe throughout the book that these family members perceive each other with a slant toward the negative. This really bothered me and it's the reason I'm giving it 4 stars (for the writing style and character development) rather than 5 stars. I don't mind reading about beautifully flawed people, but I hated how they were always undercutting each other - and they were really hard on Marilyn. Even the title of the book refers to a comment made in jest by David & Marilyn about raising their daughters ("The most fun we ever had.") Of course when all is said and done, and their daughters are adults and finally finding their own way despite their individual hardships, David says the same phrase to Marilyn and means it. So, there's that.
Wendy is the oldest daughter and marries an extremely wealthy man who ends up dying way too young. Their only child is born sleeping. So, she has to deal with a lot. I don't think her sisters give her enough grace as she grieves for her lost "life". She's not exactly warm and fuzzy though. Violet is her "Irish twin" and while they were close as children, they aren't as adults. It's pretty sad. They seem to be jealous of each other and certainly find ways to sabotage their sisterhood. Violet got pregnant as a teenager and Wendy took her in so she could have the baby and put it up for adoption without their parents even knowing about it. (Why?) But then Wendy tracks the child (now a 15 year old teenager named Jonah) and brings him into their lives, which throws Violet, her husband and young children into a tailspin. (Why?) Liza's boyfriend suffers from severe depression, which she just seems to suffer through. Then she finds out she's pregnant and suddenly has an affair, which her boyfriend finds out about and leaves her. (Ok?) Finally there is Grace, the "baby" of the family, who is pretending to be attending school but is really failing out of life.
I can't pretend to know what it's like to have even one sister, so maybe sisters can really be like this to each other. I hope not though. In the end, each character has grown and apparently decided that telling the truth isn't as bad as it once seemed to them. And all of them accept Jonah into their midst. All's well that ends well.
Wendy's Rating: ****
No comments:
Post a Comment