false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg 441802 2 It would be hard to find a more self-absorbed group of people than the Miller family, gathered on an island off the coast of Maine to celebrate the father's 75th birthday. He is the only person in <i>The Birthdays</i> who consistently reaches out--to his wife, his children, and even to his box turtle. His birthday becomes an afterthought amid all the familial angst the siblings and their spouses--and one conspicuous lack of a spouse--bring to the table. <p> Heidi Pitlor has portrayed her characters perfectly. She has limned them so well that we know about where they will be on Joe's 76th birthday--at least emotionally. Daniel, the eldest, is a recent paraplegic, still coming to terms with his personal tragedy. His wife, Brenda, is pregnant through the services of a sperm donor, and Daniel is obsessed about who he is, what he looks like, and any detail he can imagine about him. He feels unmanned enough by his accident; now he is going to be the putative father of his wife's child with this stranger. Jake, the middle child, at whose home the festivities take place, is a roaring success in the world's eyes: great houses, lots of money, good job, the respect of his peers--but his wife needed in vitro fertilization to conceive and now she is pregnant with twins. His childhood neediness has never disappeared, despite his accomplishments. He is prescriptive, critical, petulant, and his wife has lost interest in sex. He is not exactly a charming host, though he tries. Hilary, the youngest, still a flower child at 35, is six months pregnant and has no clue who the father is. Her brothers are not unaware of how easy it was for the irresponsible, non-planner, barely able to care for herself, to conceive a child. Fecundity abounds, however arrived at. <p> As everyone straggles in, Joe's wife, Ellen, is filling her time fantasizing about their friend, MacNeil, over whom she has created such a personal and intimate scenario that she goes to the telephone and calls him, much to his confusion. It is a telling moment, one of several "epiphanies" showing the reader the way to each character's interior landscape. <p> An event takes place which saddens everyone and changes the dynamic of the event and of all the people involved. Arrangements are made that were unthought of at the beginning of the birthday celebration, most of which are more authentic than the roles they brought with them. There are big themes examined here: aging, parenthood, letting go, fertility, illness, and one's place in the universe of the family. Heidi Pitlor does a terrific job of making us care about a group of people who seem, at first blush, to be only selfish and solipsistic. <i>--Valerie Ryan</i> 430590 2006 The Birthdays: A Novel total:115|5:5|4:18|3:42|2:35|1:15| 115 308 197 22 441802 0393329933 9780393329933 82 16 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441802.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 1 1 false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 24 15:47:01 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 19 21:53:07 -0700 2008 441802 0393329933 9780393329933 82 16 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441802.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 2 0 false Thu Feb 12 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 06 04:46:08 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 12 04:45:44 -0800 2009 more...]]> 441802 0393329933 9780393329933 82 16 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441802.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 4 0 false Tue Jan 06 09:31:55 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 09:34:02 -0800 2009 441802 0393329933 9780393329933 82 16 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441802.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 2 0 false Thu Mar 12 18:21:20 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 12 18:24:14 -0700 2009 441802 0393329933 9780393329933 82 16 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441802.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 1 0 false Tue Mar 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 16:35:25 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 16:36:44 -0700 2009 97 0393061272 9780393061277 33 6 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156876972m/97.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/97.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 1 0 false Sun Jul 22 13:45:54 -0700 2007 Fri Jul 27 10:59:23 -0700 2007 more...]]> 441802 0393329933 9780393329933 82 16 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441802.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 3 0 false Sat Aug 02 15:46:34 -0700 2008 Tue Dec 16 17:29:45 -0800 2008
Jake...more...]]> 441802 0393329933 9780393329933 82 16 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441802.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 3 0 false Wed Apr 22 10:48:58 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 11:36:29 -0700 2009 441802 0393329933 9780393329933 82 16 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441802.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 1 0 false Wed Mar 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 06:00:47 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 25 10:53:03 -0700 2009 441802 0393329933 9780393329933 82 16 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441802.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 1 0 false Tue Aug 11 17:12:55 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 17:13:12 -0700 2009 441802 0393329933 9780393329933 82 16 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441802.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 4 0 false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 05 13:14:38 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 05 13:32:19 -0700 2008 more...]]> 97 0393061272 9780393061277 33 6 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156876972m/97.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/97.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 0 0 false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 27 11:04:41 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 27 11:06:43 -0800 2008 441802 0393329933 9780393329933 82 16 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441802.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 2 0 false Fri Jul 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 10:07:56 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 25 13:15:01 -0700 2008 441802 0393329933 9780393329933 82 16 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441802.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 3 0 false Mon Feb 18 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 10 19:47:56 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 18 07:20:31 -0800 2008
However, the characters definitely seeped into my subconscious and I thought about them, and their particular situations probably more than I should have.]]> 97 0393061272 9780393061277 33 6 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156876972m/97.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/97.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 2 0 false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jun 11 13:27:16 -0700 2007 Mon Jun 11 13:28:12 -0700 2007 441802 0393329933 9780393329933 82 16 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441802.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 3 0 false Fri Jul 25 17:39:08 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 25 17:40:33 -0700 2008 441802 0393329933 9780393329933 82 16 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441802.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 5 0 false Tue Nov 04 18:23:51 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 04 18:24:50 -0800 2008 97 0393061272 9780393061277 33 6 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156876972m/97.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/97.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 2 0 false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon May 07 15:37:01 -0700 2007 Mon May 21 09:24:46 -0700 2007 441802 0393329933 9780393329933 82 16 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174802229m/441802.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441802.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 4 0 false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Nov 11 09:10:10 -0800 2007 Mon Jan 21 06:09:49 -0800 2008 97 0393061272 9780393061277 33 6 2.68 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156876972m/97.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/97.The_Birthdays_A_Novel 2 0 false Sat Jul 19 09:59:19 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 25 16:37:06 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=441802