Book Review | Book Chatter

Start Without Me
By Joshua Max Feldman
William Morrow & Company, 9780062668721, October 2017, 288pp.

The Short of It:

What happens when a recovering alcoholic returns home for Thanksgiving, only to abandon his family because he just can’t imagine being with them?

The Rest of It:

Adam is home for Thanksgiving and overwhelmed by his family. He’s a recovering alcoholic and being home is just too much for him to deal with.

Marissa is a flight attendant and pregnant with another man’s baby. Her husband, who senses that their relationship is strained, has no idea what he’s in for when she shows up for the Thanksgiving meal.

Marissa and Adam are strangers but when they meet at a restaurant, they lean on one another for support as they figure out this next step in their lives.

I love stories centered around the Thanksgiving meal. There is always so much tension to these gatherings, relatives you haven’t seen in forever, cousins that drive you absolutely mad, mothers who over-fuss about everything. DRAMA. Start Without Me is full of drama but not really AT the dinner table. It takes place all over as Adam abandons his family to take a breather from reality.

It took some time for me to get into this story but by the final pages, I was pretty into it and wanted to see how things would turn out for Marissa and Adam. The cover sort of makes it look like it could be a funny story but it’s not really funny. It’s not depressing but definitely not funny so I just wanted to put that out there.

Have you read this author before?

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Nomadland
By Jessica Bruder
W. W. Norton & Company, 9780393249316, September 2017, 320pp.

The Short of It:

A thoughtful look at a community that has made the best of their financial challenges by living on-the-go.

The Rest of It:

In Nomadland, Jessica Bruder joins a select group of individuals for an opportunity to be “houseless”, not homeless. These folks, mostly the 65+ crowd, find that the only way to make ends meet is to live in a van or RV and then drive to where the work is. During a time when they should be able to sit back and enjoy life, they find themselves roaming the land for that perfect opportunity. One that can afford them the basics such as food and gas for their vehicle.

I can’t say that this book opened my eyes to anything I had not heard about before, but it did emphasize the community aspect which I enjoyed very much. These folks help each other out. They come together to share food and resources and provide support when needed. Although their incomes are very limited, they are often very generous with one another.

I guess one thing that I wasn’t aware of before is how organized this way of living can be. There are websites and books and all sorts of resources on how to live this way. Yes, they are surviving but these people seem to know what’s important and that “things” don’t make you happy. What they crave most is a place to settle down.

This book was chosen for a non-fiction club I am trying out. Our meeting was cancelled so I have yet to find out what anyone else thought but for the most part it’s a quick read and if you have any interest in how the recession impacted these folks, check it out.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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