The Middlesteins, Jami Attenberg

Read on the Kindle, after Amazon recommendation.

Richard Middlestein is an upstanding member of his local Jewish community.  A pharmacist, and original donor to his synagogue, he loves his children and grandchildren, but no longer loves his wife Edie, who has grown so fat it seems she will eat herself to death.

When Richard leaves Edie, as she is facing life threatening surgery, the family ties are stretched.

There's a lot going on in this book.  Richard is a man in his sixties, his business has boomed then shrunk.  He has a distant relationship with his children, and struggles with the disrespect shown by his grandchildren.  He wants to believe his sex life is not yet over. So he leaves his wife to the dismay of his family, and his community at large.  You also have Edie's life story, trying to explain the reasons for her overeating and why nobody can stop her.  The stories of the rest of the family are woven in - the shotgun wedding that produced the twin grandchildren, the reasons that Richard's daughter finds it so hard to be in a relationship.

This was a terrific read, but not a feel good read.

The Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood

The sequel to Oryx and Crake.  Read on the Kindle, after recommendation by Gillian.

When the "waterless flood" comes, and most of humanity is wiped out by a genetically devised plague, small pockets of humans, mostly those who have been isolated from other human contact, have survived.


This book follows a similar structure to Oryx and Crake, with flashbacks telling the story of Ren and Toby, members of "God's Gardeners", an eco friendly, vaguely Christian cult, who firstly need to find out whether they are the only people left on the planet, and then need to work out how to protect themselves from some of the others who are left.

I read this book directly after I had finished Oryx and Crake, and didn't enjoy it as much as the first book.  It was interesting to have new characters to care about, but some of the ways that they intersected with events from the first book felt forced.  The third book "Maddaddam", is on my wish list for August.

Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood

Read in hardback.  My copy is dated 2003, and I guess that's the last time I read this book. Gillian reminded me of it at Book Club the other night, and told me there was a sequel.  Then I checked on Amazon and a third instalment is coming soon.

Jimmy is the reluctant hero of this novel.  He has lost his best friend, and his lover, the human race has been devastated by a plague, and he has been left in charge of the Crakers, a new race of humans genetically engineered to be resistant to disease, sun burn and all other manner of evils including sexual jealousy.

How Jimmy came to be in this predicament is told in flash back.  And in the present you have Jimmy's fight for survival

I enjoyed reading this book again, as I hadn't remembered much of the story.  Margaret Atwood makes her dystopian future seem plausible, and dare I say it, potentially not that far off.

The Roundabout Man, Clare Morrell

Read in paperback.  Recommended by and borrowed from Granny.

Quinn Smith has lived under the shadow of his author mother all his life.  When he tires of life as curator of his childhood home, he goes to live in a caravan on a roundabout.  A pushy journalist writes an article about him, which sets in motion a series of events which bring Quinn back into contact with his sisters, the Triplets, and allows him to come to terms with his unconventional upbringing.

This is a charming, gentle book, and the character of Quinn, dominated by his overbearing sisters, and longing for love from his distant mother, is very well drawn and sympathetic.

The Man Who Forgot His Wife, John O'Farrell

Read in paperback, borrowed from Granny.

Having previously enjoyed May Contain Nuts by John O'Farrell, when I saw this book on Granny's book shelf I picked it up.

And what a charming piece of nonsense it turned out to be.  The plot was very similar to What Alice Forgot, this book was set in the UK, with a very English sense of humour.

Jack Vaughan wakes up on the tube, and finds out that he cannot remember any personal details, not even his own name.  After spending a week in hospital as "unknown white male", he discovers he has friends and a beautiful wife.  The problem is that they were about to get divorced, and the amnesia has been caused by the stress.

Essentially a book about being given a second chance to save a marriage which has disintegrated through neglect, this is definitely a feel good tale.