The Most Fun We Ever Had (Reese's Book Club Pick)
A Novel
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4.1 • 1.6K Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK • “A gripping and poignant ode to a messy, loving family in all its glory.” —Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe
In this “rich, complex family saga” (USA Today) full of long-buried family secrets, Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, blithely ignorant of all that awaits them. By 2016, they have four radically different daughters, each in a state of unrest.
Wendy, widowed young, soothes herself with booze and younger men; Violet, a litigator turned stay-at-home-mom, battles anxiety and self-doubt; Liza, a neurotic and newly tenured professor, finds herself pregnant with a baby she's not sure she wants by a man she's not sure she loves; and Grace, the dawdling youngest daughter, begins living a lie that no one in her family even suspects.
With the unexpected arrival of young Jonah Bendt—a child placed for adoption by one of the daughters fifteen years before—the Sorensons will be forced to reckon with the rich and varied tapestry of their past. As they grapple with years marred by adolescent angst, infidelity, and resentment, they also find the transcendent moments of joy that make everything else worthwhile.
Don't miss Claire Lombardo's new book, Same As It Ever Was!
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Claire Lombardo’s debut novel drew us right in with its chronicle of four sisters. This satisfying story looks at the lives of Wendy, Violet, Liza, and Grace Sorensen over four-plus decades; their narratives twist and turn, giving new credence to the old saying that life is full of surprises. None of the women lead a tidy, picture-perfect existence, and each envies the devotion shared by their long-together parents. Lombardo’s loving and honest portraits of each sister and her bumpy travels through modern American life make The Most Fun We Ever Had a heartrending, emotional read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lombardo's impressive debut follows the Sorenson clan physician David, wife Marilyn, and their four daughters: Wendy, Violet, Liza, and Grace through the 1970s to 2017. David and Marilyn raised the family in a rambling suburban Chicago house that belonged to Marilyn's father. The daughters find varying degrees of success in their professional lives but fail to find the passion and romance that their parents continue to have in their own marriage. Wendy is a wealthy widow with a foul mouth and a drinking problem. Violet is a former lawyer turned stay-at-home mother of two young sons. At 32, Liza is a tenured professor with a depressive boyfriend. The baby of the family, 20-something Grace, is the only one of the daughters to have moved away, and now lives in Oregon. The daughters' lives are in various stages of tumult: Wendy locates Jonah, the teenage son Violet gave up for adoption years prior; Violet struggles to integrate Jonah into her perfectly controlled life; Liza is shocked to discover she is pregnant; and Grace lies about being in law school after she was rejected. Lombardo captures the complexity of a large family with characters who light up the page with their competition, secrets, and worries. Despite its length and number of plotlines, the momentum never flags, making for a rich and rewarding family saga.
Customer Reviews
Greatvstory
Characters are well developed and understood.
Same as it ever was
Long, tedious, and pointless. I finished it thinking it had to better. It did not.
A hug in the shape of a book
This has to be my top 3 favorite books. The depth of the characters, and the raw relatable messy truths of them all. Their efforts to show up, the humanness of it. A beautiful read that had me laughing, crying, and angry all throughout the book. If you like fluff and romance this isn’t the book for you. It is exactly what it is, this isn’t a profound politically charged book, it’s a good feel good novel. I would definitely recommend.