Strangers at the Feast

by Jennifer Vanderbes

Book Overview

On Thanksgiving Day 2007, as the country teeters on the brink of a recession, three generations of the Olson family gather. Eleanor and Gavin worry about their daughter, a single academic, and her newly adopted Indian child, and about their son, who has been caught in the imploding real-estate bubble. While the Olsons navigate the tensions and secrets that mark their relationships, seventeen-year-old Kijo Jackson and his best friend Spider...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1439166986
• ISBN13: 9781439166987
• Release Date: August 2011
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Suspense

There are so many things to love about this book, but I think Vanderbes's multi-layered characters are what really set it apart. I also love how it's a page-turner but erudite at the same time -- reminded me of Ian McEwan.

4.5/5

The Olson family gathers to celebrate the Thanksgiving holidays at the home of one of its members, Ginny. Ginny has recently made some drastic changes to her life, adopting a daughter from India, buying a house and her decision to host the family for this event is surprising but seems to be in line with this new phase of her life. Her brother Douglas and his wife Denise are drowning in severe debt as a result of Douglas's over speculation in the real estate market that has now gone bust. So while they smile and put on an appearance for their children and the rest of the family, there is trouble brewing. And Ginny and Douglas's parents, Eleanor and Gavin, are dealing with their own loneliness as they were never very communicative with each other following Gavin's return from the Vietnam war. While the meal starts off at Ginny's house, they are forced to move to Douglas's house because Ginny's stove malfunctions. This simple act sets the stage for a tragedy and calls into stark focus the underlying issues that have long simmered below the surface. From the synopsis of the book, I knew there was to be a catastrophic event that would rock the whole family. But because this part of the story does not happen till much later, I was able to focus on the excellent characterization of the family that preceded this event. It is in the description of the individual members of this family, their quirks and demons, their sympathies and triumphs, that the author really shines and displays her talent as a writer. The reader is able to delve into the lives of a complex and ultimately sad family. To call this family dysfunctional really does not do them justice as they are so much more and it cheapens and trivializes their true intricacies. Each member of the family harbors private concerns, pains and resentments that shape them into the people they choose to become. Ginny as the know it all college professor and generally unlikable daughter on the spur of the moment adopts a mute seven year old from India. While I could sympathize with almost all other members of her family, Ginny was the character I liked least. She spent her time throwing around her intelligence, constantly lecturing her family on every injustice in history and just being generally obnoxious. Her decision to adopt a child did not at all engender her to me as it was not well thought out and just seemed like a momentary emotion and a poorly thought out one at that. She always seemed to be caught up in displaying her supposed intellectual superiority that she rarely took a moment to examine herself and her motives. I never warmed to her and her thoughts on the last page further confirmed my belief in how shallow she was. Ginny's brother Douglas was a sad character to read. Here was a man who both consciously and unconsciously lived to please his father and feeling like this was an impossible goal. But the more he tried, the more he seemed to drift away from and displease his father. Sadly, his

Great book!

If you have parents, or siblings, or children; or want them, or wish you didn't. If you have struggled with or against "liberal guilt." If your politics have changed since your first job out of college. Or if discussions of cities v. suburbs have rocked your marriage. This is the book for you. A moving look at life and relationships among the haves and have-nots, and about the very slim line dividing the two. You won't be able to put it down.