Man Alive!

by Mary Kay Zuravleff

All it takes is a quarter to change pediatric psychiatrist Dr. Owen Lerner's life. When the coin he's feeding into a parking meter is struck by lightning, Lerner survives—and now all he wants to do is barbecue. What will happen to his patients, who rely on him to make sense of their world? What will happen to his family?

The bolt of lightning that lifts Owen Lerner into the air sends his clan into free fall. Mary Kay Zuravleff's Man Alive! is a warmhearted portrait of family-on-family pain rendered with wisdom, generosity, and devastating humor: In the Lerners' household, you will recognize your own.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Contemporary, Novels, Medical, Marriage, Adult

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2013

About the author

Mary Kay Zuravleff is the author of four novels. Her latest, American Ending, was praised by Alice McDermott as "wholly fresh and achingly believable." Her third book, Man Alive!, was a Washington Post Notable Book, and the New York Times called her second, The Bowl Is Already Broken, "a tart, affectionate satire of the museum world's bickering and scheming." The Frequency of Souls, her first book, won the Rosenthal Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the James Jones Award. She grew up in Oklahoma City and has made Washington, D.C., her home. She has written and edited extensively for the Smithsonian and taught writing just about everywhere.

Reviews

[Jay Wexler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can I give this six stars?

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

While on vacation with his wife, twin sons and daughter a man is struck by lightning. Suddenly the family structure seems as if it will get a jolt of its own as all family members come to terms with various changes in their lives. So the author thus paints a world of an urban family weathering everyday crises while the lightning struck surviving father obsesses over barbecue. Strange premise for a book. However do not discount it as it actually works, and rather well at that. I found myself experiencing varying emotions as I read through this book. From being pissed off at the pomposity of some of the characters to outright laughing at various awkward and bizarre scenes. In rating this book I wanted to go somewhere over the three star rating, perhaps landing just under four stars. However looking at the whole product I have to give it a solid four stars.

[Daoist56 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man alive, I like this book.

And I've spent a few days thinking about why I like it. The easiest reason is because the subject family resembles mine - Dad is in the same sector of making a living as am I, they have 3 kids, they live about a 10 minute drive away. Also, I've been dying to find a book I could really like.

But also because the writing here is just good. You can tell the author had fun writing this novel - that is, if it is at all possible to have fun while writing a novel - and the energy and love of words, sentences and paragraphs comes through. But it's not the focus of your reading - it supports the telling of the story, which is rare. And nice.

Perhaps the most important reason though, is because it is very good at doing the thing we read novels for, which is reflecting and providing insight into our fabulously complicated conditon(s) of being human and alive and in this case, part of a family. Like many, she observes what a family is by blowing it apart. In this case, the story begins when Dad gets whacked by a bolt of lightning, and his family - each of whom he sees so clearly for one mystical moment - begins to fall, drift and split apart.

Ms. Zuravleff (I'm so glad I'm not doing this orally) has a lot of, in my opinion, very smart things to say about the family. She moves easily from one member to another, and I appreciate the fact that she did not change her writing voice when doing so - she simply told us what the story was like from another character's mind. And while some of them rang more true than others (I never did get a good grip on the children, especially perhaps the daughter) it's largely a minor flaw. It reads more as a chorus than a series of solos, and the harmonies are funny, insightful and, at times, shocking.

Your typical family, in other words.

Good stuff. Pick it up and enjoy it!

[Debie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My god. This book. This author. ALL THE WORDS. Test of a true literary love when my margins are nearly artwork with thoughts, musings, connections brought about by the words I am reading. So in love with this author and her ability to delve into the smallest detail with such clarity and insight.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read--and a great book club book--with the perfect balance of humor and depth. Barbecue, tattooing, the meaning of life...it's all in there!

[Patricia E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sooner or later almost everyone is hit by lightening, if not literally than metaphorically, and lives are turned upside down and inside out. In Mary Kay Zuravleff’s smart, masterfully crafted, and multi-layered new novel, the strike is literal, but the after effects on Owen Lerner (a metaphorically appropriate last name) and his family could be the after effects of any major catastrophic event on any middle-class U.S. family. The fact that so many families have been and are struggling to overcome the consequences of unexpectedly lost jobs and incomes right now seems to make the novel especially timely. Lerner’s challenges include his personal struggle to heal from his physical wounds, which include brain injuries, since his whole nervous system was literally fried, another touch that looms large metaphorically, as well as to figure out how he will resume “normal” life with whatever changes as a result of the strike are permanent. Understandably this at first requires most of his attention most of the time, and this entirely alters family dynamics. The people who have been mainly reliant upon him now must chiefly take care of him. That there will be ripple effects is predictable and therein is the painful but compelling, and at times very funny, tale. MKZ recounts it from every family members’ angle, laying out the nature of the ripples and how each person and the family, which also consists of Lerner’s wife and their three children, as a whole tries to cope, adapt, continue and go on together. There are no easy answers and the ending is not pat, but then…that is the nature of reality. When tested, when “shit happens,” people and families either struggle through the difficulties together or they break apart. You’ll have to read the book to find out what happens in this one.

[Marylou Cumberpatch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our book group read the two previous novels by this author so I was looking forward to her new novel, Man Alive. I pretty much read it in one sitting - I was bewitched by the characters! Mary Kay took a typical Bethesda, MD family and threw at them a weird random event - the dad was struck by lightning while they were on vacation in Rehobeth Beach. The resulting story is all at once beguiling, sad, comic and quirky - a MUST READ - especially if you have teenagers and live in the D.C. metro area!

The author came to our book group and what fun was that! She may come to your book group too if you email her at https://www.goodreads.com/author/show....

Mary Kay will be on the Kojo Nnamdi show on December 12.

[Lisa Gornick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man Alive! brings us a family as real and honest as those of your neighbors, your friends, and your own. In unsentimental prose, we learn about the struggles of a mother and three teen-aged children when the man they've all relied on is literally blown sky-high and lands utterly transformed: in a state of mind not unlike those of the young psychiatric patients he treats. The sexual awakenings and risk taking of the adolescents are portrayed with an unflinching honesty that ranges from painful honesty to terrifying to hilarious.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had zero point and zero likable characters. Not my cup of tea. Can’t wait for the bookclub discussion on this one.

[Alecia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts off in such a strong, powerful way, that I was tempted to give it 4 stars for the first half. But it petered out in the second half, and that was a disappointment. But what a beginning, and this author can write!

Dr. Owen Lerner, noted child psychiatrist, is feeding quarters in the parking meter when he is literally struck by lightening. The description of this event is so vivid and, at times scarily hilarious, that it alone is worth the reading of this book. His whole family is sent into free fall by the effect this bolt of lightening has on Owen. While his twin sons, daughter and wife wait for him to get back to normal from the greivous wounds he suffered, Owen is obsessed with barbecue and trying to recreate that moment when he is in the air due to the lightening, which he found transcendent. He is a changed man. His wife tends to him but is growing estranged, and his children are in pain. There are very good descriptions of family interactions and emotions. But the drama of all the family members tends to meander a bit as the novel progresses.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I found this book to be enjoyable. The author certainly has a way with words and I really enjoyed the writing. She made it easy for me to connect and empathize with the characters. I do wish she had included more about Ricky, or had altogether left out the couple of short scenes of him at school. I enjoyed his portion of the story but was left wanting more.

The ending also left me wanting more. The reader journeys with this family from perfection to rock bottom, without much resolution. We watch the Lerners struggle to cope with disaster and to find a new normal, only to be left with no sense of resolution.

I would definitely recommend this book, particularly to those who enjoy the journey.

[Helene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is stunning! I've never felt more alive! You really have to read this masterful work of art!
“Man Alive! is all pleasure, even as the Lerner family suffers acutely. Mary Kay Zuravleff's novel delivers the particular pleasure of the thing perfectly described. This is a book to share, reading sentences aloud to marvel at—how’d she come up with that! How does she know so much! How can she be so funny, and then so poignant, one, two, punch.”
—Jane Hamilton, author of A Map of the World and The Book of Ruth

[Joanna Hinton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you ML for recommending this. book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. A great read to start the new year 2014. The family dynamics and character insights and thoughts felt very authentic and were mesmerising. So much going on: twins, meds & drugs, asperger, myths, math, love, barbecues, family, college, Whole foods, Bethesda, & Rehobeth etc woven together and spell bounding. It's a keeper on my Kindle, and I want to read her other books. Wish I had a book group to share it with; I 'll be recommending to my friends. ***** :-)

[Kate Lemery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read, a real page turner. It’s a smart book, laced with symbolism and clever prose.
This story felt very real, and all the characters seemed like people I know. In particular, the author seems to have her pulse on the teenage/college age mind.

Despite the extraordinary situation of having a father/husband hit by lighting, this family acts in very ordinary, relatable ways. The author lays out both sides of the situation so well that I was torn as to what I hoped would happen by the end of the book.

I enjoyed this book so much I want to read the author’s earlier novels.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could only make it to page 143 or so. I grew up in the DC suburbs and was looking forward to reading it. Enjoyed the first few pages of the good doctor being electrocuted at Rehoboth Beach but it quickly grew stagnant and bogged down. I lost total interest in his change of personality and his return to "normalcy."

[Caroline Bock · Rating 4 out of 5]

MAN ALIVE is a terrific family drama of what happens to a family immediately after an almost incredible— but believably and vividly written trauma— happens to the father. If you are in a book club, this novel would give you much to talk about, some things to laugh about, and even barbeque to serve up to complement your meeting!

[Martha Anne Toll]

This book is terrific. It's brilliantly written--snappy sentences chocked full with surprising and inventive metaphors. A family drama that's very specific to the Lerners, and yet affecting and thought provoking for all of us.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so much fun -- I couldn't put it down. Mary Kay Zuravleff's colorful characters and on-the-spot descriptions never fail to entertain!

[Teacherbob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the way the confusion of the drawn out lighting scene came into focus as the story evolved.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

superb book. . .great characters and intriguing plot. . .her wry insights on family life remind me of a young Anne Tyler. . .good book club choice!!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the premise is wacky and the humor is fun, there was more relevance and introspection about family than I expected. This was an enjoyable surprise and a great choice for summer reading.

[Tara Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A refreshing and absorbing read that weaves wit and depth into the narrative with a deft hand. Zuravleff circles to each member of a family thrown into crisis by a freak accident that happens to the father, deepening the reader's understanding each time she comes back to a character. The pacing is expert, allowing for significant connection without getting bogged down in a morass of pity (or self-pity). There's both love and an eyes-open realism in this family, a knowledge that life is imperfect, but you still have to keep trying to stitch it together.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I did not exactly enjoy this book, I'm giving it 4 stars because the writing itself is actually quite good and the author did a good job of giving insight into each character and their dynamics as a family. The characters are not perfect people and I appreciate that. I think I would have liked this book more if there was more insight given into one of the characters (Ricky) and if perhaps there was more of a resolution at the end that tied everything together. Nonetheless, I acknowledge that, sometimes, that's just how relationships are - not fully resolved.

[Snow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the premise was wonderful. Show an audience what happens when one member of the family is struck by a traumatic event and how it affects everyone. The characters read as though there was some unknown backstory and I didn’t get a lead up to why they behaved how they did. I could see there were problems, but it felt like there needed to be more to build to it instead of just a leap to this behavior. The characters themselves were well written, especially the mother.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh god, I hated everything about this book. I actually didn't finish it. Only made it just past the halfway mark. The characters were annoying. I did not care about their plight. I found, at the beginning, the author was using big fancy words and being extra descriptive in places it didn't need it. What I did like was the knowledge about BBQ. I just happen to work in a smokehouse and enjoyed the way the author introduced the audience to some of the nuances of BBQ.

[Michelle Moss · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise is great and the first half of the book ha me hooked. The writing is very smart - lots of wordplay and witticisms. I just had a hard time with the characters, especially the twins. They didn't ring true to me. I also wondered about the daughter - there seemed to be a backstory there that was never revealed.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossing story of a family whose father gets struck by lightning. Do the Twins thrive after going away to college? Does the daughter survive a romance and the strain of gymnastics? Will his wife be able to hold it together? Mainly, what changes after a man has a bolt of lightning go through his body? I need to read more of her

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was interested in this book because of the description of being hit by lightning. I stayed with the book because the author is great at describing the thoughts and feelings of the four members of a family!

[Steven Groner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story threads were all over the place so reading was a bit uncomfortable at times. Upon reflection, Zuravleff accurately paints a portrait of modern family life- with all of its' messy complexity. Her bottom line is that families remain our primary line of defense even today.

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5: Man gets hit by lightning and propels his family into interesting scenarios...and then just leaves them there. Well-written, but suffers from death by character stagnation.