Catchy Title and a simplistic cover made me pick this one up !! As well as the little blurb about the author. I mean come on, when the description of the author reads : He was born in Wingham, Ontario, the birthplace of Alice Munro, making him the second-best writer from a town of 3000. You just know you have to pick up this read !!!
Onward…
The gist of this book is that we follow the weird family children on a quest, given to them by their dying grandmother. Apparently the grandmother has given each of her grandchildren a special blessing (which really are curses) and at the moment of her death if all the children are reunited, the curses will be lifted. (yay) The grandmother tasks Angie to assemble all the grandchildren who are scattered around the country and abroad. They have a deadline, 2 weeks. Oh, but wait, there is more. Their father died when they were children but the body was never recovered from the wreckage. DUN DUN DUN. Hold on, there is even more… their mother kinda lost it after their father died and was never the same. How does this all tie into the plot ? Oh, you will just have to read the novel.
This was weird, but in a good way. Delightful in many aspects. It’s a book about family dynamics, forgiveness and what it means to truly be a family. I flew through this book at lightning speed, wanting to know what they would do next, how they would do it and if they would make their deadline. There are many little twists and turns in this book, some are more evident than others.
What I think I liked most is how Andrew Kaufman got it right: the “weird” dynamics of family. The way family members talk to each other, the way they tease, how frank they can be, the inside jokes.. Kaufman was spot on.
If you pay attention, little clues and details are left here and there throughout the novel. All bringing the reader to a neat and tidy ending. The perfect book to bring along on your next vacation, on a plane or when you are at a family gathering and just want to find some escape within the pages of a good book.
I enjoyed the weirdness of this book and I’m glad I picked it up. It seems like a light read but when you start to scratch the surface you find deeper meaning to this curious cast and the events that unfold. This was my first Andrew Kaufman novel and I’ll be searching the stacks for his previous titles as well as any new novels he has in the works.
Born Weird by Andrew Kaufman
266 pages
published by Random House Canada
It’s a great book. The Tiny Wife, by him, is brilliant too – I actually think it’s better. So that’s your recommendation for today!
I’ll definitely pick it up !! I want to read all his work.