In HELLO FROM THE GILLESPIES, Monica McInerney has crafted
a multi-faceted storyline that is often hilarious and
surprisingly touching. Every Gillespie has a secret aspect
of their lives, except possibly for Ig, the youngest, who
is blunt and non-judgmental about others. Except for
kissing—he doesn't want to see people kissing. The rest of
the family care about what the other family members think
of them and try hard to keep their secrets. However, when
all the Gillespies are under one roof, the former sheep
station in Australia, chaos breaks out and all the
emotional walls come tumbling down.
The title of the book is derived from the annual
Christmas letter that the mother, Angela Gillespie, sends
out each year. She usually sends out the usual chatty and
cheerful letter to all their friends and acquaintances.
She
has writer's block because this year has been difficult.
And lately, Angela is suffering from both headaches and
the
irrepressible urge to be brutally honest.
Just for practice, she types everything as it is—not as
she'd like it to be. All the family's problems and issues:
her twins loss of employment and their romatic affairs;
her
youngest daughter's inability to find her niche; her
weird
son's imaginary friend and how he keeps running away from
school; what she thinks of her husband's aunt who is
coming
to spend the holidays (it isn't good); that she thinks her
husband is having an affair and doesn't talk to her any
more. She even writes about her secret fantasy life of a
life of luxury with a different husband and family. She
says what she thinks because this is for her eyes only.
But, by some quirk of fortune, the email gets sent out to
all one hundred people on the mailing list.
Is this a dysfunctional or regular family? Every
marriage and every family goes through stages in which
things seem crazy. McInerney presents us with situations
that are relatable and common for a family: a mother gives
all her time to take care of her family, but doesn't
really
spend time with them individually and has no time for
herself; a husband takes all the financial cares on his
own
back and doesn't want to bother or disappoint his wife;
grown children who are self-centered and don't realize
that
their parents have lives that don't necessarily include
them and much more.
Although this story has a hilarious and unlikely plot,
the
family dynamics are still there. You know the Gillespie
family will never be "normal" by the usual standards, but
it will always take care of its own—one way or another.
McInerney obviously has experienced ups and downs of a
complicated family. HELLO FROM THE GILLESPIES has a
message: people have to feel needed to bring out the best
in them (even a grumpy old aunt). I would love to read
more
about this endearing but wacky family in future books.
For the past thirty-three years, Angela Gillespie has sent
to friends and family around the world an end-of-the-year
letter titled “Hello from the Gillespies.” It’s always
been
cheery and full of good news. This year, Angela surprises
herself—she tells the truth....
The Gillespies are far from the perfect family that Angela
has made them out to be. Her husband is coping badly with
retirement. Her thirty-two-year-old twins are having
career
meltdowns. Her third daughter, badly in debt, can’t stop
crying. And her ten-year-old son spends more time talking
to
his imaginary friend than to real ones.
Without Angela, the family would fall apart. But when
Angela
is taken away from them in a most unexpected manner, the
Gillespies pull together—and pull themselves together—in
wonderfully surprising ways...
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