I was very excited to read this book, as I really enjoyed her last novel, The Plot. This was nothing like that book, and I loved it just as much! The relationships between the siblings and their parents and friends were terrifically original, and heartbreaking at the same time. More than once I had a huge smile on my face from the crisp, witty dialogue and "inner thought" sequences. I felt so much empathy for Johanna throughout the story, but I also thought that Salo was written in such a way that it seemed impossible to dislike him.
On first opening the book to page through it, two things struck me: That it looked very dense in comparison to Korelitz' previous work, and that the headers for each chapter were wonderfully funny. It brought to mind some of the Victorian melodramas of Austen, Bronte, and others. Once I started reading it, I just could not stop. I just had to keep turning pages to find out what on Earth was going to happen next, and for that reason alone I highly recommend this book. This would be a great book for fans of Jonathan Franzen and Ann Patchett.
On first opening the book to page through it, two things struck me: That it looked very dense in comparison to Korelitz' previous work, and that the headers for each chapter were wonderfully funny. It brought to mind some of the Victorian melodramas of Austen, Bronte, and others. Once I started reading it, I just could not stop. I just had to keep turning pages to find out what on Earth was going to happen next, and for that reason alone I highly recommend this book. This would be a great book for fans of Jonathan Franzen and Ann Patchett.