We don’t need to tell you that families come in many shapes and forms. Here are five new books that prove it.
Perfect Little World, Kevin Wilson
The Infinite Family Project, headed by the well-meaning though awkward psychologist Preston Grind, is a utopian experiment in collective parenting, perhaps even a model for a well-adjusted life. Ten families have been selected, each with one child, including our central character, Izzy Poole, the only single mother in the group. Author Wilson, whose first novel was 2011’s bestselling The Family Fang, which became a film, is clearly attracted to stories involving unconventional child-rearing.
A Very Queer Family Indeed: Sex, Religion and the Bensons in Victorian Britain, Simon Goldhill
Cambridge professor Simon Goldhill introduces us to this odd family with a kiss, in1853, between Edward White Benson, 23, and his future wife, Minnie Sidgwick, then 12. They married when she was 18 and in short order had six children. Edward became Archbishop of Canterbury; Minnie (Mary) left Edward and the kids when she found she much preferred women. The offspring of this remarkable pair (Goldhill says there is no evidence any of the children ever had heterosexual intercourse) went on to find fame for their significant contributions to culture and letters.
Sisters One, Two, Three, Nancy Star
A tragic accident occurred when the Tangle family of New Jersey — father Solly, mother Glory and four kids ranging from 13 to 6 — went to Martha’s Vineyard on vacation in the 1970s, a life-altering event that marked each of the three Tangle daughters in different ways as adults. This is a fine multi-generational family story about the ties between sisters and the need to confront past trauma. Nancy Star is a former movie executive and this is her fifth novel.
The Girl in the Garden, Melanie Wallace
An abandoned young mother and her baby arrive on the New England coast and are soon adopted by local residents who have known one another for decades. This diverse group of surrogate guardians includes, among others, a recluse, a prodigal daughter, a widow, a veteran and a lawyer — each with his or her own passions and secrets. Melanie Wallace has written two well-received previous novels (The Housekeeper and Blue Horse Dreaming) and lives in Greece.
This House is Mine, Dörte Hansen, translated by Anne Stokes
This is the story of two unlikely women who find each other and forge a family. Vera arrived at the old farmhouse in East Prussia as a 5-year-old refugee 60 years ago — and, to this day, remains a stranger. As the story opens, her niece, Anne, and her young son arrive at the farmhouse after fleeing the fashionable Hamburg neighbourhood where Anne, too, has never felt she belonged. The story, translated from its original German, unfolds from the alternating perspectives of these two strong women.
Sarah Murdoch, smurdoch49@gmail.com
Sarah Murdoch, smurdoch49@gmail.com
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