Favourite novels about families.

OOPS! I should have said My family & Other Animals was written by GERALD Durrel, not his brother, Lawrence (a far more serious character, who went of to write The Alexandria Quartet & other quite ernest novels)
Gerald, on the other hand was a much sunnier soul ... very funny observer of his quite eccentric English family & a great lover of all forms of animal life. In this particular book he adopts a snake, magpies ("the maggenpies") & various other creatures & insects. Often with hilarious consequences. What a delightful book! What anarchy in that family!

D'artgnan

I haven't read White Noise yet. Sounds interesting. Will try to borrow it from a Delillo fanatic I know.

Hello Babs!

Yep, families come in all shapes & sizes, alright!
They can even include groups of people who exist in very close connection with each other but aren't 'blood" family. I'm particularly interested in how people in these intimate circumstances behave toward each other & why ... The black sheep, those struggling to survive destructive bonds, those who choose to distance themselves, the power struggles, sibling bonds & rivalry ... Also observations of families in different cultures.

Tartarin

Interesting that Buddenbrooks & the Corrections keep popping up in book forums here & on Abuzz. What did you like most about them?
Point noted re the Durrells ... I realized the mistake soon after posting here. (I'm a bit vague at the moment! ) What did you think of Lawrence in My Family ...? I found him hilariously stuffy & pompous ... Interesting how much you can see of what sort of adults they were to become from that book. Was it Lawrence who described Margot's acne as "scarlet porridge"?

Haven't read "My Family..." in years, read it long before Alexandria Quartet. Remember loving "My Family..." and remember the description of Lawrence D. (and the scorpions riding on mom's back). But then I read the Alexandria Quartet, fell in love, and dumped Gerald!!

The Corrections is a wonderful, somewhat self-indulgent and over-written but deeply humorous long saga about two generations in a troubled family. One identifies with each member of the family, even while kicking oneself for doing so! The humor got to me most, and that the family members are complicated, imperfect and real. (Only finished it a week or so ago, so don't know yet whether it will turn out to be a Chinese dinner or a rib-sticker. But I'd recommend it as a good read. I had a feeling that the author found it difficult to end the book, finish with the characters, and I couldn't blame him.)

Another family -- or families -- in Zadie Smith's "White Teeth." Also, of course, Trollope's political novels -- terrific.

Tartarin

Thanks for that information. I think I'll go buy The Corrections very soon! Sounds like just the sort of holiday reading I'm in the mood for.

And maybe I should give the Alexandra Quartet another try? (When my concentration has returned! Have just moved house & it's rather befuddled my brain! I'm finding it difficult writing even one sentence without mistakes. Very frustrating. )

I loved the famous disrupted birthday episode in My Family ... The maggenpies stealing all the food, the discovery of the snake residing in the bath! Just delightfully hilarious chaos!

Mosquito Coast..that was a good one, thanks for the reminder!

"My Family..." is WONDERFUL! Have read all of them. ("Fillets of Place", etc.) But the first is best.

I also like Atwood and Munro. Mona Simpson is sort of in the same category ("Anywhere But Here.") "A Suitable Boy" (Vikram Seth) features an incredibly engaging family. "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers is fundamentally about family.

Lot of others... good question!

I actually have "A Heartbreaking work..." around here somewhere waiting for me to get to it....its worth the read then Im guessing?

quinn

I seriously tried to read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, but couldn't get past the first 100 or so pages. Well written, but it made me feel miserable & far too sad! Maybe I'll try again when I feel up to it?

sozobe

Hey, I've been reading almost the same books as you!

LOVE Atwood (especially, Cat's Eye!) & also had the most wonderful time with A Suitable Boy .. What a splendid read that was! I loved that Indian family! They we so funny & often so corny in their clever conversations with each other. And the mother: That utter determination to find the right, suitable husband! I was so disappointed when Laita chose the do the "right thing" & follow her mother's wishes (though it was perfectly understandable why). I wanted her to follow her heart, not her head .. (sigh ..)

Okay...Ill keep it on the sidelines for a time when Im up for it I suppose. Good to hear it is a well written piece though.

I recently reread a small novel about "the troubles" in Ireland by one of my favourite authors of this genre - Jennifer Johnston.
About the disruption caused to a family when the older brother returns home & resumes his IRA connections, much to the distress of his mother & younger brother. He ( the older brother)shares the romantic view of the movement with his good-for-nothing father, who views his (not very significant) involvement in the movement as the high point of his life. His younger brother, Joe, is an intelligent dreamer & is inadvertantly drawn into events he would rather avoid due to his brothers actions.

Quite a melancholy story, with the mother & younger son on one side of the fence, while the father & older son are on the other, both romanticizing the violence & seeing it as a heroic struggle for freedom. It's about a family divided, yet tied to each other. No one really has the power to change their own life.

The God Father great book great movie - two kinds of families all wrapped up into one.

A slight correction: The book by Barbara Kingsolver referred to above is really titled "The Poisonwood Bible."

I've recently read two novels by Richard Russo: "Empire Falls" and "Straight Man." Both about families and their problems. I saw the movie of his "Nobody's Fool" and it was also about a family. These books all feature action taking place in dying industrial towns.

I was surprised that no one mentioned "To Kill a Mockingbird" or "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", two pivotal books about family.

Agree on Suitable Boy and wonder if you've seen the film "Monsoon Wedding"?

I don't know how The Godfather escaped mention. A truly incredible book.

Tartarin

Monsoon Wedding? I loved it!! A good balance between good fun & serious issues. And the dancing & music: Delightful!

Oooh, I REALLY want to see that! (Monsoon Wedding.) Msolga, we do indeed seem to have read a lot of the same books! Have you read "Typical American" by Gish Jen? Another great family book, and if you haven't read it, bet you'd like it.

One Hundred Years of Solitude, the saga of the Buendía family, by Nobel prize winner Gabriel García Márquez.

Oh, let me tell you...! If you like One Hundred Years of Solitude (as well as his other books), wait till you get your hands on a copy of his memoir, just published. I had to order a copy from a Barcelona bookshop but I bet it will be translated into English right quick -- people are lined up waiting for it. He writes his memoir in the same easy going, humorous style as his fiction and -- most notably -- the strong sense of place is there too. Glad you mentioned it -- very strong contender in the books about families top 10.

sozobe

I can't imagine anyone not thoroughly enjoying Monsoon Wedding! Yes, go see it! A family planning a wedding, really joyfully to begin with ... BUT there are so many things people don't know about each other & bit by bit, they (& we) find out. I won't give the story away. But it was wonderful, fun & some very serious things to contemplate, too.