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The Most Fun We Ever Had (Reese's Book Club Pick): A Novel
In this “rich, complex family saga” (USA Today) full of long-buried family secrets, Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, blithely ignorant of all that awaits them. By 2016, they have four radically different daughters, each in a state of unrest.
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Really a 4 1/2 star book to me!
thenextgoodbook.com
The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
532 pages
What’s it about?
This is the story of a marriage and the family that follows. Marilyn and David meet in the 1970's and fall in love. They subsequently marry and have a family. This is their story.
What did it make me think about?
Marriage, love, family, children, loss. This is a novel with many characters that have pretty good lives. But as is true in real life- no one gets away with out some heartbreak.
Should I read it?
I think most readers who enjoy literary fiction will find something to like about this book. Lombardo has written vivid, unique characters that practically jump off the page. I really liked this book- but I must admit that sometimes I just wanted to shake these characters and tell them to "get it together"! Having said that, I appreciated that each character in this book had a unique perspective and a set of problems that go along with that perspective.
Quote-
"It was in moments like this that Wendy remembered how much she loved her sister- her prissy, perfectionist, annoying-as-all-get-out sister- because Violet was the only person on the earth who had experienced the world in almost the exact same way, in real time, step for step, save for those first few months of life, but even then she'd been accompanied by Violet for most of the time, Violet growing inside of their mother."
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thenextgoodbook.com
The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
532 pages
What’s it about?
This is the story of a marriage and the family that follows. Marilyn and David meet in the 1970's and fall in love. They subsequently marry and have a family. This is their story.
What did it make me think about?
Marriage, love, family, children, loss. This is a novel with many characters that have pretty good lives. But as is true in real life- no one gets away with out some heartbreak.
Should I read it?
I think most readers who enjoy literary fiction will find something to like about this book. Lombardo has written vivid, unique characters that practically jump off the page. I really liked this book- but I must admit that sometimes I just wanted to shake these characters and tell them to "get it together"! Having said that, I appreciated that each character in this book had a unique perspective and a set of problems that go along with that perspective.
Quote-
"It was in moments like this that Wendy remembered how much she loved her sister- her prissy, perfectionist, annoying-as-all-get-out sister- because Violet was the only person on the earth who had experienced the world in almost the exact same way, in real time, step for step, save for those first few months of life, but even then she'd been accompanied by Violet for most of the time, Violet growing inside of their mother."
If you liked this try-
A Place For Us by Fatima Farheer Mirza
Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
I’d say 3.5 stars rounded up due to the depth of the characters and the writing. This is Claire Lombardo’s first novel and it is reminiscent of This Is Us but with more than a PG-13 rating (I could have done with less sex scenes). The parents in this family saga have a wonderful marriage. The four adult girls all have issues and need counseling at the very least. I could tell the author is a former Social Worker from how she writes these characters. They are all very believable. Where this novel fell down for me was that it started to drag. I think she needed to edit it down more.
I was provided an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, Doubleday, through Netgalley.
I have fallen in love with this novel. It's the first time in a long time that I've wished Goodreads had more than five stars, and I'm completely baffled that every reviewer isn't giving it five stars. While this novel is over 500 pages, it never felt like it. I didn't want it to end, but didn't want to put it down either, dragging my feet as I read it. The Most Fun We Ever Had is a simple novel, and by that I mean its central focus is on a family and how the members of that family change and how they affect each other. But Lombardo has written this (debut!!) novel so intricately, weaving each character in with flashbacks and personal memories, that it took me no time to get to know each character. And while they are flawed, so much so that sometimes I wanted to shake them, they are real and completely fleshed out.
At the heart of the story are the parents, Marilyn and David, who have remained very much in love and affectionate for forty years, much to the dismay of their four daughters, who feel like they will never be able to attain such happiness. Lombardo takes us through those years and shows us how hard Marilyn and David have worked to maintain their love story, and just how much it has influenced their children.
A lovely, beautiful, and refreshing novel that had me laughing and crying. There was so much within this book that I identified with, and maybe even learned from.
#popsugarreadingchallenge2019 (prompt #25)
I have fallen in love with this novel. It's the first time in a long time that I've wished Goodreads had more than five stars, and I'm completely baffled that every reviewer isn't giving it five stars. While this novel is over 500 pages, it never felt like it. I didn't want it to end, but didn't want to put it down either, dragging my feet as I read it. The Most Fun We Ever Had is a simple novel, and by that I mean its central focus is on a family and how the members of that family change and how they affect each other. But Lombardo has written this (debut!!) novel so intricately, weaving each character in with flashbacks and personal memories, that it took me no time to get to know each character. And while they are flawed, so much so that sometimes I wanted to shake them, they are real and completely fleshed out.
At the heart of the story are the parents, Marilyn and David, who have remained very much in love and affectionate for forty years, much to the dismay of their four daughters, who feel like they will never be able to attain such happiness. Lombardo takes us through those years and shows us how hard Marilyn and David have worked to maintain their love story, and just how much it has influenced their children.
A lovely, beautiful, and refreshing novel that had me laughing and crying. There was so much within this book that I identified with, and maybe even learned from.
#popsugarreadingchallenge2019 (prompt #25)
I love a good family drama. I was hoping this would be like Pineapple Street with just good characters and family dynamics where you forget there's no plot and don't want it to end. This was not quite that. It was so drawn out that I got irritated. Still great characters to love (or hate if you choose) but needed some editing.
Our general consensus was that it was like getting a very up close and personal look into the heart and soul of a family.
It was a book that really left us waiting for the characters to be...better and whilst they almost never did or it came too little too late at least we were given the reasons behind why they were who they were.
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