I don't remember where I heard about this book but I remember thinking that it came highly recommended and, because it was written by an author that got her MFA from the University of Iowa - a prestigious place - I was hopeful.
Ms. Lombardo's first novel spans many generations - at least four that I could count - that center around a marriage that has lasted for around 40 years give or take. The couple at the center of the marriage forms the hub of the novel. We also meet the couples' four daughters - the eldest two of whom are "Irish twins," and the younger two seeming to live in their wake. The book takes place in Chicago and its suburbs - hardly unusual considering the homeplace of the author - and begins in 2000 when the oldest daughter, Wendy, an unabashed money chaser, is getting married to an older and wealthier man. Don't get me wrong - this isn't a 55 year old marrying a 25 year old. It seems that Wendy loves him very, very much. That being said, the novel takes place over four seasons, often interspersed with flashbacks that bring us up to speed with regards to the drama that inhabits the family.
The writing is VERY good, don't get me wrong. But I did find myself rolling my eyes a lot over the course of the novel. It's VERY white, VERY heteronormative and VERY economically non challenging. The novel is a treatise on first world problems. Seriously. And it's depressing in its first worldness. So much talent from an author seemingly wasted. There are the predictable issues: stay at home mom with a law degree who opted out, surprise pregnancies and single parenthood, youngest child angst, blindsided and alcoholic widows. How much more stereotypically upper middle class/upper class American can you get?!
The book was also very long - about 150 pages too long honestly. It was very, very repetitive and too neatly tied up at the end. A family with that much baggage can't have such a simple and neat tie up at the end. Seriously.
You can skip this one, promise, but I hope that Ms. Loombardo writes a second novel that I can give a shot because I think that she has some serious promise, even if I didn't particularly care for this first novel.
Ms. Lombardo's first novel spans many generations - at least four that I could count - that center around a marriage that has lasted for around 40 years give or take. The couple at the center of the marriage forms the hub of the novel. We also meet the couples' four daughters - the eldest two of whom are "Irish twins," and the younger two seeming to live in their wake. The book takes place in Chicago and its suburbs - hardly unusual considering the homeplace of the author - and begins in 2000 when the oldest daughter, Wendy, an unabashed money chaser, is getting married to an older and wealthier man. Don't get me wrong - this isn't a 55 year old marrying a 25 year old. It seems that Wendy loves him very, very much. That being said, the novel takes place over four seasons, often interspersed with flashbacks that bring us up to speed with regards to the drama that inhabits the family.
The writing is VERY good, don't get me wrong. But I did find myself rolling my eyes a lot over the course of the novel. It's VERY white, VERY heteronormative and VERY economically non challenging. The novel is a treatise on first world problems. Seriously. And it's depressing in its first worldness. So much talent from an author seemingly wasted. There are the predictable issues: stay at home mom with a law degree who opted out, surprise pregnancies and single parenthood, youngest child angst, blindsided and alcoholic widows. How much more stereotypically upper middle class/upper class American can you get?!
The book was also very long - about 150 pages too long honestly. It was very, very repetitive and too neatly tied up at the end. A family with that much baggage can't have such a simple and neat tie up at the end. Seriously.
You can skip this one, promise, but I hope that Ms. Loombardo writes a second novel that I can give a shot because I think that she has some serious promise, even if I didn't particularly care for this first novel.
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Melissa, this made me laugh --> 'A family with that much baggage can't have such a simple and neat tie up at the end. Seriously.'
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. The older I get, the less I appreciate endings that are tied up in a bow. Life often doesn't work that way, does it ...
Right?! I'm just saying!!! Life's not like that! Lol! I call it like I see it. :)
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