This is how Lombardo pulls at your heart strings. Grace continues to evade her family and meets her crush, Ben Barnes. At times, it feels as though there are too many details, too many implausible things that go wrong, tied up with all-too-convenient deus ex machinas. The flashbacks and cast of characters large enough to people a sitcom give the reader someone to root for, and one could read all 500 pages in a week like one might binge a soap opera. I made a little list in my longlist wrap-up last year of parallels that I found between the books- Ill link that here in case youre curious! View more posts. The Most Fun We Ever Had. Lombardo levels this vision by interspersing chapters of the Sorenson parents early lean times with chapters about their daughters wobbly forays into adulthood. Please understand that Violet did not go out and seek her son, it was Wendy that decided to track him down and welcome him back. We all desperately want your life and we all know well never have it, the third-oldest, Liza, confesses in a moment of truth. But Ridge cant hide his feelings for Sydney longand they face their dilemma with refreshing emotional honesty. I did like the relationships between the characters and seeing how their choices panned out, effecting the whole family in the end. In the novel, four adult sisters are trying to find their way in the world, both guided and hindered by what they see as their parents epic romance, an impressive love story none of the girls is confident about finding for herself. This secret (which Ill talk about next) is what the book pretty much revolves around. We already have a strong community, but this event brought us even closer as we cheered and grinded it out next to each other! ( Reading Goldfinch was not challenge, it was long and all those amazing sentences needed to absorb slowly like sipping a cold, splendid, special drink which burns down your throat and awakens all your senses! No prob! A Rich, Engrossing Family Saga, Spiked With Sisterly Malice, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/books/review/most-fun-we-ever-had-claire-lombardo.html, Claire Lombardo describes how she arrived at the Iowa Writers Workshop with a very messy, 813-page draft.. Lombardo shows how menial things can be misinterpreted resulting in decades of bad blood. David recovers, but fears his mortality. Title: The Most Fun We Ever Had: Author: Claire Lombardo: Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2021: ISBN: 0525564233, 9780525564232: Length: 640 pages: Subjects: Its page count allows Lombardo to examine- in excruciating detail- the minutiae of day-to-day interactions, a lifetime of decisions and assumptions, and each sibling and parent relationship that is one thread in the greater web of this family. Magazine Subscribers (How to Find Your Reader Number), Mantel, Woodson on Womens Prize Longlist. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. A secret son, concealed by two of the sisters and given for adoption at birth, suddenly reenters their lives fifteen years later, testing the bounds of the familial relationships and finally showing the sisters that there may be more to a good and successful life than keeping up appearances. But you don't mind, because the Chicago-based clan of THE MOST FUN WE EVER HAD is definitely worth getting to know. 49,240 Ratings A multigenerational novel in which the four adult daughters of a Chicago couple--still madly in love after forty years--recklessly ignite old rivalries until a long-buried secret threatens to shatter Want to Read Rate it: Front-loaded with drama, the story leaves plenty of room for the mother and daughter to unpack their feelings and decide whats next. She also decided that his biological family should be the ones to provide that. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. 650 puslapi ir baigta dar viena mano MET knyga. So now your here, wondering what Violets secret is? Im with you on this one having a lot of interesting thematic potential that sadly goes largely untapped. Jonah was placed many times in different homes, none very permanent. She was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois, and spent several years doing social work in Chicago. #haunted #haunting #ghost #mystery #strange. Keep it Clean. This definitely read like a telenovela in book form for me. Ah yes, I was so confused about what the author was trying to say about marriage, since all of these characters seemed so quick to condemn this really successful one! Though it doesnt seem like much fun theyre considerate and selfish in equal measure, they do things for one another without mentioning it and then stab one another in the back its theirs. Please enjoy my thoughts and ideas below. hide. Oof, I just noticed this review on Goodreads, which may have shut the door for me: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2859759789?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1. ", Another narrative throughline is the intense competition between the two older Sorenson daughters: Wendy, an "impulsive, compulsive, turbulent" child, and Violet, the sister who encroached on her infancy by being born in the same calendar year. Wendy also has a knack for speaking her mind and exhibits no shame in any of her actions. Thats where I thought Lombardos writing shone in this book- the characters arent always sympathetic but they do feel like complex, well-thought-out people and it was so interesting to see how their lives and decisions would intersect. 876 Likes, 43 Comments - @lovelylonghaired on Instagram: "How was YOUR day? Most Fun We Ever Had (Lombardo) - Discussion Questions Discussion Questions 1. However, compared to her sisters struggles, Grace is not quite on the same level. Structured in a way that moves back and forth in time and allows different characters to be the focus, it is never hard to follow. The Most Fun We Ever Had. They're capable of coming to each other's rescue, but not dependably. She wonders how her daughters could have all turned out so markedly different, not only from one another but also from her. Reading this book was challenge like reading Black Leopard and Red Wolf! On the heels of Wendys birth, Marilyn becomes pregnant with Violet and the tumultuous child-rearing years begin. The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo. Here it is in writing, in January of 2019, and I can't wait to look back on this and know how right I was. This really looks like the literary version of a telenovela, and while I do sometimes enjoy some melodrama its not something I would expect either from a longlisted title. The Most Fun We Ever Had. I just noticed how long this book is. A Type A overachiever, Violet is accustomed to being the good girl to Wendy's monster and is deeply uncomfortable whenever their roles reverse. Arrive a few minutes early to get a spot by the stage, especially if you have little kids. Its definitely an interesting story, but not a perfect one. "The Most Fun We Ever Had" is a novel about a family and follows in the footsteps of other reknown novels the chronicle the intricate complexities of close relationships. Sure, David and Marilyn might have had four daughters several people for whom things can go wrong but need all of them be plagued by multiple unresolved demons? I know that's a long way to get in a book and then put it down but I had this on audio and I couldn't take the narration anymore. The outside world barely enters into the cosseted lives of the Sorensons. Back to reviews with another Womens Prize longlist title! Violet finally speaks to Wendy and learns that Jonah is in foster care as his adoptive parents died in an accident when he was young. It doesnt help that Miller already has a jealous girlfriend who stalks him via text from college. Flashbacks interspersed with the present-day chapters scroll all the way back to 1975, which in Lombardo's telling feels more like the 1950s. Flashbacks describe Marilyn and Davids early marriage in Iowa, where Marilyn becomes pregnant and drops out of school. Liza becomes unexpectedly pregnant and begins an affair to avoid dealing with her relationship issues. This book give you unlimited access to everything, all the time. After a while, you feel that you've always lived with the Sorenson family, and always will. , i read this book last year and didnt like it at all, so its been so interesting to see what people have been saying in their reviews of it now that its on the womens prize longlist! characters the right way, I did think she failed to dig into the criticisms enough to make them strong themes in the book, which definitely explains to me how readers arent tolerating those moments well, whether they see the purpose behind them or not. Where to start this book was amazing in so many different ways. Lombardo flings a full deck of narrative cards at us all at once, which she spends the next 500-plus pages patiently putting in order. This big, chewy, multi-generational tale rings so true, handles multiple characters so deftly, and moves back and forth through its own history with such assurance that one would expect Lombardo to have half a dozen practice runs under . It is anchored by the four-decade marriage between David and Marilyn, "two people who emanated more love than it seemed like the universe would sanction.". " The Most Fun We Ever Had is a remarkable first-time novel offering such an intimate picture of people's interior lives I feel as if every one of these characters is now a close friend. The story shifts backward and . Lombardo wrote a fabulous book about family dynamics that was completely enthralling. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. I mean, having caring parents and a stable household doesnt necessarily guarantee a happy childhood and eventually happy adulthood, but it seemed there should be a better way to go about making that point than blaming the people whove had good luck and put hard work into their relationships. The book opens on one of the daughters weddings, from their mothers perspective. She has not lived enough life to have made any mistakes or have any defining characteristics. [This review contains spoilers - heads up!] I am a fan! Fast forward to present day, Wendy tracked down Jonah and found out that he needs a home. So if youre looking for your next read, pick this one! When she receives her final rejection letter, she lies about her acceptance. This study guide contains the following sections: This detailed literature summary also contains Quotes and a Free Quiz on I do think Lombardos a good writer- I loved seeing how well she fleshed out all of these characters, how the four very different sisters personalities tracked across decades of their lives and how they all interacted with each other. I was aware that An American Marriage won last year, but I didnt know it was up against a lot of pretty strong works. From the beginning, I realized that Most Fun would be a new standard for me, Lombardo has a way with words and creating characters that just leapt off the page. That child, Jonah, the returned observer of this cloistered world, is as fascinated by David and Marilyns love as their daughters. I really enjoy books with different perspectives and this one definitely satisfied all of my perspective needs. If all of Lombardos future writing reach such a sprawl, however, we may (unfortunately) have to wait a while for her next novel. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE | I also have a brother and though were close, I find sister relationships (at least the way theyre portrayed in books) to be an entirely different thing. I hope youll have a good time with it if/when you pick it up! This is a emotionally engaging read, if overlong, well written, with great character development, and which resonates in its detailed and often realistic depiction of family life and dynamics. Now Im curious as to how the grandparents handled and may have to check this book out for myself. We had one narrator but once I got used to the story, the flashbacks stopped confusing me. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. What a fantastic debut novel by Claire Lombardo! Jonah calls Wendy from Montana and she retrieves him. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. From this glimpse alone the reader can see that there is plenty of interest going on beneath the surface of this happy family, though we soon come to learn that their mother doesnt know half of it. Thank you! Other than an event which I found hard to fathom, this is a realistic and intimate look at an affluent Chicago family as they love, laugh, annoy, clash, and support each other over the course of forty-odd years. We get it. Press J to jump to the feed. What do they represent? Last is Grace, the baby of the family. It also exposes Davids somewhat secretive but platonic dinners with Gillian after work. I had to laugh at your suggestion that the lesson learned might be to have a less stable marriage! The author hinted that the child's mother had sex with someone another sister would find upsetting. Sydney and Ridge make beautiful music together in a love triangle written by Hoover (Losing Hope, 2013, etc. In this "rich, complex family saga" ( USA Today) full of long-buried family secrets, Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, blithely ignorant of all that awaits them. David is trying to adjust to retirement, while Marilyn has become the owner of a hardware shop. Anyone can read what you share. Lombardos prose drives the plot and her sentences, though tightly raveled, reveal much more about the characters than is immediately apparent. The oldest daughter is an erratic alcoholic racked with grief; the second is a control freak who doesn't want to meet the son she put up for adoption 15 years ago; the next is pregnant and falling. Art & Auctions Print Edition Books & Arts Books Bookshelf 'The Most Fun We Ever Had' Review: An Assured Debut Claire Lombardo's first novel gives a sympathetic but unsentimental look at. The really tragic thing about this spoiler is that whoever has created it probably thinks that they have been really creative and innovative, whereas, in reality, they have just made their slightly shabby sports car look even trashier. Please do not be discouraged by the 500+ page count. Thanks! The other 531 and a half pages are variations on Ginkgo tree worship, parents constantly reminiscing on their sex life, affluent yet thirsty sisters being snarky (and worse) to each other and their mom (because they would never talk to dad that way), and some kid reminding his recently discovered biological mother its. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. If I'm to be honest I found myself bored at times and absolutely enthralled at others. Which also happened to qualify as "sidequests" for that goal, Which triggered the personal quest "Have two team mates retire", And it was our 15th total scenariowhich triggered that personal quest. The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo The length is a stopper: 532 pages. Trust me. Also, nothing was happening for me. In comparison, there is one daughter who survives paycheck to paycheck in a sad apartment with one fork to her name. Wendy offers to take in Jonah, but the two hid the pregnancy from their parents so they must tell David and Marilyn about Jonah. I have two brothers, but were not close. CLAIRE LOMBARDO earned her MFA in fiction at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Sixteen years later, the already messy lives of the sisters are thrown into turmoil . Essentially what the book is exploring is that all four daughters have these huge life struggles theyre hiding from their parents and each other because they hold the parents marriage up as the golden standard and dont want to be seen as failing to live up to that model. Ehhhhh.. Why arent people writing great stories in fewer pages?! Residents Demand Answers at Council Meeting on Police Killing of Sayed Faisal, Bob Odenkirk Named Hasty Pudding Man of the Year, Harvard Kennedy School Dean Reverses Course, Will Name Ken Roth Fellow, Ex-Provost, Harvard Corporation Member Will Investigate Stanford Presidents Scientific Misconduct Allegations, Harvard Medical School Drops Out of U.S. News Rankings. A character driven book needs characters that I actually like. This sounds exactly like the kind of book Ill enjoy, even if it was fine but not perfect for you. But this was the thing: sometimes being a sister meant knowing the right thing to do and still not doing it because winning was more important. That's the year David Sorenson, a shy premed student, and Marilyn Connolly, an outspoken English major, met and fell in love. The narrative alternates between flashbacks and the present, such that the former gives much-needed context to an otherwise convoluted and detail-packed story. 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