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 Peeryβs 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 siblingβwith a history of
addiction, grand ideas, and misdemeanorsβpasses out in
his devilβs food cake, the family takes up the unfinished
business of Billyβs sobriety.
Billyβs wayward adventures have too long consumed their
lives, in particular Hattieβs, who has enabled his
transgressions while trying to save him from Abelβs
disappointment. As the older childrenβDoro, Jesse,
ClairBell, and Gideonβcontend with their own troubles,
they compete for the approval of the elderly parents they
adore, but canβt 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.
No excerpt available.
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