I can see why award committees and college professors adore this book: It's pretentious literary fiction! It's about a white, middle class, New England family. The father and oldest son develop serious mental health issues. The story examines how those issues ripple through the family and impact them and the community around them. The descriptions of mental illness are spot-on (based on my experience). The author really understands depression, anxiety, and obsessive thinking. It's a raw, honest book that will give you a lot to ponder.

This book reinforced the fact that I'm a cold-hearted witch. I found the characters to be exhausting and irritating. They have a lot of personal issues, but they're loving and forgiving toward each other. I felt like the author wanted the reader to be loving and forgiving, too, but . . . I wasn't. If these were my family members, I would have been a lot tougher with them.

The oldest son, Michael, develops an obsession with slavery, which leads him into stalkerish relationships with African American women. I felt bad that Michael was sick, but I couldn't stand the dude. He was too intense with women. Sometimes I felt like the author was trying to manipulate me into liking Michael. I could see the author attempting to pull my emotional strings behind the curtain. It didn't work. Joke's on the author because I don't have emotions.

Even though I didn't love this book, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. It's an exhausting novel to read because the characters are intensely realistic. I truly feel like I know these people. The author does an amazing job of capturing what it's like to live with (and around) mental illness. I can see why this novel ended up on so many award lists.