Start Without Me

It's hard to succinctly say what I feel about this story. I liked it, but didn't love it. The author is great at developing characters that you care about, or like, or dislike. The ending left me and my book club feeling unsatisfied, though. Too many questions are left unanswered. After I finished the book, I read an interview with the author where he says that he put everything he has to say about the characters into the book. So perhaps the point of the book isn't so much the story as it is the characters themselves. The challenges they face, the mistakes they make, the complicated and messy feelings about family they have are all well developed and thought provoking here. It is a story that enabled our book club to have a great discussion about family, addiction, complicated relationships, and more.

I received this book from Harper Collins as part of their Book Club Girl book club in 2018.

Imagine a couple dysfunctional families, Thanksgiving Day, and a concealed pregnancy resulting from infidelity, and you've got Start Without Me by Joshua Max Feldman.

The story happens over the course of one day, which happens to be Thanksgiving. Two strangers meet in a hotel bar, and from there, their stories intertwine as they attempt to navigate the day with their families. Our main characters, Adam and Marissa, both have a large reason why they're not looking forward to going home to their families. For Adam, his alcoholism (now in recovery) made him estranged from his family. For Marissa, she's pregnant by an ex – not her husband.

I don't want to give away much, but the day just goes nuts. To put it bluntly, shit hits the fan.

If you're a fan of dysfunctional family stories like The Nest, you'll probably like this one. It's crazy, but it's also really filled with heart at some points, which I appreciated. The writing style was straightforward yet detailed and expressive, which made it a good, quick read.

For my full review, visit http://www.literaryquicksand.com/2017/10/review-start-without/