It would be impossible for me to name my favorite book, but if I had to mention a few possibilities, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout would be one. The writing and the creativity are just amazing. So when I saw that she had written another novel, I knew I had to read it and promptly convinced my book club to add it to the schedule. And boy, did I want to love it. The writing is still superb, and Strout has a way of developing characters that makes them really come alive. But this book is hard to read. Not only did I not like any of these well-developed characters, but I found I almost didn't care about what happened to them.
The story is about three siblings: Jim, a successful but pompous attorney who is downright cruel to his brother and sister; Susan, a mother who just doesn't seem to have a clue about much of anything and doesn't like anyone except her brother Jim; and Bob, the sibling who has been told he killed their father by rolling the car over him and now he must have a ruined life as a result. The storyline is all about what happens when Susan's son, Zach, rolls a pig's head into a mosque. The family tries to pull together but their dysfunction makes it awkward and almost impossible. If the ending was supposed to be satisfying..... well, I'm just not sure it was. While it was nice to see Jim get what he deserved, I wasn't ready to forgive him and let him move on with his life. I don't want to give too much away so I'll stop there. But while I think this is another exceedingly well written book, I wouldn't recommend other to rush to read it. -June
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