A Friend of the Family Audiobook

" Really enjoyed this book. Typical dysfunctional family story but well done and very entertaining. Illustrated the fine line between encouraging your children and/or controlling them. "

" one of those depressing books that makes you wonder why anyone ever gets married and moves to the suburbs. thankfully, real life is not always so bleak! "

" I thoroughly enjoyed 'A Friend of the Family', my first read by Lauren Grodstein. This gripping story is told from the perspective of Pete Dizinoff, a suburban father, husband and physician, whose life spirals out of control. The interesting thing is that he hasn't made any big or shocking choices, but rather a series of small, ordinary decisions that instead turn horribly wrong. Great book - I'll be reading more of hers! "

" Enjoyed this book--read it in just a few days. Kept my interest and Grodstein alternated between flashback and and present-tense, which kept me reading! Good airplane book. "

" Have you ever wished really hard that a person you particularly dislike would just go away...forever? I have and perhaps that's why this book held my interest until the very end. Pete has high hopes for his only son Alec (in spite of the fact Alec seems to be on the fast road to inertia having recently dropped out of college). When Laura, a woman with a really disturbing past takes in interest in Alec, Pete will do whatever it takes to break them apart. What complicates matters is the fact that Laura is Pete's best friend's daughter. Not particularly memorable but quite readable I could definitely relate to Pete's frustration "

" This book was definitely a page turner and I found myself longing for time to set aside from my busy day to continue reading. Great character descriptions and the intricacies of the relationships with long time friends. However, the ending fell flat for me. Is it that we are desensitized and expect a dramatic ending? Is this more of "real life"? Perhaps. Regardless, the ending was not complete or not "quite right" and I found myself irritated, saying, "This is it??!!!" "

" This book really surprised me, it was well written. The author had a way with words that was refreshing. The character of the father though is really great because the reader at first is sympathetic towards him, then in the end you grow to loathe him. "

" This book was well written and paced, but I'm not rating it higher because all the characters are slightly (or more than slightly) loathsome or pitiful, which means I didn't engage with it as fully as I might have. "

" interesting tale of family dynamics but writing was a little strained. Overall I can't recommend it. "

" i love family trauma novels, this fit the bill "

" This satisfied my need for something meaty and long (this was semi-long). Great story; written in a fashion that could be a turn off--it jumps around quite a bit--but the author does it do seamlessly that it didn't become that for me. Definitely recommend it. "

" ripped through this...couldn't wait to find out what happened. Was a little disappointed by the ending. Compelling enough to stop me from watching tv for a few days : ) "

" started out really good, but went downhill. The writing was good, but the story was very sad and a bit unbelievable. "

" Lots of flip-flopping between past and present. A lot of the information given seemed very insignificant. Good climax, unexpected. Seemed slow until about 75% of the way through. Not the worst book I've read, but not the greatest by far! "

" The riveting story of a man who has everything and loses it all in one moment of bad judgment. "

" now i understand why the person that gave me this book wants to discuss it. A very gripping story of a friendship, family, good intentions and a fathers love for his child. I stayed up til it was done because i was so grabbed by the story. "

" Another story of family tragedy and what a parent might do to protect their child - the lengths we go. Good read but unsettling "

" This new novel is about two closely knit families, and the relationship between two of the children that tears them apart--that sounds like a cliche, and unfortunately,it felt that way as I was reading it. Nothing in the narrative was especially surprising or interesting. "

" This was a disappointing book. Chick lit, at its worse. "

" I really was not sure where this book was going. It picked up toward the end, but I felt like the whole flashback concept didn't quite work because I never knew what was going on in the present. Nonetheless, I liked it and would read another book by this author. "

" OK. Predictable "

" An enjoyable read that was not predictable. However, the author sometimes used unfamiliar and obscure words when something simpler would have sufficed. This small thing detracted from the reading experience a bit. "

" So far...amazing. I'm a huge fan of her work. If you haven't read The Best of Animals or Reproduction Is the Flaw of Love.... you should. "

" The story of Pete, his wife Elaine and son Alec...and also their relationship with friends Joe&Iris and their daughter Laura - a story of life, building what you think will be the perfect life, of mistakes children make and trying to protect them from the world and sometimes themselves too. "

" Just finished this! Couldn't stop at the end! A story about a Jewish family and their expectations for their only child. Poses questions about how to deal with the reality when as a parent your expectations and your child's desires clash. Understandable from all perspectives. "

" This was just a really good read, highly engaging. "

" A little slow, but still a good read. You feel bad for the characters. "

" Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooring and predictable. I only finished it because it talked about places I knew from living in NJ. Other than that, it wasn't at all interesting and took me forever to read because I just couldn't get through it. "

" Was disappointed by the end of this book. Good writing and interesting subject matter, but I felt like she didn't know how to end it. "

" I liked this. I don't know that I was crazy about the ending -- I was expecting some Bigger Reveal -- but in terms of the journey, I liked it. "

" Kept me going to the end - tightly paced and well-written if not brilliant. "

" This is one of those disturbing cautionary tales about the dangers of unfettered parental concern and ambition for one's children (in this case, a father and his son). It moves along at a fast clip, and leaves the reader with much to think about. Terrific. "