Family History: A Novel

Dani Shapiro

Dec 2007 · Sold by Anchor

About this ebook

From the New York Times bestselling author of Inheritance and host of the hit podcast Family Secrets—“a bona fide page turner” (The New York Times Book Review) about the mysteries of teenage pain and family crisis.

Rachel Jensen is perfectly happy: in love with her husband, devoted to their daughter Kate, gratified by her work restoring art. And finally, she’s pregnant again. But as Rachel discovers, perfection can unravel in an instant. The summer she is thirteen, Kate returns from camp sullen, angry, and withdrawn. Everyone assures Rachel it’s typical adolescent angst. But then Kate has a terrifying accident with her infant brother, and the ensuing guilt brings forth a dreadful lie—one that ruptures their family, perhaps irrevocably.

Ratings and reviews

It’s a story that could happen to anyone; one day your perfect life starts to unravel. The beautiful writing style draws you in and the turbulence of a family in trouble makes for an emotionally charged compelling read. Although a sad story, the characters playing it out are well drawn and believable, and the plot is intense and more complex than the cover and title suggest. It’s layered with very real family issues highlighting what can happen when a child unexpectedly develops emotional problems. It shows a strong solid marriage fraying at the seams under the pressure of coping emotionally and searching for a solution. It also deals with other family dynamics, illustrating dysfunctional mother daughter relationships, unconditional love for a child and the sacrifices inherent in marriage. Once pulled in, the plot moves quickly and keeps you turning pages. One caveat however, the book takes a while to get started, I found the beginning of the book frustrating. Overall a nice light read, good for anyone who likes a good story and characters you can relate to.

Well, first off this book caused me to write a sappy e-mail to my mother, so it was clearly an emotional page turner. But for me, this book really laid out all the reasons why having children shouldn't be for everyone and also upset me because the minor characters, the wealthy friends, seem a lot like me and my fiance (which makes me nervous for my friends!). Mostly, though this book seems to me to be a written response to the Jodi Picoult book _Perfect Match_. This is what comes from falsely accusing one parent of sexual abuse. All in all, a good book.

About the author

DANI SHAPIRO is a best-selling novelist and memoirist and host of the podcast Family Secrets (now in its seventh season). Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vogue, and Time. She has taught at Columbia and New York University and is the co-founder of the Sirenland Writers Conference. She lives in Litchfield County, Connecticut.