Wolf at the Table | 
pickVery surprised at all the meh reviews here (have only looked now once finished!).
I thought it was great.
Dysfunctional family, with one mega dysfunctional son. Decide yourself what made him this way.
pickWow, this one was heavy. I can see why it was a finalist for the Pulitzer. Family saga that spans the second half of the 20th century. And really, what‘s more American than baseball and serial killers? 😂 This family keeps having eerie brushes with serial killers over the course of their life struggles,of which there are many. I listened to the audio, and I think the matter-of-fact narrator suited the material well. This is a good one.
so-soMixed feelings about my first 2025 read. The writing, the ingredients, this strange family: all was there to create a great story. But we only follow two of the siblings and we don‘t even get to know them that well, let alone the other family members. There are no real answers and while this may resemble real life, it‘s not what I expect after almost 500 pages. #ToB25Longlist
pickAnother book from the #toblonglist that I like better than many / most that made the short-list. 🤷♀️
It follows 2 out of a family of 5 siblings from childhood to adulthood, and one of their children too. It was a fascinating look at the nature / nurture question and how things we do or things that happen to us as children can reverberate throughout our lives.
It‘s long, but worked well for me on audio.
so-soI just finished this and I‘m so angry!! It‘s the story of 5 - make that 2 - siblings, and he focused on the 2 I was least interested in. One sister is disabled and gets no story. Two more you hear from in the beginning and never again. One you don‘t even know what happens to at the end. I‘m calling BS!! You had almost 500 pages!!
That said, the writing is beautiful. The characters who are explored are captivating. 🤷🏻♀️ Mixed bag for me.
bailedThis one started off so well. I was loving it. But as the characters took shape , I liked some of them less and less. Usually that wouldn‘t bother me , in this case I bailed, or at least I‘m taking a long pause. I can‘t really see myself returning to it.
I finished this a week ago cant stop thinking about the Larkin family. It is dark and complex and so well written. 5 ⭐️
