Ambitious novel that lives up to its full potential covering a family’s highs and lows over decades
- Started: September 23, 2021
- Finished: September 26, 2021
- Pages: 532
- Rating: 5!/5
REVIEW + SUMMARY
I first heard about this book through Kelly in the City, a favorite Chicago blogger talking about a Chicago (well, Oak Park) book. It was the first book I’ve seen her recommend – other than Marie Kondo’s – but I am a sucker for anything that takes place in this city. And wow, I loved this book but also I found it devastating. It wasn’t an overall sad book – though the characters experienced their fair share of tragedies – but something about it was still devastating. I think it’s because of how well Lombardo captured the human experience, especially the bond between sisters, spouses, child and parent.
The book focuses around Marilyn and David Sorenson, a couple still madly in love after 40 years and four daughters. Their oldest, Wendy is a widowed billionaire, still working through her grief through a series of drinks and younger men. Her closest sister, Violet, is her steadfast best friend and sometimes enemy, unable to resist the magnetic pull of her older sister. Except for when Wendy decides to bring Jonah, the son Violet gave up for adoption 15 years ago, into Violet’s carefully curated world. Liza, the third child, is a recently tenured professor struggling under the weight of a chronically depressed partner, the father of her future child. Grace is their youngest, separated from the rest of the family through years and miles as she keeps up appearances of attending the law school she didn’t get into. The book works through their lives, from the moment Marilyn and David met to the present, letting out every great joy and crushing defeat.
Sometimes I complain when books have too many characters because I get confused. That was not the case even once; each character was so unique and well formed that I could picture what was happening to each of them even as the focus and/or timeline changed. There was a greater focus on Wendy/Violet and Marilyn/David but I really liked all of them and their stories so it didn’t bother me.
This book’s greatest focus was on love. Partially between spouses – Marilyn and David had a relationship that seemed to almost intimidate those around them and their girls claimed that it was hard to grow up knowing that a) your parents greatest love was for each other and not them and b) that they would never achieve the same connection. And that was pretty heartbreaking I think. Both the sentiment but also the thought that loving your spouse too much could stunt your kids, that instead of having issues from parents at each other’s throats they had issues from the complete opposite. Parents just can’t win, can they?
There was also a great deal of love between sisters. The way they knew the other better than they would ever acknowledge, how to push each others buttons and how they loved each other so deeply no matter what. I never grew up with sisters or a big family in general so the dynamics were an insight to a totally different world.
This book made me cry, like a lot. And that just added to how much I loved it. It’s a book I will probably think about for a long time. It was quite long and did take me a little bit to get into it but by 75 pages I was all in and really enjoyed the ride. I was shocked to see that this was Lombardo’s debut novel. The Most Fun We Ever Had crushed me in the best way and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
Books and Lewks 