I have a confession. I’m typically not a huge fan of books involving dysfunctional families or family dynamics in general…they are just too stressful. So, imagine my surprise when I begin reading a book called “A Nearly Normal Family.” The title alone made me laugh out loud because let’s be real, not only is there nothing normal about any family but nothing is certainly “nearly” normal. The first sentence of the book is “We were a perfectly ordinary family.” I settled in for a wild ride and didn’t get up except to eat and sleep (a little). The Swedish author, M. T. Edvardsson is a skilled wordsmith and it’s been a long time since I have underlined, highlighted, and fallen in love with the “written word” like I did with this novel. The book is anything but normal. It’s a stunning review of family life in the real world where everyone takes slights personally, or in the alternative, tries to control. A world full of nearly normal psychopaths. The story is told from three perspectives, the father who is a Pastor in the Church of Sweden, the daughter who is a rebel with or without a cause, and the Mother who is an accomplished and well-known criminal attorney. It is a high compliment when I state that the author keeps you guessing exactly how this family got so screwed up. It’s like a family fighting in the car on the way to church only to arrive and put on a united front for the congregants. Too often we are faced with the unrealistic expectations of being perfect. In this story, education and religion both are no guarantees of success as God seems to abandon the Pastor and the highly educated Mother is emotionally stunted. Their daughter is charged with murder and it becomes obvious that all parental and moral rules get thrown out when your challenging child’s future is on the line. Where is that line between right and wrong? As a parent, I can attest to the fact that you are always second-guessing your decisions. The author writes, “To be born human is to carry blame.” That line is darn near Biblical. This is sure to be a top 5 book for me in 2019. I was provided an ARC of this novel but my opinions are always my own without bias. #lindaleereads2019
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