Family Pictures

by Sue Miller
Family Pictures
published
2001 by Indigo
edit

binding
Paperback, 400 pages

literary awards
1990 National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist

isbn
0575403217   (isbn13: 9780575403215)

description
A Masterful, Engrossing Novel About The Life Of A Large Family That Is Deeply Bounded By The Stranger In Their Midst -- An Autistic Child

The whole...more





Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.







discuss this book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »



friend reviews (0)

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.



lists with this book




other reviews (showing 1-20 of 339)



Ellen
10/24/07

Read in October, 2007
This book focuses on a family with six children, the third of whom is autistic. I was surprised and irritated at first at how descriptions of day to day life with Randall, the autistic child, seemed to focus much more on the other characters, so that you could almost forget that Randall was there. But then I thought, maybe that's the point - that even with this horrible difficult disease in the middle of the family, life goes on. Coffee (lots of it!) is drunk, games are played, marriages fall...more
Like this review?   yes  
  1 comments

Persephone
Persephone rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
08/30/08

Read in January, 2008
I'm left breathless by Sue Miller's ability to tell a story from many different viewpoints - female, male, very young, very old - reflecting attitudes of five different decades. This covers the timelines of several members of one family whose scars radiate out over many years from the autism of one brother. I don't think this is a spoiler, but the final pages detail an idyllic evening just before the birth of the autistic child. We see the family, still small, as yet unwounded, ready to welcome ...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Ann
Ann rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
10/29/08

Read in September, 2008
Overall I think Sue Miller's depiction of a family deeply affected by a tragedy is well done - at least I'm still thinking about it. I just could never get a clear picture of the main character, Lainy, in my mind - or perhaps it was Ms. Miller's intention to make her difficult to understand.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Genevra
Genevra rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
10/12/08

Interesting, because again, like Tilt, it's about a family with an Autistic son/brother and how they deal with it. Told by a younger sister, it brings up a lot of different family relationships in a larger family and especially with a child with autism.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Ahf
Ahf rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
11/01/08

Read in October, 1998
Enjoyable, I learned something from it.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Pamela
Pamela rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
11/16/08

bookshelves: fiction

Barbara
Barbara added it
11/09/08


Dinah
Dinah added it
11/01/08


Deirdre
Deirdre rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
04/17/08

bookshelves: fiction
Love when a list on goodreads reminds me of a title I had forgotten...

Don't know if I should rate anything I completely forgot with 3 stars, but it did come back to me...

I was disappointed in this one, after loving two of Miller's earlier novels. But I did gain a new perspective on my own mother from the amazing portrait of the mom in this book ---the image that stays with me most is her dancing outside when she is finally "free" even in her grief.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Mercedes
Mercedes rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
11/05/08


Becky
Becky rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
02/03/08

Read in January, 2006
I was really impressed with the dynamics of the relationships in this book. The author really did her research about the environment of psychology in the 1950's. This book was engaging on so many different levels, history of psychology, family relationships, life in a big city in the 50's, very satisfying. I did have a little trouble with all the spouse swapping.
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Heather Lei
Heather Lei rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
10/27/08

Read in October, 2008

Sherry
Sherry added it
10/25/08


Tracy
Tracy rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
11/13/08

Read in November, 2008

Felice
Felice marked it as to-read
10/14/08

bookshelves: to-read

Ellen
Ellen rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
10/14/08


Sonja
Sonja added it
10/14/08


Nancy
Nancy added it
10/12/08



« previous 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 16 17





book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 3.73 (252 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 3.74 (224 ratings)
number of reviews: 22







other editions

Family Pictures: A Novel (Paperback)
Family Pictures (Mass Market Paperback)
Family Pictures: A Novel (Hardcover)