Title

An Actual Life
by Abigail Thomas (1996)
Fiction

Virginia and Buddy marry in 1960 after their first sexual encounter in Buddy's dorm room leaves Virginia pregnant. Told during their daughter's Madeline's first year, Virginia and Buddy's marriage is already horrendous and almost finished. Living with Buddy's Aunt Dot, Virginia is forced to realize that her husband is in love with his childhood sweetheart, Irene, and is not ready for family life. This compelling novel is sad, poignant about young love, and also bitterly funny about doomed marriages. Fans of Thomas might also enjoy reading her biography, Safekeeping, Some True Stories From a Life, where Thomas reveals she was also a young, unhappily married mother.

Bee Season
by Myla Goldberg (2000)
Fiction Audiobook Tape

Nine-year-old Eliza Naumann's family is slowly unraveling around her. Her father Saul is obsessed with Jewish mysticism, to the point where he is alienated from his family and unaware what is happening to them. Eliza's mother Myriam is a successful lawyer who is also a kleptomaniac. Brother Aaron turns against his faith and becomes a Hare Krishna. Eliza has always been an underachiever and a C student until she suddenly becomes a spelling prodigy. Can Eliza use her newly found powers to save her loved ones?

The Corrections
by Jonathan Franzen (2001)
Fiction Large Type Audiobook Tape

The Corrections follows a dysfunctional Midwestern family, the Lamberts, on their slow decline. The father, Alfred, once a railroad man, is slowly succumbing to Parkinson's dementia. Enid, his wife, has one goal in her life - to have a final, perfect family gathering for Christmas. Their daughter Denise, a semi-famous chef, has affairs with both her male boss and his wife. Gary, the oldest son, is locked in a bitter marriage and is suffering from depression. Their other son, Chip, loses his academic job after seducing a student and moves to Lithuania to take part in an Internet scam. While this family may scream "dysfunctional", Franzen creates an epic tale to make this family come alive. He is able to weave humor, brutality, and empathy to make the Lamberts a truly memorable family.

Disobedience
by Jane Hamilton (2000)
Fiction Large Type

Henry Shaw is the teenage narrator who inadvertently opens his mother's email and discovers she is having an affair with a violin player. This novel explores how the family deals with Beth's affair, including her husband Kevin, and daughter Elvira, who is a Civil War reeanactor. Absorbing characters help to make this family and their problems very real and painful.

Flesh and Blood
by Michael Cunningham (1995)
Fiction

While Cunningham is famous mostly for writing The Hours, this book follows four generations of the Stassos family. Constantine and Mary Stassos have three children - Billy, Susan, and Zoe, and the book traces the family from 1935 in Greece to their ultimate nouveau-riche house on Long Island. Strong characters and beautiful language make this family extremely realistic and unforgettable.

The Little Friend
by Donna Tartt (2002)
Fiction

Tartt's newest novel begins when nine-year-old Robin Cleve Dufresnes is found hanging from a tupelo tree in Alexandria, Mississippi. Set twelve years after his murder, Tartt explores how his murder has changed the Dufresnes family. His mother slowly becomes a recluse, barely able to leave her bed, and his father leaves town for work. The remaining siblings, Allison and Harriet are raised mostly by their black maid, grandmother, and three great-aunts. Twelve-year-old Harriet decides to solve the mystery of her brother's death and find his killer. While the novel focuses mostly on Harriet, all of the family members are vivid and flawlessly written. Tartt captures the grief and emotions of the Dufresnes family slowly declining because of this tragedy.

Purple America
by Rick Moody (1997)
Fiction

Set over a memorable weekend, Hex Raitliffe comes home to take care of his mother, Billie, who has a neurological disorder that leaves her paralyzed. Her second husband, Lou Sloane, is a manager of a nuclear power planet, and ends up abandoning Billie. This crazy weekend involves drunkenness, Hex meeting a woman from his past, and a nuclear emergency.

Raveling
by Peter Moore Smith (2000)
Fiction

This psychological novel traces the unraveling of the Airie family. Twenty years ago, daughter Fiona disappears during a drunken party the family holds, causing the family to slowly disintegrate. Their son, Pilot, suffers from schizophrenia and is obsessed with finding out what really happens to Fiona. While this is a good mystery with many twists and turns, it also features strong characters that make the decline of the family very disturbing.

Three Junes
Glass, Julia
Fiction

Three Junes tells the story of the McLeod family during three summers. The first section is devoted to the father, Paul McLeod, a Scottish newspaper owner on a tour of the Greek islands. The second section is devoted to his son, Fenno, a gay man who owns a bookstore in Manhattan, and how his family comes together for Paul's death. The last section is devoted to Fern Olitsky, an artist and a young widow who must begin her life again. Intricate characters and detail on family relationships make this a fascinating read.

SG
Community Services Department

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