With the hype from her previous novel still ringing in my head, I picked up Lauren Groff's second novel with great anticipation. I was curious to see what a book dealing with a communal society outside of New York city would bring to the table. It seems to be a mixed bag. At the beginning of the 1970's a group of people decide to rebuild a crumbling mansion and create the perfect society. We are introduced to Abe and his wife Hannah and their son Bit or Little Bit as he is called. They are our guides through the society the Family is trying to establish. We meet the leader Handy through both Abe and Hannah's eyes and most tellingly though Bit's eyes and ears. The novel follows the establishment of the community and their struggles and triumphs and eventual implosion of everyone's ideals.
The novel seems to be told with a soft focus. Everything is said and done with the least possible energy in trying to keep the reader's interest. We figure out the leader isn't all he's cracked up to be, the women do most of the work, and the children are the most damaged of all. The foreshadowing of the eventual doom of the commune isn't handled well, Bit and his family are caught in some sort of time warp that doesn't resolve in any satisfactory way and the reader is wondering at what the heck just happened. Though there are some interesting characters that could have brought more focus and interest to the novel, this avenue wasn't explored. If you are looking for a book with a challenge this may be it. Not my highest recommendation.
Six degrees of reading: The Irresistible Henry House by Lisa Grunwald, The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer, Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper
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