Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

★★★★

"At some point, the family you create is more important that the one you were born into."

This was an important novel that dealt with family relationships and cultural traditions.  Spanning across several decades, it looks at two different stories that are connected by a mother's decision and the love of a daughter that she will never know.  I really enjoyed learning about India and the novel's realistic conclusion.

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

★★★★ 1/2

Nearly every family has some sort of dysfunctional aspect, but the four sibling of the Plumb family seem to sum this up to a tee.  Each child was promised a large amount of money from the "Nest" - a trust fund established by there now deceased father that they will have access to after Melody's (the youngest) quickly approaching 40th birthday.  Theres Leo who made A LOT of money after he sold his Internet company and hasn't really done anything thing since.  Jack is a mostly failing antique dealer has borrowed one against his beach house that he share with his husband Walker to keep his shop running.  Once a semi-famous short story writer Bea is doing better than the other siblings, but she can't seem to finish her long overdue novel and is stuck at a dead-end job.  And then there's Melody - the mother of teenage twin girls and hoping to pay off their way-to-expensive-house and have money left over to send her daughters to college.  

This pretty much says it all:

"A warm, funny and acutely perceptive debut novel about four adult siblings and the fate of the shared inheritance that has shaped their choices and their lives."

This book started with a hand-job gone horribly wrong and ended with a family birthday celebration.  Between these event we go to know a cast of characters - both members of the Plumb family and others - that were all so different and yet all connected in various ways.  The book was narrated by each character at various points and I really enjoyed getting a glimpise into each ones mind - if only for a short while.  I loved the connections between the people in this novel.  I loved their ability to make horrible decisions without even trying and I enjoyed seeing each of them grow as the book progressed.

When I started this book, I went through various stages of slight and extreme dislike for most of the characters, but by the end I found myself really liking and caring about (most of) this crazy family and there various acquaintances.  This story and these characters seemed to go together and a way that I can't quite seem to describe.  Their lives in New York Society were so far beyond my comprehension, but I was still able to connect to the characters in different ways.

I completely agree what all the hype is about and I totally agree with all of it.  This book isn't for everybody and requires a certain mind-set, but it just worked on so many different angles.  The writing was fun and witty and the story was unique and interesting and extremely addicting.  My only complaint was that there were so many narrator's that I sometime had trouble keeping them straight.  I listened to audio book and there wasn't a lot of time between each narration change though so it probably wouldn't have been an issue if I had read the actual book.  But, even so, this book was so, so good and can't wait to see what else this author has for us in the future.  I haven't read a book like this in a long time and couldn't get enough of these characters and Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's brutal and realistic honesty.  

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler (audio)

★★★★★

"But it occurred to me, on occasion, that our memories of our loved ones might not be the point.  Maybe the point is their memories - all that they take away with them."

'A Spool of Blue Thread' is the second book that I have read by Anne Tyler (the first one being 'The Amateur Marriage' last month) and it will not be the last.  This was a wonderful book by an amazing author.  

The book tells the story of four generations of the Whitshank family.  There's Red and Abby and their four grown children and we slowly get to meet the rest of the family.  As details are revealed, the family becomes more complicated, but also more understandable.  I love how the story unfolded and we found out more and more about each character.  Anne Typer has a unique ability to incorporate of the everyday details into the realistic lives of her characters.

I cannot say enough good things about this book.  I absolutly loved it and didn't want it to end!!  It was the perfect combination of emotion and character development and I can't wait to read more from this author!