In this novel, Greek tragedy meets a dysfunctional family from Maryland, revealing how time and place matter little when it comes to the implacable...
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Jan 11, 2010
Felicity
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This was a surprisingly good read...surprising because I just picked it up in a bookstore, knowing nothing about it (other than what it said on the blurb). It's elegantly written, with the narrative shifting between the perspective of three adult siblings, Quinn, Maury, & Candy. We learn early on, for instance, that Maury probably has Asperger's, though he has never been professionally diagnosed with the condition. Mewshaw's skill lies in his ability to convey with enormous feeling the inner
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Oct 14, 2009
Eileen
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Mewshaw must know some of the wider branches of my extended family. Either that or as Tolstoy noted all families are unhappy, just each in a different way. I enjoyed this author who has an eye for the horrific dynamics of people bonded into a family and the complicated results child abuse.
As we get inside the heads of three troubled, grown-up siblings, we meet the parents from H-E-double toothpicks. The mother believes she is a saint, but lacks the ability, will, or energy to nurtu More...
As we get inside the heads of three troubled, grown-up siblings, we meet the parents from H-E-double toothpicks. The mother believes she is a saint, but lacks the ability, will, or energy to nurtu More...
Aug 05, 2011
Family dysfunction is a tremendously popular subject for fiction, perhaps because it takes on so many different layers. The family in Michael Mewshaw's Lying with the Dead certainly had it tough. A physically and verbally abusive mother whose guilt grows as she grows older has summoned her three children home—Candy, the polio-stricken oldest child who has stayed in Maryland to care for her mother, sacrificing her desire for her own life; Maury, who struggles with Asperger's as well as the memori
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Apr 02, 2010
Kathy
rated it: 
Independent Booksellers Association recommended book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The characters are interesting and the plot is well developed. I loved the writing style. I would have given more stars, but was a little disappointed with the predictable ending.
"I'll go to the box in my head and crack open a drawer. Sometimes I visit myself as a kid. The memory drawers go back to when I was little. There's one drawer I stay away from, but there are others I break More...
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The characters are interesting and the plot is well developed. I loved the writing style. I would have given more stars, but was a little disappointed with the predictable ending.
"I'll go to the box in my head and crack open a drawer. Sometimes I visit myself as a kid. The memory drawers go back to when I was little. There's one drawer I stay away from, but there are others I break More...
Jan 09, 2010
Cathe
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This novel was told from varying narrators--the three adult children of an abusive mother who are summoned home to Maryland to see her because she has something important to tell them. One son is a famous actor now living in London, the other son has Asperger's syndrome and has done time in prison for killing their father and is now living in a trailer park in CA. The daughter still lives nearby and takes care of the mother but wants to break away and have her own life finally.
I enjo More...
I enjo More...
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Dec 15, 2011
Kasa
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Employing elements of Greek tragedy and contemporary situations, this family drama hods interest so totally it is almost impossible to put down. Each of the fully grown children of the family matriarch is damaged in some way, thanks to their traumatic childhoods. Emotional and physical damage that follows them through their entire lives. Summoned to their mother's home they face their pasts and futures changed forever, High recommended.
Dec 31, 2009
Laura
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This is one of those books that my mother likes - messed up family coming together at the end. Except here they don't really "come together", they meet briefly and then separate and I suspect they'll never meet up again.
This read like a retread of some Oprah novel, all this family strife and angst and secrets with no one left undamaged. The Big Secrets weren't such secrets (read enough of these types and you'll see the reveal coming a mile away).
What bothere More...
This read like a retread of some Oprah novel, all this family strife and angst and secrets with no one left undamaged. The Big Secrets weren't such secrets (read enough of these types and you'll see the reveal coming a mile away).
What bothere More...
Apr 30, 2011
Galo
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To be able to tell a story from the perspective of three distinct voices is a remarkable feat. Although the plot is familiar and perhaps slightly predictable, Michael Mewshaw does an admirable and convincing job of making siblings Maury, Candy, and Quinn as real as any member of my own family. Mewshaw makes it unavoidable for the reader to sympathize and care for each character, to understand their motivations, understand how a family tragedy has profoundly shaped their troubled lives and scarre
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Dec 10, 2009
Paula
rated it:
I was sucked in by the promise of Greek tragedy. The family in question was indeed horrifying but a litle too predictable. The writing was quite good but was not strong enough to keep me involved.
Jul 28, 2011
Read it for a book club. Wasn't interested in any of the characters and couldn't care what happened to them. Wasn't surprised by anything, seems cliche and easy to figure out.
Nov 15, 2009
Adam
rated it:
This is a fine choice...if you can't find another piece of fiction about dysfunctional American family life.
The characters are just too flat. My favorite is Maury - his story is distinct enough to give his thoughts some interest. Quinn and Candy seem to be just expressions of a type.
The true test of this book is that I couldn't find time to read the last 30 pages. Its an easy read, but I kept finding myself compelled to pick up something else - like the Sun, or Bicy More...
The characters are just too flat. My favorite is Maury - his story is distinct enough to give his thoughts some interest. Quinn and Candy seem to be just expressions of a type.
The true test of this book is that I couldn't find time to read the last 30 pages. Its an easy read, but I kept finding myself compelled to pick up something else - like the Sun, or Bicy More...
Aug 08, 2011
I liked all the characteres in this novel, separately, and found their back-stories very interesting. But when they all got together, my interest in the novel really dropped. I confess to being a little shocked by the ending--didn't see that coming.
Dec 10, 2009
Kate
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I could see the ending coming a mile off, but this was a quick little read and I enjoyed it.
Jun 11, 2010
Cinda
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Bizarre ending--not what I wanted--but I liked this book anyway. Weird!
Nov 22, 2009
Stephanie
rated it:
Heavy-handed with the Greek tragedy approach. Horrifying at times. All too real.
Aug 06, 2010
Lynn
rated it:
Very good story and I enjoyed it very much. The ending was telegraphed to me much too early though. Some people will be surprised. I enjoyed the read very much.
Nov 09, 2009
Alison
rated it:
This books was chilling and realistic. A story of a dysfunctional family that comes back together to deal with their abusive mother.
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