Relationships | Book Chatter

After the Parade
By Lori Ostlund
Scribner Book Company, Hardcover, 9781476790107, September 22, 2015, 352pp.

The Short of It:

With pain, comes growth.

The Rest of It:

As a young child, Aaron Englund had no idea how his father’s death after a fall from a parade float would affect him in the years to come but when his adult relationship with his beloved Walter ends, he’s forced to take a look at his past.

After the Parade is exactly what I look for in a good read. It’s a quiet story with interesting, quirky characters and unusual situations. When Aaron realizes that he can no longer maintain a relationship with Walter, he moves out and meets a host of people who, although flawed, serve a purpose in his healing.

This is truly a book about relationships. Mother and son, father and son, colleague to colleague, innocent bystanders, etc. I loved how open Aaron was to all of it. He’s a sensible guy and takes his hits as they come but he learns from them too which makes him so relatable. This book is filled with quite “aha” moments. I found myself rereading sections just to let the ideas sink in.

If you are like me and like quiet, meaningful reads then you will enjoy this one. It will be on my list of faves for the year because to me, this was the full package as far as reads go.

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

The Nest
By Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
Ecco Press, Hardcover, 9780062414212, March 2016, 368pp.

The Short of It:

One sibling’s poor decision ends up jeopardizing the nest egg that his other siblings have come to rely on.

The Rest of It:

Family secrets and money. The two seem to go hand in hand and that is most definitely the case here. The Plumb family is dysfunctional but also somewhat typical in that they all have their own unique issues to deal with.

When Leo’s drunk driving results in the injury of a young woman, a woman who is not his wife, the nest egg that all of this siblings expected to receive when the youngest turned forty, is instead used to keep things quiet. This upsets them and they react to the news in different ways.Threatened by their predicament, they turn towards each other for support.

This was a pretty good read. At first, it felt a little superficial but it quickly turned into something much more complex. Whenever people are thrown into a difficult situation, how they recover and what they do next says a lot about them. These siblings are forced to “make it work” and although there is worry and stress and plenty of resentment, there is also a family bond that can’t be ignored.

Overall, a very good read.

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

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