I often expect that a writer’s most autobiographical work will be their warmest and most enjoyable, but that certainly is not the case here. I was confused when I read it was published in 2009, because it seemed so much weaker than her latest novel it was only later that I realized it was a reprint of a 1996 work, which explains why it doesn’t quite have her trademark sharp wit, insightful narrator, cynical observations and loveably irascible characters. I often expect that a writer’s most autobiographical work will be their warmest an Compared to We Need to Talk about Kevin and So Much for That, this novel was a huge disappointment. I felt like it was wrapped up a bit too neatly, although I am not sure of a better way to have ended it.Ĭompared to We Need to Talk about Kevin and So Much for That, this novel was a huge disappointment. I’m not sure if I would have understood this part of Corlis, if I had not had personal experience. I think it comes from a place of hurt and frustrating, but it can come across as callous. I often find myself doing the same thing regarding my mom, who passed away three years ago. She lashed out at them and picked on their short comings. There was one big thing about Corlis’ narrative that really rang true for me, the way she described her parents. Corlis spends much of the book analyzing her two brothers and dead parents, yet is very unaware of her own culpability in the family dynamic. The novel is told from the point of view of the middle child and only girl, Corlis. Shriver does a fantastic job at writing tension and cutting remarks. As I was reading, I kept thinking that it would really translate well into a stage play. A bulk of the story takes place in the home and it is very dialogue heavy. It is the story of three very different siblings who inherit their family home, a very grand southern colonial manor. Shriver’s “A Perfectly Good Family” was as near to a perfect novel as I have ever read. She is a ridiculously gifted writer and I look forward to working my way through her novels. As I was reading, I kept thinking that it would really translate well into a Lionel Shriver has been a huge discovery for me. Lionel Shriver has been a huge discovery for me. A Perfectly Good Family is a stunning examination of inheritance, literal and psychological: what we take from our parents, what we discard, and what we are stuck with, like it or not.more Just as in girlhood, Corlis is torn between allying with the decent but fearful youngest and the iconoclastic eldest, who covets his legacy to destroy it. Yet to buy the other out, two siblings must team against one. When her bullying black-sheep older brother moves into "his" house as well, it's war.Įach heir wants the house. Her timid younger brother has never left home. Yet to buy the other out, two siblings must Following the death of her worthy liberal parents, Corlis McCrea moves back into her family's grand Reconstruction mansion in North Carolina, willed to all three siblings. When her bullying black-sheep older brother moves into "his" house as well, it's war. Following the death of her worthy liberal parents, Corlis McCrea moves back into her family's grand Reconstruction mansion in North Carolina, willed to all three siblings.
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