Tag Archives: dysfunctional families

The Death of Bees by Lisa O’Donnell

Posted on March 19, 2013 by myersj

The Death of Bees by Lisa O’Donnell is a story about family—not your traditional family with a mom and dad and dinner on the table, but a family cobbled out of deprivation and desperation. And though the events that Marnie … Continue reading →

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The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

Posted on December 6, 2012 by joshuamneff

Isabel “Izzy” Spellman is a determined, insatiably curious, sarcastic private investigator. Not yet 30, she’s already a seasoned pro at detective work. She’s also an emotionally closed-off woman with a checkered past who drinks too much and will break the … Continue reading →

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City Island (DVD)

Posted on May 17, 2012 by myersj

If you liked Meet the Parents, chances are you’ll enjoy City Island, with its somewhat different twist on the dysfunctional family theme.  Andy Garcia plays Vince Rizzo, a native of a little-known section of New York City known as City … Continue reading →

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We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Helen Hokanson

What a strange little book about a strange little family in a strange little town. When the reader meets the Blackwoods, they are reduced to three:  Constance, the oldest sister; Merricat the younger; and Uncle Julian, an old invalid. They … Continue reading →

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Posted on October 25, 2011 by rockholdj

Budding cartoonist, Junior (Arnold) Spirit, a 15-year-old Spokane Indian boy, transfers to a white school off the reservation because of his eagerness to learn and frustration over conditions at the “res” school, including 15 year-old science textbooks.  This account of … Continue reading →

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The Art of Racing in the Rain a novel by Garth Stein

Posted on July 6, 2011 by kazmim

The Art of Racing in the Rain is the story of a dog named Enzo, who has a very old soul. Enzo believes that if he tries hard enough to think like a man, he will eventually be reincarnated as … Continue reading →

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Stay Close by Libby Cataldi

Posted on April 29, 2011 by davinr

  In Stay Close, Libby Cataldi, the former head of the Calverton School (a private school in Maryland), writes from her own point of view about the challenges and worry she has faced as the mother of a son with … Continue reading →

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The Buddha & the Borderline: My Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder through Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Buddhism, & Online Dating by Kiera Van Gelder

Posted on March 23, 2011 by carletonb

Van Gelder begins her fast-paced memoir at an art camp when she’s fifteen. She has deluded herself into believing a boy she’s known for two weeks is her boyfriend. After they engage in what President Clinton evidently doesn’t consider sex, … Continue reading →

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Jar City and Hypothermia, by Arnaldur Indridason

Posted on January 14, 2011 by bogarts

I love discovering new authors, well, at least new to me.  Indridason is an Icelandic writer who has won numerous crime novel awards in the Scandinavian countries, but is not yet too well known here, since JAR CITY is the … Continue reading →

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The Music Room by Dennis McFarland

Posted on October 12, 2010 by wyattb

Dennis McFarland’s The Music Room is one of those novels that you don’t forget. I first read it 20 years ago. When my aunt recently mentioned it, I immediately knew the book she was talking about. I decided to read … Continue reading →

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