Family and Other Accidents

by Shari Goldhagen

Book Overview

Separated by a decade and 200 points on their SAT scores, Jack and Connor Reed have a life in the Cleveland suburbs held together by spit and Chinese takeout. With his self-absorbed, over-the-hill... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767925882
• ISBN13: 9780767925884
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Broadway Books
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

I second the WOWs...

I just want to second the previous reviewers' "WOW" and "Sleeper" comments. I wasn't expecting it at all. I picked it up, thought, oh another Oprah-botm-club family drama meant to tug heartstrings, but I was in the mood for something like that. This book then proceeded to surprise me at every turn. Where it could have been sentimental it wasn't. Just when I really adored a character, they did something unexpected and not in a good way. Just when I was willing to give up on a character, they did something that made me fall back in love with them. The book moves fast, the dialogue is real, you can't help but be absorbed in these characters' lives. Fast read and well worth it!

Brotherly Love

In Shari Goldhagen's debut novel, "Family and Other Accidents," we are introduced to two unique and completely different brothers, Jack and Conner Reed. After their parents' deaths, Jack has no choice but to play more of a parenting role to his younger brother. Jack, ten years Conner's senior, is a Playboy attorney who has problems expressing love. Conner holds out hope for love from his relationships and from his older brother. When Jack meets Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter named Mona, he decides to commit. But is it enough for Mona, who would like to be married? Later in college, Conner himself meets the love of his life in Laine. Do they have what it takes to maintain a long, healthy relationship though? Rest assured, the surprising answers will be revealed in this book that follows the Cleveland men through more than two decades of their lives. "Family and Other Accidents" works on many levels. Goldhagen is a gifted and talented writer who manages to introduce interesting yet flawed characters whose lives readers will care to understand and follow throughout years of their lives. Those of us from the Cleveland area will instantly recognize and fall in love with the author's depiction of the area and its attractions. Though it tends to drag a bit, the book itself manages to touch on issues of aloofness, adultery, and death while still giving readers hope that love is attainable for anyone. It's definitely worth checking out. Highly Recommended Emanuel Carpenter Author of "Where is the Love?" emanuelcarpenter dot com

Deeply touching

I received this book in a gift bag at an event for BAM in Brooklyn, and didn't expect to have time to read it. But once I had glanced thru the first few pages, I was completely hooked. I feel like I've known the characters in this book my whole life. Life-affirming, sad, tragic and -- unexpectedly -- extremely funny, this book was an incredibly pleasant surprise. I cannot recommend it enough.

great read

This is one of those books that sounds more like your own life than somebody else's - which is what makes it such an engaging story. I couldn't put this book down.

Pitch perfect

This book is funny without being ironic or shticky, and serious without being melodramatic or heady. A great read that will touch your heart as is glides by.