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A review by aarrick
The Unfortunates by Sophie McManus
4.0
The book centers around a rich family headed by Cecelia Somners, a generous heiress who is battling a crippling disease that forces her to seek treatment at a luxurious but lonely facility. Her son George is dealing with his own issues; George has created an opera that he wants to open for New York society but it does not get the acclaim he was hoping for and it sets their family into financial turmoil. His wife Iris is an up and coming real estate agent whose face is displayed on billboards around a new subdivision that apparently isn't all that it seems.Each character is left to pick up the pieces of what they used to know and try to make it through together.
A story about a rich family dealing with issues and financial decline isn't one that usually catches the empathy of the common reader but this book does contain a bit more. It's a book about flawed characters who have relied on all they've ever known. Cecelia comes off as a grumpy and sad woman when faced with the realization that her health is failing her. George is a proud man who sees firsthand what failure looks like and it changes his world forever. Iris comes off very naive and has to pick up where George left off when he loses the will to do anything.
It wasn't the most interesting or evoking book as you can't relate to the characters nor do you sympathize for their mistakes and fortune. The writing was nice enough that it was easy to imagine what the houses, opera, and facility looked like so it definitely brought an imagery to the story. There were parts that surprised me and the end was definitely unexpected. I wouldn't say this is a lighthearted read but it definitely invokes summer beach reading vibes that would make it good for traveling or relaxing. It definitely would appeal to those who like flawed characters and dysfunctional families.
A story about a rich family dealing with issues and financial decline isn't one that usually catches the empathy of the common reader but this book does contain a bit more. It's a book about flawed characters who have relied on all they've ever known. Cecelia comes off as a grumpy and sad woman when faced with the realization that her health is failing her. George is a proud man who sees firsthand what failure looks like and it changes his world forever. Iris comes off very naive and has to pick up where George left off when he loses the will to do anything.
It wasn't the most interesting or evoking book as you can't relate to the characters nor do you sympathize for their mistakes and fortune. The writing was nice enough that it was easy to imagine what the houses, opera, and facility looked like so it definitely brought an imagery to the story. There were parts that surprised me and the end was definitely unexpected. I wouldn't say this is a lighthearted read but it definitely invokes summer beach reading vibes that would make it good for traveling or relaxing. It definitely would appeal to those who like flawed characters and dysfunctional families.