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A review by katykelly
May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes
4.0
I was reminded throughout of Jonathan Franzen's style and themes - long, sprawling family dramas, with dark humour and families coping with their problems.
This story starts with a corker - a Man kills his wife when he finds her in bed with his brother. The brother finds himself then in charge of the children.
A lot of the story follows Harold and his niece/nephew as they cope with their family situation. But it also looks at Harold's academic job as a Nixon historian/lecturer, his sexual (post-divorce) exploits, and how the one event triggers off a whole set of life-changing others.
The Nixon stuff bored me a little. I just wasn't interested. I wanted to see how Harold's niece and nephew coped, how Harold's life changed.
It was interesting, funny, imaginative, but it WAS sprawling.
One for a patient reader, who likes slow-burn and thoughtful books rather than all-out-action.
This story starts with a corker - a Man kills his wife when he finds her in bed with his brother. The brother finds himself then in charge of the children.
A lot of the story follows Harold and his niece/nephew as they cope with their family situation. But it also looks at Harold's academic job as a Nixon historian/lecturer, his sexual (post-divorce) exploits, and how the one event triggers off a whole set of life-changing others.
The Nixon stuff bored me a little. I just wasn't interested. I wanted to see how Harold's niece and nephew coped, how Harold's life changed.
It was interesting, funny, imaginative, but it WAS sprawling.
One for a patient reader, who likes slow-burn and thoughtful books rather than all-out-action.