Book Chatter

Model Home
By Eric Puchner
(Scribner, Paperback, 9780743270496, September 2010, 384pp.)

The Short of It:

Puchner creates one of the most heartbreaking stories of our time. Sad and beautiful, its message resonates.

The Rest of It:

Dreaming of untold riches in the real estate market, Warren Ziller moves his family to a gated community in (Rancho) Palos Verdes, California. There, they live the American dream. Nice house, nice neighborhood. But Warren has a secret. The real estate development that he’s invested in has tanked, and his family has no idea what looms ahead.

Once in a while a book comes up out of nowhere and just slaps you in the face. I first heard about Model Home when it was featured in this year’s Tournament of Books. Simply put, it sounded like my kind of book. It was set in Southern California, it had all the family dynamics that I seem to crave, and dysfunction… lots of it. I expected to enjoy it, but I did not expect to love it as much as I did.

This book will break your heart.

You will re-read passages over and over again because Puchner’s writing is so exquisite. His writing is both beautiful and raw, which doesn’t even sound right when put together in one sentence.

You’ve got your whole life ahead of you, people liked to say. In truth. there was not much time, a blip, and most of what you did was a mistake. You were lucky to find a safe and proper home. In the end, even the world cast you out, withdrawing its welcome.

The characters are so well-developed, that I cried for them. Their predicament is so dire at one point, so delicate and precarious that I had to pace my reading or be overwhelmed by grief.

If you search for reviews on this book, you’ll see that many found this book to be depressing. I didn’t. It’s an honest account of a family falling apart, but in many ways it’s hopeful too.

I want everyone to read this book. It’s my fave of the year (so far) and if you happen upon the interview with Eric Puchner, discussing the book, hold off on it until you’ve read it because it gives a huge plot point away!

Source: Purchased.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

This past week was a blur. I had THE WORSE HEAD COLD ever. I thought I had it under control at one point and then it went south from there. Two and half days off from work, with me coming back to (what felt like) a zillion tasks left me completely out-of-it come Saturday. But, after getting reacquainted with my Neti Pot, and finding the right combination of meds, I am back in the land of the living.

With the week the way it was, I wasn’t able to connect with some of you. I tried to at one point and got about half way through my reader and then just couldn’t look at the screen any longer. I will be catching up with all of you between today and tomorrow. I look forward to reading about what you’ve all been up to.

As for reading, I finished what will probably be my favorite book of the year. I have yet to write-up the review, but I hope to get it out this week. I was laughing and crying at the same time. It was wonderful. Next up, Dostoevsky’s Notes from the Underground and Perrotta’s The Leftovers.

No plans today. Yet.

I’ve had coffee.

I’ve bathed the Otter Pup (our puppy Chloe). I don’t think we could possibly love a dog more. Here’s a recent photo of her, just after her bath.