Reunion
A Novel
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3.7 • 35 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The author of the highly acclaimed The Fates Will Find Their Way returns with a novel about a far-flung family reunited for one weekend by their father's death.
Five minutes before her flight is set to take off, Kate Pulaski, failed screenwriter and newly failed wife with scarcely a hundred dollars to her name, learns that her estranged father has killed himself. More shocked than saddened by the news, she gives in to her siblings' request that she join them, along with her many half-siblings and most of her father's five former wives, in Atlanta, their birthplace, for a final farewell.
Written with huge heart and bracing wit, Reunion takes place over the following four days, as family secrets are revealed, personal foibles are exposed, and Kate -- an inveterate liar looking for a way to come clean-slowly begins to acknowledge the overwhelming similarities between herself and the man she never thought she'd claim as an influence, much less a father. Hannah Pittard's "engaging and vigorous" prose masterfully illuminates the problems that can divide modern families--and the ties that prove impossible to break. (Chicago Tribune)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the beginning of Pittard's emotionally astute second novel (after 2011's The Fates Will Find Their Way), Kate, a struggling screenwriter, is sitting on the tarmac at an airport; her flight has been grounded because of a storm. While on the runway, Kate receives word that her father is dead. He's left behind a string of ex-wives (five, to be exact), and, in addition to her sister and brother, Kate has a passel of half-siblings. When this family of sorts gathers in Atlanta for the funeral, there is tension, pain, comedy, and finally, a some healing and resolution. Kate is a winning narrator, whose insights into herself and her family keep the pages turning: describing the relationship between her sister and herself, Kate says "Nell and I talk every day, whether we want to or not. We are addicted to conversation. We are in love with ourselves and our banter and maybe even with each other." Kate's voice, the real draw, even extends to the chapter titles ("A Partial List of the Secrets I Keep Track of While I Lie Awake in Bed Most Nights").
Customer Reviews
A wonderful read
Absolute perfection, not a single superfluous word. I couldn’t stop reading it once I started