BookBrowse Reviews Family and Other Accidents by Shari Goldhagen

BookBrowse:

Goldhagen does a wonderful job of describing the familial bond and all the ups and downs and oddities that we consider family. Debut Novel

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There's something slightly addictive about this debut novel - something that kept me reading even though not much really happens. it even kept me reading past the teenage sex scene in the first chapter, which should have been enough to put me off (being the mother of two "adolescents-in-training" I find I've moved from having a low-interest in reading such scenes to wishing to skip over them entirely!). I suppose, at the end of the day, it boils down to the simple fact that, despite the odd cliché, Goldhagen describes the family bonds so vividly that it's impossible not to be drawn into her characters' lives.  I bet there's many a reader who's finished this novel with a tear in the eye, and picked up the phone to make a long-overdue call to a sibling!

"In this immensely assured first novel, Goldhagen uses a wealth of skillful techniques to create an indelible portrait of the flawed but loving Reed brothers." - Booklist.

"Unsentimental and emotionally riveting, this is a portrait of the love between people who are not particularly good at loving." - Publishers Weekly.

This review first ran in the May 3, 2006 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.