THE EXACT NATURE OF OUR WRONGS by Janet Peery is a story about
the character study of a family that includes elderly parents
and middle-aged children as we follow the changes or trials
they face over the course of several years.
The overall theme
of this novel is drugs, addiction, enablement, grudges, aging,
and death. There is a lot of family drama with many arguments
throughout. I am not sure how I feel about THE EXACT NATURE OF
OUR WRONGS because it is not a book that I would normally read.
Overall, Perry manages to keep the story realistic and even
dark at times with heavy hard topics. While reading I felt like
at times it goes from a story to a summary which can make you
question what is really taking place. This summary aspect gives
you the conclusions to the characters personalities and
motivations. I just could not get into the overall story due to
the long list of characters that were hard to keep up with and
it was a real struggle for me to finish. I did stick with it
till the end and was not impressed.
THE EXACT NATURE OF OUR
WRONGS was not the book for me, but some may love it. I really
could not relate to the characters and felt they were not
relatable. The setting was descriptive and detailed making the
perfect backdrop for the overall story and plot. The story line
is lacking and needs more details about the characters past
lives. This along with a tighter overall theme and plot would
help to mesh this novel into a better read. I just feel like I
was lost the whole time I was reading. I probably won't read
this again, but it was a thought-provoking portrayal.
Janet Peery’s first novel, The River Beyond the World,
was a National Book Award finalist in 1996. Acclaimed for
her gorgeous writing and clear-eyed gaze into the hearts
of people, Peery now returns with her second novel, The
Exact Nature of Our Wrongs.
On a summer evening in the blue-collar town of Amicus,
Kansas, the Campbell family gathers for a birthday dinner
for their ailing patriarch, retired judge Abel Campbell,
prepared and hosted by their still-hale mother Hattie.
But when Billy, the youngest sibling—with a history of
addiction, grand ideas, and misdemeanors—passes out in
his devil’s food cake, the family takes up the unfinished
business of Billy’s sobriety.
Billy’s wayward adventures have too long consumed their
lives, in particular Hattie’s, who has enabled his
transgressions while trying to save him from Abel’s
disappointment. As the older children—Doro, Jesse,
ClairBell, and Gideon—contend with their own troubles,
they compete for the approval of the elderly parents they
adore, but can’t quite forgive.
With knowing humor and sure-handed storytelling, Janet
Peery reveals a family at its best and worst, with old
wounds and new, its fractures and feuds, and yet its
unbreakable bonds.