Following the death of her worthy liberal parents, Corlis McCrea moves back into her family's grand Reconstruction mansion in North Carolina, willed to all three siblings. Her timid younger brother has never left home. When her bullying black-sheep older brother moves into his house as well, it's war.
Each heir wants the house. Yet to buy the other out, two siblings must team against one. Just as in girlhood, Corlis is torn between allying with the decent but fearful youngest and the iconoclastic eldest, who covets his legacy to destroy it. A Perfectly Good Family is a stunning examination of inheritance, literal and psychological: what we take from our parents, what we discard, and what we are stuck with, like it or not.
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"After the deaths of their parents, three adult siblings battle over their family's historic North Carolina home. Shriver's prose is as sharply percipient as ever, but the conclusion feels rushed and isn't as satisfying as one would expect from the ironic and hard-edge narrative that has preceded it." — Peter (4 out of 5 stars)
"After the deaths of their parents, three adult siblings battle over their family's historic North Carolina home. Shriver's prose is as sharply percipient as ever, but the conclusion feels rushed and isn't as satisfying as one would expect from the ironic and hard-edge narrative that has preceded it."
" I love Lionel Shriver! Her use of language, her perfectly realistic characters, her skewering of the left-wing white demographic all falls picture perfect in to a completely believable story about inheritance and how adult children will fight over what they believe is theirs. Utterly brilliant. "
" There's something specific and unique about Lionel Shriver. Unabashedly intelligent as a writer, her characters are challengingly unlikeable, and disconcertingly relatable. No wimpy generosity here. This novel ends well, though (as with The Post-Birthday World) it took me serious commitment to get there. "
" Man, families are a mess. Made me feel much better about my own! "
" Major disappointment after "Kevin." I didn't like any of the characters. The plot was somewhat compelling, and I forced myself to finish this book. Even though I didn't really like this book, the author's talent was obvious, and I was glad I read it (and glad when it was over.) "
" And I own an autographed copy of this one, which just made it extra-lovely! "
" sunflower said it all. Great book. Petered out near the end. "
" Unlike "we need to talk about Kevin" and "so much for that" I just couldn't get any traction with this book and gave up halfway through. "
" Lionel Shriver is a genius when it comes to describing people and relationships. The backdrop of this book is a family gathering to probate a will, but the accompanying characters and drama are a lot more involved and interesting than the setting implies. "
" I basically wanted to smack all three of the main characters through 95% of this book, and it got sewn up a little quickly, a little neatly. Still, good story. "
" Another excellent Lionel Shriver book. Due to life issues, I was unable to dive right into it and it took me much longer to read the first half . This book made me grateful to have gone through estate settlement as an only child! "
" A boring tedious book that lacks Shrivers usual flare. "
" I gave it two stars simply as it held my interest. However, the book was a bit predictable and tied up way to nicely in the end. "
" somewhat boring "
" I got past a few leaden attempts at humor, but quit at page 31. In just a few paragraphs these descriptions were written: anal scowl, urinous tint, poppled pavement, ochreous smirk, and lutescent fingertips. Spare me. "
" Really engrossing and interesting, for something with not a whole lot of action or truly original plot. The strength is in the complexity and absurdities of human nature. It reminded me of Anne Tyler novels, if she had a sense of sarcasm, which is all the better then. "
" The Raleigh, NC setting caught my interest, but the family dynamics were flat in the absurd, never ending conflict between siblings. A broader picture might have been more interesting because Shriver is capable of great story telling. "
" did not even finish this book--found it impossibly boring. "
" Difficult read about greed and sibling issues. sad "
" Sharp and savage, this witty deconstruction of a modern American family. The narrator is sassy and insightful (and funny!). All about three siblings fighting over the family inheritance. "
" I love Lionel Shriver's writing, she's never a quick read because her sentences are so well constructed and her use of vocabulary really makes me slow down and absorb. Reading her work after my last read (Gillian White) is like fine dining after a Happy Meal. "
" I disliked this book so much that I couldn't be bothered to finish it. The fighting between the siblings got on my nerves! "
" This author has good reviews & the storyline of this novel sounded interesting, but I couldn't get into this book. I didn't care for the three main characters and there was not enough happening in the first part of the book to make me want to keep reading. "
" I think this must be a case of perhaps not choosing her best work. I found the writing refreshing and unique, but some of my book clubies found it difficult. Overall, I thought the book had a lot of spot-on insights into family relations, but I can't say I loved this book. "
" Readable. An interesting scenario - three siblings trying to sort out their inheritance - but hit and miss. Never gripping. All the characters were annoying from time to time. Ending a little bit too neat. "
" this book is situated in Raleigh and it is a great portrayal of 3 siblings with really nothing in common expect for the fact that they are from the same family this is my new favorite author...i just ordered a bunch of her books on amazon to keep me occupied over here in NL! "
Lionel Shriver is a novelist whose books include Orange Prize winner We Need to Talk about Kevin, The Post-Birthday World, A Perfectly Good Family, Game Control, Double Fault, The Female of the Species, Checker and the Derailleurs, and Ordinary Decent Criminals. She is widely published as a journalist, writing features, columns, op-eds, and book reviews for the London Guardian, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Economist, Marie Claire, and many other publications. She is frequently interviewed on television, radio, and in print media.
Susan Ericksen is an actor and voice-over artist. She has been awarded numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. As an actor and director, she has worked in theaters throughout the country.
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