Focus on the Family: Eight of the Best Novels About Families

File under the category of "can't live with them, can't live without them." Families can be a wonderful source of solace but also strain at our sense of self as extended ties impose impossible demands while stirring a whole host of emotions--both high and low.

No matter how happy or complicated--or fun or messy--your family is, you will find a lot to relate to in the novels we have picked here. The universality of themes relating to family make them especially malleable to great fiction as you will find with these recommendations. You might even agree with Leo Tolstoy: "All happy families are alike. Each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Pick a couple to read with your book club. Maybe even share them with your family!

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri Paperback Jun 2014. 352 pages. Published by Vintage Brotherly love forms the anchor in this moving and understated novel that spans countries and decades. Subhash and Udayan might be siblings but they couldn't be more different in temperament. As each is pulled and shaped by the tidal forces of history, Lahiri's empathetic eye illuminates how a sense of duty can smother individualism. They don't call them the ties that bind for nothing. More info including review and discussion guide

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis Paperback Oct 2013. 256 pages. Published by Vintage. How does one view a closest family member's life? What prism do you need to evaluate that story objectively? This soulful debut novel raises questions such as these as one mother's extraordinary experiences as a black woman living through momentous events of the twentieth century are narrated through the voices of her twelve children. More info including review and discussion guide

We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas Paperback Jun 2015. 640 pages. Published by Simon & Schuster. "Through sickness and in health" takes on a deeply resonant meaning for Eileen Tumulty Leary, a mother, wife, and daughter whose life spans the arc of the transformative women's rights movement. Aspiring to middle-class solidity, she hitches her wagon to a budding scientist only to find her slice of the American dream to be near impossible to achieve. Especially recommended for anyone who has had to be a caretaker to a loved one. More info including review and discussion guide

The Invention of Exile by Vanessa Manko Paperback Jul 2015. 304 pages. Published by Penguin Books. In a culture of fear, anybody whose looks or speech are different from the "norm" can set off triggers. Immigrants like Austin Voronkov are especially susceptible to such hysteria. When the Russian scientist is accused of being a party to anarchist gatherings, his broken English does him no favors and he is deported. The novel highlights just how remarkably resilient and comforting family can be during trying times. More info including review and discussion guide

TransAtlantic by Colum McCann Paperback May 2014. 336 pages. Published by Random House. "What was a life anyway? An accumulation of small shelves of incident. Stacked at odd angles to each other." This remarkable quote alone should have you reach for this brilliant novel which interweaves history in and around the lives of four everyday women across the centuries. Always a master at high-wire acts, McCann is in fine form here, delivering plenty of fodder for discussion along with a few Forrest Gump-like cameos. More info including review and discussion guide

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng Paperback May 2015. 304 pages. Published by Penguin Books. The pressure cooker that family can sometimes be takes center stage in this BookBrowse favorite which explores how race, the weight of expectations and poor communication can take a severe toll on the ones we love the most. The tug of war between parents and children--about paths taken or not and societal norms--are movingly highlighted. More info including review and discussion guide

The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian Paperback Apr 2013. 320 pages. Published by Vintage. Family tales are often layered one on top of the other through accounts and hearsay to a point where what you get is the version distorted through many different prisms. Laura Petrosian thought she knew enough about her Armenian heritage and her grandparents but a stray historical nugget thrown at her sows seeds of doubt and misgiving. Set against the background of the Armenian genocide, this moving family take is also a masterful work of historical fiction. More info including review and discussion guide

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson Paperback Jan 2014. 560 pages. Published by Back Bay Books. Much like Groundhog Day, Ursula Todd gets stuck in a repeat cycle. Except it's not one day she goes through over and over again--it's an entire life. This highly innovative novel imagines what it would be like if we could reinvent ourselves, quite literally. Ursula is given that chance and the magic she works with herself and her family is a thing of beauty to watch unfold. More info including review and discussion guide