Hello Beautiful, by Ann Napolitano

This was a quick read; a family saga about a close-knit family of four sisters growing up in an Italian-American neighbourhood in Chicago. It starts in the 1980s, although the characters and the story sometimes feel older, mired in an earlier world — more 1950s than 1980s. A young man with a troubled family background and one outstanding skill — he’s a college basketball player — begins dating and marries the eldest sister, and is briefly drawn into the warm embrace of this family. But all the sisterly closeness is shattered by a series of events that lead to isolation and estrangement — and finally, to a kind of reunion.

I read this book quickly and enjoyed it, but the characters never fully engaged me and I sometimes found them frustrating. I’m not sorry I read it and it’s certainly not a bad book, but it didn’t grab me the way some other recent reads have.