The Family Fang: From the NYT Bestselling Author of Nothing to See Here
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY TIME, PEOPLE, SALON, AND ESQUIRE
“The Family Fang is a comedy, a tragedy, and a tour-de-force examination of what it means to make art and survive your family….The best single word description would be brilliant.”
—Ann Patchett, author of Bel Canto
A funny, poignant, laugh-and-cry-out-loud (sometimes at the same time) novel about the art of surviving a masterpiece of dysfunction. Meet The Family Fang, an unforgettable collection of demanding, brilliant, and absolutely endearing oddballs whose lives are risky and mischievous performance art. Basis for the major motion picture starring Nicole Kidman, Jason Bateman and Christopher Walken.
Annie and Buster Fang have spent most of their adult lives trying to distance themselves from their famous artist parents, Caleb and Camille. But when a bad economy and a few bad personal decisions converge, the two siblings have nowhere to turn but their family home. Reunited under one roof for the first time in more than a decade and surrounded by the souvenirs of their unusual upbringing, Buster and Annie are forced to confront not only their creatively ambitious parents, but the chaos and confusion of their childhood.
“It’s The Royal Tenenbaums meets Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? I’d call The Family Fang a guilty pleasure, but it’s too damn smart….A total blast.”
—Hannah Pittard, author of The Fates Will Find Their Way
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Community Reviews
The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson
309 pages
What’s it about?
This is the story of a family of performance artists. The children are immediately a part of the “art” that Caleb and Camille Fang are hell-bent on creating. As Annie and Buster Fang grow older they begin to distance themselves from their parents and the art they have always been a part of. Until events in their adult lives bring them back into collision with their art- crazy parents and they are forced to confront their upbringing.
What did I think?
This book was thought provoking but also troubling. It is told in a amusing, flippant way but underneath it is sad. I did love the relatiosnship between Annie and Buster.
Should you read it?
I enjoyed it but did not see why it was such a favorite of the critics. This novel does ask some pretty important questions. Do the rights of children matter less than the preferences of their parents? However I did not think it was a "book of the year".
Quote-
“ ‘That’s what I want to talk about,’ Eric said, his face bright, his left eye twitching. ‘You were “Child A” in all those art pieces that your parents created. You were, for all intents and purposes, the star.’
‘Oh, Buster was the star, for sure. He had it much worse than me.’
She thought of Buster, tied to the lamppost, stuck in a bear trap, making our with the St. Bernard, the numerous ways he’s been left in some bizarre situation and made to fend for himself.”
Question-
Was this art?
If you like this try-
Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
This is Where I leave You by Jonathon Tropper
7 stars
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