Books for Friday (BFF): The Middlesteins

I really enjoyed this book which is scheduled for release in fall 2012. As a character-driven book, it is filled with a rich cast surrounding the obese, central character, Edie: a wife, mother and grandmother.  I found myself rooting for her to gain control of her health and life. I was as frustrated with her inability to address her health as was her family in the book, yet I understood the need she was trying to fill with food. Attenberg has written Edie with great sympathy and lets us see her angry and passionate side.

There are moments of humour in the novel that illustrate the ridiculousness we might see if we could see ourselves from an exterior view. At one point, Edie's daughter-in-law lists all the lies she has told her husband; one being that she doesn't tell him that she goes to movies during the day. Then we learn that the husband thinks his wife has no sense of humour as she never laughs at the funny movies- because she has already seen them.

I loved these intimate insights into several marriages and other love relationships. Attenberg paints the complexity of these human interactions from different perspectives, reminding the reader that we only ever truly know things from our perspective.

Watch for this book. I am going to read some other books by this author.

Any recommendations?