Family and Other Catastrophes

by Alexandra Borowitz

Amanda Ronconi (Narrator)

"Emily Glass knows she's neurotic. But she's got it under control. Sort of. She dons compression socks when she flies (because, you know, deep vein thrombosis) and responds to people routinely overestimating her age with more Lifespin classes and less gluten. Thankfully, she also has David, the wonderful man she'll soon call husband--assuming they can survive wedding week with her wildly dysfunctional family"--Amazon.com.

• ISBN10: 0778317552
• ISBN13: 9780778317555
• Publish Date: 10 April 2018 (first published 1 April 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Mira Books
• Edition: Original ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[Joséphine]

October 30, 2018

Full book review is now up here on Word Revel.

_________

October 28, 2018

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Initial thoughts: So, I had to reread Family and Other Catastrophes because I didn't take down any notes, nor did I type out my thoughts after reading it the first time. I didn't want to write a review without remembering most of the details. What I do remember is that at the end of the book I felt the same way — this book is entertaining in the most cringeworthy way. It makes you laugh at how the characters are larger than life but also cringe at the train wreck that basically unfolded in the lead-up to Emily's wedding because her family is extremely dysfunctional. At the same time, Borowitz managed to remain sensitive towards mental health and feminist advocacy, even as she used these in painting her caricatures. If you need a light-hearted book that shows you things could be worse in life, Family and Other Catastrophes might just be the book for.