Not long now till Kate and Rob share their views on our Book of the Month in Monday’s podcast, but what did you think?
We took to Goodreads to find out….
Mike says: “I found myself, after a short while, utterly enthralled. The long novel had a propulsive energy and wit, and I cared deeply about the characters (even those most destructive). I found a bleak but compassionate humor in the catalogue of misfortunes, and a growing joy as Harold found his way through each trial. The final fifty or so pages move toward a more complete redemptive energy, and my enthusiasm dampened just slightly–perhaps because I wanted the novel to carry on, and on, and on…”
Elliott said: “Does any contemporary American writer rival Homes’s mad-cap imagination and surreal wit? I’ve long been a fan–I teach some of her short stories–and this novel has so much to recommend it. Its messy exuberance tells a story of identity, betrayal and redemption. A bizarre and moving look at the 21st-century American family.”
Mike Carey said: “The great American novel is a referent that a lot of reviewers are using, but to me it felt more as thought Homes was trying to write a modern Candide. And maybe she even succeeded, but at the cost of turning her characters into abstract counters and their precarious survival and bonding into a schema. I wanted it to be more than that.”
What were your thoughts? Let us know! Contact us in the comments below or via Twitter, Facebook or email.