Sunday, December 15, 2013

Mary and O'Neil by Justin Cronin

Looking for a great literary novel to discuss with bookclub? This may be the answer.

The novel's actually a series of stories which deal with the sort of everyday occurrences that make up a life: college love and lovers, the bond between siblings, uneasy imperfect relationships between people who love one another, children and change.

While the book is titled after one couple, the story actually encompasses the lives of an entire family - parents, two children, their spouses, and the eventual grandchildren. It's a literary novel, but accessible and relatable to anyone who's ever wondered where they should be going in life, or if they're ever going to figure things out.

This was Cronin's debut novel (2001), and if you're looking for the vampires found in his newer books, you'll be disappointed. But the same wonderful writing is here, and the same pull of strong characters about whom you care and want to see triumph.


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