Monday, February 25, 2013

The dynamics of family.



Sue Miller's book, Family Pictures, was published in 1990, but is still relevant for today's reader. It is about a family, from multiple viewpoints of family members, a writing device I love to read. Beginning in 1954, the once happy marriage of Lainey and David Eberhardt starts to crumble as they deal with the fact their third child is mentally ill. David, a psychiatrist, blames this on Lainy according to the thinking of the time. She seeks to prove her fitness as a mother by having three other children, who David refers to sarcastically as the "the last straws." We see the family through the years and how the fact of Randall's mental illness affects all of them. A loving a sometimes difficult look at family dynamics. Miller really has an ear for the inner dialog, we get to know and care about these people. Really excellent! ML




No comments:

Post a Comment