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Familiar (2012)

by J. Robert Lennon(Favorite Author)

3.3 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1555976255 (ISBN13: 9781555976255)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Graywolf Press

review 1: Oh, the sadness. This book is sad, and disturbing, and thought-provoking. It is also funny, in places, and well written throughout. Reviewers have called it existential science fiction and compared it to work by writers such as Vonnegut and Murakami, but to me It felt like the kind of thing Shirley Jackson might have written had she focused on the topics on parenting and identity, and then laced her fiction with the occasional dose of urbane wit. A definite tip of the cap to Mr. Lennon for rendering the voice of his harried (and harrowing) female protagonist so credibly.
review 2: This book is insanely well written. The pace shifts imperceptibly, raising tension, backing away from it. Every time I thought things were getting a bit improbable we'd spend some... more time wandering around the dullness of everyday life until I was reminded that this story was utterly real, thoroughly embedded in boring normality. The descriptions were visceral; towards the end of the book the protagonist is in the middle of an overwhelming drunkenness veering into hideous hangover and remorse and I actually felt the sickness and panic of it all and considered vomiting on the train. The skill the author uses in telling this story, his restraint and control, are remarkable, and I am very impressed. That's without even going into what a compelling story it is, which it is. If you have even a slight interest in off-kilter tales, or speculative fiction told in they style of realism, read this. less

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