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misslezlee's review against another edition
4.0
I almost didn't read this book because the first chapter/short story was so weird that I wasn't sure I was in the mood for it. Frankie visits a Howard Finstereque artist and it's all very strange. Aliens are mentioned. But, I plowed on and soon began to really enjoy this tale of a dysfunctional Floridian family. I vowed off short stories decades ago, but recently discovered that if the short stories are all related in some way, it makes for very satisfying reading. Some of the situations in this book are so ridiculous that I laughed out loud. It's hard to get an Outlander book out of your head. I heard Scottish accents for days after finishing "Voyager", but "Send Me" charmingly brought me back to the present day.
phee's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of those random books that is just "me".
Perfect humor
Perfect level of weirdness
Fucked up family situation
Fantastic writing
Elements of a campus novel
Queer characters.
The only slightly negative thing I have to say about it is that its told through many different time periods and it keeps jumping around, which is something that i normally hate. I didn't like it a whole lot but I didn't find it as annoying as I usually do.
Now the biggest question. I bought this book used because I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. The copy I have is really beat up. So do I treat myself to a brand new copy or just keep this ratty old one?
Perfect humor
Perfect level of weirdness
Fucked up family situation
Fantastic writing
Elements of a campus novel
Queer characters.
The only slightly negative thing I have to say about it is that its told through many different time periods and it keeps jumping around, which is something that i normally hate. I didn't like it a whole lot but I didn't find it as annoying as I usually do.
Now the biggest question. I bought this book used because I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. The copy I have is really beat up. So do I treat myself to a brand new copy or just keep this ratty old one?
djrmelvin's review against another edition
4.0
This book is both Non-linear AND multi POV and yet it is one of the smoothest narratives I've read in years. This is a story of the craziness that holds a family together at the same time it tears it apart. At the heart is Theresa, twice married, twice abandoned. She tries to be the anchor for her four children, but they all have a need to go spinning off on their own. The question of nature vs. nurture came to my mind several times while reading this wonderful book - how did they all end up the way they did when they seemed to have a pretty average American childhood? And then I realize...it's maybe because they had the average American childhood that they ended up the way they did. If dysfunctional families are your reading pleasure, I strongly recommend this book.
xk8linx19's review
5.0
I really don't think I'll ever not love something that Patrick Ryan writes. I don't think it's possible.
Literary fiction is, in my experience, widely cynical. Optimism is something to be cured, and genuine kindness is foolish or, quite often, punished. I am also something of a cynic, despite my best efforts--in person and in my writing. Patrick's writing doesn't have that overtone in the slightest. Life doesn't go right for his characters, by any means. But there's no bitterness in the writing, even of a bitter character (looking at you in this book, Joe, you poor thing). There's no waxing philosophical on the "state of mankind" or any such pretentious nonsense. This is a book about a family from Meritt Island, Florida (and I read it about fifteen miles south, in Melbourne), trying their best. And sometimes it doesn't work out. And sometimes it does. It's uplifting in a way that's honest rather than cloying, and realistic in a way that isn't pessimistic. Bravo.
Literary fiction is, in my experience, widely cynical. Optimism is something to be cured, and genuine kindness is foolish or, quite often, punished. I am also something of a cynic, despite my best efforts--in person and in my writing. Patrick's writing doesn't have that overtone in the slightest. Life doesn't go right for his characters, by any means. But there's no bitterness in the writing, even of a bitter character (looking at you in this book, Joe, you poor thing). There's no waxing philosophical on the "state of mankind" or any such pretentious nonsense. This is a book about a family from Meritt Island, Florida (and I read it about fifteen miles south, in Melbourne), trying their best. And sometimes it doesn't work out. And sometimes it does. It's uplifting in a way that's honest rather than cloying, and realistic in a way that isn't pessimistic. Bravo.
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