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The Survivors
The Survivors | ALEX. SCHULMAN
7 posts | 7 read | 1 reading | 8 to read
Benjamin sees the shape of his two brothers trying to kill each other. It's no worthy finale, but perhaps it's also no surprise. How else had they expected this to end? Three brothers return to the family cottage by the lake where, more than two decades earlier, a catastrophe changed the course of their lives. Now, they are here to scatter their mother's ashes. Benjamin, the middle son, drives the three of them down the old gravel road to the house, through a familiar landscape but also through time. Here they are as boys, tanned legs and hungry eyes, children left to themselves by remote parents; here they are as young men, estranged but bound together by the history that defines them, their lives spent competing for their father's favour and their mother's love in a household more like a minefield than a home. In the intervening years, Benjamin has grown increasingly untethered from reality, frozen in place as life carries on around him. And between the three brothers hums a dangerous current. What really happened that summer day when everything was blown to pieces? The Survivors is the tale of a family falling apart and a chronicle of a mind unravelling in the wake of a tragedy, both a coming-of-age novel and a reckoning with a deeply buried past. Written with singular elegance and the drive of a suspense novel, its ending will leave you marvelling at what the best fiction can achieve.
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jdw
The Survivors | ALEX. SCHULMAN
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Pickpick

Wow… I can‘t even think of where to start. The layout of this book, the past and present weaving together.. it‘s so genius in so many ways. The plot was compelling, immersive, and had me guessing until the very last pages. The ending hit me fast and hard- did not see it coming. This is one of my favorite books and now that I know the entire story, the whole plot, I will be reading it again. Cannot recommend this book enough.

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FelinesAndFelonies
The Survivors | ALEX. SCHULMAN
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Pickpick

I don't understand why this one gets such mixed reviews on Goodreads. It was a solid 5⭐ read for me. It deals with trauma & I thought it realistically portrays PTSD when it remains untreated. It's a very raw book with dual timelines. It's told backwards-ish but when you get to the end, the reason behind the author choosing that style makes sense. I highly recommend giving this one a chance. At less than. 250 pages it's worth giving it a try.

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AmandaBlaze
The Survivors | ALEX. SCHULMAN
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Pickpick

There is not much physical action in this book. Rather it explores the emotional ties between 3 brothers and their parents, both before and after a childhood trauma. It also explores the grief process. It had an ending that I didn't see coming.

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MelissaSue81
The Survivors | ALEX. SCHULMAN
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Pickpick

This book is the story of 3 brothers and their parents and alternates from moments in their childhood (moving forward in time) and a single day in their adult lives where they have come together (moving backward in time). The timelines did confuse me a bit. Overall this was a powerful story and a fast read, was able to finish it in a few hours. I expected just a little more than I got from the ending, but still a worthwhile read

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everlocalwest
The Survivors | ALEX. SCHULMAN
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Pickpick

The Survivors was a heartbreaker. Three estraged brothers return to the isolated cabin where they spent their youth at the behest of their mother, who has just passed. This was the sight of a tragic accident that the family had carried and left unprocessed for decades. Stylistically, Schulman is experimenting with time and memory in way that propels the reader forward; it anchors you to the family by making you feel unmoored.

everlocalwest I know that is an oxymoron of boat metaphors but it works! 3y
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TorieStorieS
The Survivors | ALEX. SCHULMAN
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Pickpick

Happy Publication Day!! I wasn‘t sure what to expect from this one- told in two timelines, with the past moving forward and the present moving backwards- all from middle son, Benjamin‘s, perspective. Their mother has died and the three sons return to the Swedish cabin where they spent summers as children prior to the trauma that left marks on them all. This one moves quickly- and holds a real surprise at the end! I read it in one sitting!

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BoleyBooks
The Survivors | ALEX. SCHULMAN
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Lsmoore43 Very good review. The book sounds like a good one. 3y
BoleyBooks @Lsmoore43 -Thanks for reading! It was a slow burn, but quite good and with a twist that threw me.😊 3y
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