- Paperback: 276 pages
- Publisher: Orenda Books (13 Jun. 2019)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1912374455
- ISBN-13: 978-1912374458
Synopsis
When Liv, Ellen and Håkon, along with their partners and children, arrive in Rome to celebrate their father’s seventieth birthday, a quiet earthquake occurs: their parents have decided to divorce.
Shocked and disbelieving, the siblings try to come to terms with their parents’ decision as it echoes through the homes they have built for themselves, and forces them to reconstruct the shared narrative of their childhood and family history.
A bittersweet novel of regret, relationships and rare psychological insights, A Modern Family encourages us to look at the people closest to us a little more carefully, and ultimately reveals that it’s never too late for change…
Review
A Modern Family is a beautifully written book about the fall out when Liv, Ellen and Hakon’s parents decide to divorce after forty years of marriage. All three have to face the change in the family dynamic and having a different kind of relationship with their parents. The book is narrated by each of the three siblings as we see how this news impacts their own lives, their relationships with each other and their parents over the space of two years.
Helga Flatland’s writing is captivating and lyrical, it flows with ease and grace fully encapsulating the emotions of the characters. There is also great insight into family dynamics, and this book reads like a psychological study of a family that becomes fractured by one decision. This is quite an intense read at times in its emotion and introspective look at how Liv, Ellen and Hakon view love, marriage and commitment. I found myself early drawn into this family coping with not only the divorce but also the problems within their own lives.
Liv is the eldest of the siblings, married to Olaf and has children Agnar and Hedda, she is the only one who is married with children. Liv takes the news very hard, being the eldest of the three she feels responsible for her younger brother and sister, and their emotional welfare. Liv uses her parents marriage as a bench mark for her own so takes their divorce really hard and distances herself from them as defence mechanism. But Liv’s marriage is not perfect either, she has her own problems she is struggling with. Ellen, is two years younger than Liv and like her sister is really disappointed in her parents. The news comes at a difficult time for her personally as she wants to start a family but fear she has left it too late, a situation a lot of women today find themselves in for one reason or another. Ellen is very emotional, and under pressure with her job which puts a lot of stress on her and her relationship sad the divorce seems to put extra pressure on her. Hakon is very different to his sisters, he doesn’t believe in monogamy and marriage so he doesn’t have much of a problem with the news and is the only sibling to keep a normal relationship with both his parents.
A Modern Family is as it states, a story about a modern family and the effects of an older couple with adult children deciding to split and the rippling effects this has. Beautifully written, with great insight this book is probably more about what is left unsaid in families than said. A stunning, and fascinating read.
I would like to thank Anne Cater and Orenda books for inviting me to take part in the blog tour in return for an honest review.
As always thank you for reading my review. I hope you will consider following me and sharing my review.
