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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this, as I have enjoyed all the A.M. Holmes I’ve read so far. Darkly humorous and a biting view of western society values in this millennial age, the book is also ultimately a tale of redemption and being able to find our true selves through love and human connections.
I picked up this book after reading [b:Where'd You Go Bernadette|13526165|Where'd You Go, Bernadette|Maria Semple|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1338822317s/13526165.jpg|17626728] and [b:Life After Life|15790842|Life After Life|Kate Atkinson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358173808s/15790842.jpg|21443207], two books that were also short listed for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2013. I loved those two novels and figured, if I loved them, I would have to enjoy the prize winner, May We Be Forgive. Let's just say that was a poor assumption.
[SOME MINOR SPOILERS BELOW]
This book started off at break neck speed! It was wild and crazy and utterly amazing! Then maybe 100 pages in or so it hit the wall. I was so disappointed. To me it felt like the plot just went off in too many directions for absolutely no reason, and it could have done with a lot of editing. The short is told by Harry, a Nixon scholar at a local college. He starts having an affair with George's, his younger brother's, wife. George ends up getting into a fatal car accident, killing two people and then shortly afterward murders his wife. The rest of the novel is about Harry taking over George's life, moving into his house, taking care of his kids and pets. Harry's wife leaves him once it comes out about the affair and Harry's life slowly unravels into chaos. Towards the end, Harry ends up piecing together his own patchwork family, which I found endearing.
[BIGGER PLOT SPOILERS]
Harry goes from the murder of his mistress/sister-in-law, to divorce, to managing George's house and affairs while George is locked up in prison and mental facilities, to meeting people online for sex, to being laid off, to getting into relationships with strange women, to taking on the sole survivor of George's car crash, a young boy, to his niece being molested and expelled, etc... It's just a series of wild events that for me just ventured too far. I think if only about half of the crazy tangents had occurred I would have loved the book. (Seriously, the above is only a handful of the bizarre things I could remember at this time.)
The strangest part for me was weaving Nixon throughout the novel. I just didn't understand what value it added, and despite being a lover of history, I though the Nixon segments were particularly slow and boring. It took me six months to finish the book, I was so disinterested, and it still probably wouldn't be finished if it weren't for the fact that I got an audio version of it from the library and listened to it during my commute.
[SOME MINOR SPOILERS BELOW]
This book started off at break neck speed! It was wild and crazy and utterly amazing! Then maybe 100 pages in or so it hit the wall. I was so disappointed. To me it felt like the plot just went off in too many directions for absolutely no reason, and it could have done with a lot of editing. The short is told by Harry, a Nixon scholar at a local college. He starts having an affair with George's, his younger brother's, wife. George ends up getting into a fatal car accident, killing two people and then shortly afterward murders his wife. The rest of the novel is about Harry taking over George's life, moving into his house, taking care of his kids and pets. Harry's wife leaves him once it comes out about the affair and Harry's life slowly unravels into chaos. Towards the end, Harry ends up piecing together his own patchwork family, which I found endearing.
[BIGGER PLOT SPOILERS]
Harry goes from the murder of his mistress/sister-in-law, to divorce, to managing George's house and affairs while George is locked up in prison and mental facilities, to meeting people online for sex, to being laid off, to getting into relationships with strange women, to taking on the sole survivor of George's car crash, a young boy, to his niece being molested and expelled, etc... It's just a series of wild events that for me just ventured too far. I think if only about half of the crazy tangents had occurred I would have loved the book. (Seriously, the above is only a handful of the bizarre things I could remember at this time.)
The strangest part for me was weaving Nixon throughout the novel. I just didn't understand what value it added, and despite being a lover of history, I though the Nixon segments were particularly slow and boring. It took me six months to finish the book, I was so disinterested, and it still probably wouldn't be finished if it weren't for the fact that I got an audio version of it from the library and listened to it during my commute.
Started off as a really funny, black comedy story. Then took a turn when everything was confusing and not really believable. Almost like a drug trip.
This book was very sporadic and disconnected with way too many unbelievable and ridiculous events happening. I couldn't tell which events were important and which ones didn't really matter in the long run. This book could easily have been 3 different novels and added more depth to each story line.
The female characters are not well developed at all, which is very disappointing because the female characters introduced could have been very interesting rather than portrayed as sexual objects, naggy, "bitchy" etc.
The portrayals of Africa and POC in the novel are straight-up racist.
Money is never an object. Ever. It's ridiculous to the point of being irritating.
The incident at Ashley's school is the most unbelievable thing I've ever read. Most of the events that unfold are not handled well at all and it's a little unnerving.
What the hell was up with the Hunger Games-esque prison alternative for George?
Also, why did we not get to know George more? He is played out to be a major part of the story but really isn't and we never find out his motives.
All-in-all, this book is a frustrating read with very few moments of humor or any real depth. I continued to read it in hopes that it would have some sort of twist ending or something would tie all these random events together, but I was left disappointed and confused.
The female characters are not well developed at all, which is very disappointing because the female characters introduced could have been very interesting rather than portrayed as sexual objects, naggy, "bitchy" etc.
The portrayals of Africa and POC in the novel are straight-up racist.
Money is never an object. Ever. It's ridiculous to the point of being irritating.
The incident at Ashley's school is the most unbelievable thing I've ever read. Most of the events that unfold are not handled well at all and it's a little unnerving.
What the hell was up with the Hunger Games-esque prison alternative for George?
Also, why did we not get to know George more? He is played out to be a major part of the story but really isn't and we never find out his motives.
All-in-all, this book is a frustrating read with very few moments of humor or any real depth. I continued to read it in hopes that it would have some sort of twist ending or something would tie all these random events together, but I was left disappointed and confused.
Uggghhhhh. Fuck this book. It's not just bad, it's long. It's long and pretentious and derivative and I hated it. It felt like it wanted to be Kafka and Frantzen and it was neither. I didn't like the characters and none of them felt real to me. There were so many absurdist elements but they came to no end. It was just. Bad. I have such a bad taste in my mouth from it and I am sad that I wasted like 20 hours reading it. I want my time back.
I expected to be wowed, after reading the reviews, but perhaps Homes just isn't for me. The farther I'd get, the more times I'd say - ok, here's where it's going to pick up and get going! I found none of this "a year in the life" story even slightly possible, believable or even important to believe or suspend belief just to bear witness - what am I missing?
Not quite sure what I just read, but the hilarity kept me engaged. Taking ordinary families and injecting brilliant, yet bizarre scenarios is a favorite of mine and Homes has nailed it with this one. This conversation between George and the kids at Busch Gardens: "Tessie had kittens"--"Tessie is a dog"--"You're right". How do you explain the humor here? Either you get it or you don't.
Meh, I don't care what happens to anyone in this book so I just stopped at 40%.
I made a new year's resolution to not slog through books I'm not enjoying--too many books, too little time.
I made a new year's resolution to not slog through books I'm not enjoying--too many books, too little time.
I only finished this book out of stubbornness. Complications only intrigue to a certain point; I was more likely to roll my eyes at the outrageous twists near the end of the book, and never formed any emotional connection to the characters. Just TOO MUCH. I have nothing against intricate literature, but this was muddled seemingly just for the sake of squishing too many ideas into one novel
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes