Book Thoughts: Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg

Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is a lot of things, but what stands out the most, in simple wording - it is sad.

The book begins with a tragic accidental explosion of June Reid’s house in a small Connecticut town. June, for reasons discovered later in the book, was not in the house during the explosion. But the rest of her family - her daughter and fiance; her ex-husband; and her current boyfriend - are all there and die as a result. They were gathered to celebrate the daughter’s wedding the next day.

From that tragic beginning, Clegg explores grief through a web of perspectives and narrators - via June; Lydia, the mother of June’s boyfriend, Luke; Dale, the father of Will, June’s daughter’s fiance; Rebecca - the innkeeper, along with her partner, of a small motel in Oregon right on the Pacific Ocean; and several others. Through the web of connections, Klegg does a good job of subliminally demonstrating the multitude of ways lives are interconnected, and how many people can be impacted by a single person, and a single event.

That said, most of the focus is on June, who leaves the town almost immediately after the funeral to end up at the Oregon hotel, and Lydia, who is left in the town. Both are struggling to come to terms with not only the tragedy and loss, but their own respective histories.

It is easy and difficult to read at the same time. It is easy because the book is superbly written - the change of perspectives, the unraveling of the little questions and connections of characters and events throughout the book, coupled with excellent pacing, makes this book a compelling read. It is difficult because it explores, thoroughly, the emotions of loss and grief. You feel the desolation and broken spirit of the characters; and Clegg shows how nothing can ever be the same after such a substantial loss.

The book is excellent - a well-written, evocative, and introspective look at what it means to endure loss and grief, and to persevere.


View all my reviews