The story is stark and you’ve got to force yourself to turn the pages especially hard to read about the disintegration of a family.
Jamie and Caz lose their parents in a home fire. Jamie overnight becomes homeless living with a girl whom he met just once and who kindly allows him to live with her. Jamie is disorganized, does not know how to share chores and is a mess. Losing his job, which he is not interested in adds to the mess. Caz cannot cope with the normal workings of her marriage- caring for two little girls and very very swiftly goes into an abyss of drinking, cutting herself and sleeping her days and nights away. Stevie her husband avoids facing any unpleasant situation or the fact that his home life is spiraling out of control.
Jamie without any idea how to control matters takes up the slack of parenting two confused children, housekeeping the best way he can and trying to salvage his personal life and his destroyed piano in the best way he can (which is not much). The characters ebb and sway this way and that in a constant state of confusion, living for the moment and not caring for consequences. There is no stability or purpose in any of their lives till a crisis blows up in their faces and all of them have to face the consequences of their action and inaction.
Emotional and very pragmatic in its writing this is a good, but hard to read story.
Sent by Flying Dog Press for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.
Goodness it does sound very intense, thanks for sharing your thoughts
ReplyDeleteThis one is probably not for me.
ReplyDeleteI can see why this one would be a difficult book to read. It sounds very intense and emotional.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, Mystica!