OK, maybe the description of the book, the title, and the cover design make you think that this is some sort of magical-realism tale, and maybe there is a slight tinge of that, but basically this is about the siblings in this family and their trajectory in life.
One of them is gay, and experiences the wild abandon of the hedonistic lifestyle that existed in San Francisco when he moved there. This section of the book involves some pretty detailed descriptions of sexual activities, so if that isn't your thing.... Still, the descriptions are pertinent to his life and the story. I read a relatively witty historical romance about a year ago, and the author stuck a sex scene in the middle of the book that was basically just p**n and it was like a lead balloon in the middle of the story. Maybe romance publishers have that as the house guidelines or something, but I wish it had been left out.
Anyway, with this story we have deeply flawed characters going through their lives. I'm not sure that any of them are actually likable. They may even all be quite dislikable, but their stories and mistakes are probably at least somewhat similar to what we all go through.
There are two scenes in the book that I consider quite poignant and moving. Without giving you too many of the details, in one we learn the sad details of the life of a woman of Romany Gypsy descent. In another, we witness the incredible psychological trauma of a lab animal. The details of the traumatized animal's experience or fate wrenched some tears for me. If you're an animal lover or activist, this section of the book will be deeply, deeply upsetting to you.
One of them is gay, and experiences the wild abandon of the hedonistic lifestyle that existed in San Francisco when he moved there. This section of the book involves some pretty detailed descriptions of sexual activities, so if that isn't your thing.... Still, the descriptions are pertinent to his life and the story. I read a relatively witty historical romance about a year ago, and the author stuck a sex scene in the middle of the book that was basically just p**n and it was like a lead balloon in the middle of the story. Maybe romance publishers have that as the house guidelines or something, but I wish it had been left out.
Anyway, with this story we have deeply flawed characters going through their lives. I'm not sure that any of them are actually likable. They may even all be quite dislikable, but their stories and mistakes are probably at least somewhat similar to what we all go through.
There are two scenes in the book that I consider quite poignant and moving. Without giving you too many of the details, in one we learn the sad details of the life of a woman of Romany Gypsy descent. In another, we witness the incredible psychological trauma of a lab animal. The details of the traumatized animal's experience or fate wrenched some tears for me. If you're an animal lover or activist, this section of the book will be deeply, deeply upsetting to you.