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Reunion
Heartbreak and hilarity come together in this story of a far-flung family reunited for one weekend by their father's death, by the author of the highly acclaimed The Fates Will Find Their Way.
Five minutes before her flight is set to take off, Kate Pulaski, failed screenwriter and newly-failed wife, learns that her estranged father killed himself. More shocked than saddened by the news, she reluctantly gives in to her older siblings' request that she join them--and 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 deceits are uncovered, 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)
Five minutes before her flight is set to take off, Kate Pulaski, failed screenwriter and newly-failed wife, learns that her estranged father killed himself. More shocked than saddened by the news, she reluctantly gives in to her older siblings' request that she join them--and 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 deceits are uncovered, 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)
288 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2014
87 people are currently reading
4467 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 370 reviews
May 19, 2018
How funny.. I know I read this book - I still own the hardcopy.
I can barely remember it..,so I don’t know what to rate it. Probably around 4 stars knowing me— right? Haha
Has this happened to anyone else?
I just bought another book though by this same author for $1.99 kindle special that Larry gave 5 stars.
It’s called “The Fates Will Find Their Way”.
I can barely remember it..,so I don’t know what to rate it. Probably around 4 stars knowing me— right? Haha
Has this happened to anyone else?
I just bought another book though by this same author for $1.99 kindle special that Larry gave 5 stars.
It’s called “The Fates Will Find Their Way”.
August 7, 2014
What is it that makes a reader love the writing of a particular author? I've never given it much thought. Obviously there's something about the story or the characters that simply entertains the reader. Upon reading Hannah Pittard's newest novel, I can't help but wonder if it's sometimes more than that. Is there something in a novel akin to melody that attracts the reader the same way music attracts the listener? Sure there are those authors whose stories I enjoy because of their clever plots or well-developed characters, but there are also authors whose words envelop me in this sense of calm and wonder. Bernard Malamud is one such author. Hannah Pittard is another.
Pittard's debut, The Fates Will Find Their Way was beautiful. I loved being wrapped up in that book. Yet, the story wasn't there. To this day I can tell you some of the scenes and lines that captured me, but I can't really tell you what happened in the story. Feeling unsatisfied, I ached to read more of her work.
Reunion sacrifices some of the beauty in exchange for more plot. It's a good trade. The wonderfully drawn images are still sprinkled throughout, but this time there's a memorable story serving as the backbone of the novel. Kate Pulaski* is a 30-something-year-old woman who, in the three days this novel takes place, discovers herself. It's your basic coming-of-age story except it's so much more real and the cast of characters are so quirky and wonderful. Maybe it's only more real to me because I'm more of a Pulaski; maybe one day soon, I'll realize who I am and who I want to be. Maybe that explains why I was so emotionally wrapped up in the story. Or perhaps that should be chalked up to the author's talents at weaving a wonderful tale.
I don't know how else to say it but that I hang on the words of Hannah Pittard. I'm not sure how others read her work, if they get the same feeling or not. Maybe if they hear the same beat and melody that I do, they'll understand what it is I love about the writing. It's all aesthetics, I guess. I eagerly await to hear more. Play on, Hannah.
_____
*The name was a hang up at first. Kate Pulaski? As in Dr. Katherine Pulaski of the starship Enterprise-D who heinously took our beloved Dr. Crusher away for one season? In the whole of the Trek universe, she was a relatively minor character, but she was significant enough that her face comes immediately to mind upon hearing her name. I'm not sure it was the best choice for a name; fortunately, Pittard's Pulaski bore so little similarity to Picard's Pilaski that I was largely able to disassociate the two. And I certainly liked this Kate Pulaski much better.
Pittard's debut, The Fates Will Find Their Way was beautiful. I loved being wrapped up in that book. Yet, the story wasn't there. To this day I can tell you some of the scenes and lines that captured me, but I can't really tell you what happened in the story. Feeling unsatisfied, I ached to read more of her work.
Reunion sacrifices some of the beauty in exchange for more plot. It's a good trade. The wonderfully drawn images are still sprinkled throughout, but this time there's a memorable story serving as the backbone of the novel. Kate Pulaski* is a 30-something-year-old woman who, in the three days this novel takes place, discovers herself. It's your basic coming-of-age story except it's so much more real and the cast of characters are so quirky and wonderful. Maybe it's only more real to me because I'm more of a Pulaski; maybe one day soon, I'll realize who I am and who I want to be. Maybe that explains why I was so emotionally wrapped up in the story. Or perhaps that should be chalked up to the author's talents at weaving a wonderful tale.
I don't know how else to say it but that I hang on the words of Hannah Pittard. I'm not sure how others read her work, if they get the same feeling or not. Maybe if they hear the same beat and melody that I do, they'll understand what it is I love about the writing. It's all aesthetics, I guess. I eagerly await to hear more. Play on, Hannah.
_____
*The name was a hang up at first. Kate Pulaski? As in Dr. Katherine Pulaski of the starship Enterprise-D who heinously took our beloved Dr. Crusher away for one season? In the whole of the Trek universe, she was a relatively minor character, but she was significant enough that her face comes immediately to mind upon hearing her name. I'm not sure it was the best choice for a name; fortunately, Pittard's Pulaski bore so little similarity to Picard's Pilaski that I was largely able to disassociate the two. And I certainly liked this Kate Pulaski much better.
November 4, 2014
This short little gem of a novel took me part of a night and some an afternoon to finish. The main character's father has just passed away (by suicide) and she and her two siblings are going to meet to settle things. Their father is a rather unlikable man with a parade of ex wives and a history of infidelity. Our main character and her two siblings take a firm belief against any sort of infidelity in their lives. But each of these siblings is harboring some sort of secret, and by the end of the weekend, all will be sorted out. This story did a wonderful job of moving along while keeping my interest, and developed the characters enough to have me care about them. Even the side characters, such as Joyce, were colorful and fun to read about. This was definitely one of the better books I have read this year!
November 26, 2014
There is no good way to pigeonhole this book, or even to describe it, except to say that the narrator's voice is one of the most unique I've stumbled on in fiction--funny and sassy, yet vulnerable, unreliable yet engaging. This is a woman who has made perhaps every mistake in the book, and yet you'll find yourself rooting for her as she joins her family to bury their father, who had multiple families. Amazingly, despite the dark comedy, this book also moved me to tears, because there are some deep emotions on the page here and some wise philosophy about what it means to love and cherish your family. Brilliant.
August 21, 2016
Dysfunctional family stories are nothing new, so for one to stand out, it has to be pretty damn good. Not surprisingly, Hannah Pittard was up to the task.
I read this after reading and loving Listen to Me, and I'm struck by how different it is — it's funnier, it's lighter, the plot is more conventional — and yet it still feels very Hannah Pittard. Which is to say, her insights and emotional honesty resonated with me.
Kate Pulaski, the flawed first-person narrator of Reunion, is perhaps one of my favorite protagonists in recent memory. She's a pathological liar. A cheater. She's emotionally stunted. She's financially irresponsible. She even just wet the bed at the age of 34. And yet, she's so witty and self-aware and brutally candid that I couldn't help but love her — and it's not always easy to make a flawed character likable.
Kate's on the brink of breaking up with her husband when her estranged father commits suicide and she reluctantly flies home to Atlanta for his funeral. The bulk of the novel is Kate dealing with her initial grief alongside her two beloved siblings and her four (yes four) former stepmothers — one of whom is her age.
But Reunion is never exhausting or maudlin in spite of its sad premise. It's relentlessly funny and amusing, much like a Jonathan Tropper novel or even Garden State minus the mawkishness and the manic pixie dream girl. The feeling that the plot has already been done before is the only thing that knocks this down half a star for me, however the characters are still distinct.
Hannah Pittard is one of those writers who just works for me. When you find one like that, it's a real treat. I can't wait to read more of her books.
I read this after reading and loving Listen to Me, and I'm struck by how different it is — it's funnier, it's lighter, the plot is more conventional — and yet it still feels very Hannah Pittard. Which is to say, her insights and emotional honesty resonated with me.
Kate Pulaski, the flawed first-person narrator of Reunion, is perhaps one of my favorite protagonists in recent memory. She's a pathological liar. A cheater. She's emotionally stunted. She's financially irresponsible. She even just wet the bed at the age of 34. And yet, she's so witty and self-aware and brutally candid that I couldn't help but love her — and it's not always easy to make a flawed character likable.
Kate's on the brink of breaking up with her husband when her estranged father commits suicide and she reluctantly flies home to Atlanta for his funeral. The bulk of the novel is Kate dealing with her initial grief alongside her two beloved siblings and her four (yes four) former stepmothers — one of whom is her age.
But Reunion is never exhausting or maudlin in spite of its sad premise. It's relentlessly funny and amusing, much like a Jonathan Tropper novel or even Garden State minus the mawkishness and the manic pixie dream girl. The feeling that the plot has already been done before is the only thing that knocks this down half a star for me, however the characters are still distinct.
Hannah Pittard is one of those writers who just works for me. When you find one like that, it's a real treat. I can't wait to read more of her books.
November 4, 2014
In many ways, Reunion explores the secrets we keep from ourselves and from the people who think they know us best. Kate, Elliot and Nell are close, but there are still cracks in the foundation of their relationships with one another. I thought Reunion did a great job at exploring how complicated family can be - how you can love and hate someone at the same time and the tangled mess of growing up, getting older and drifting apart.
It all felt a bit flat to me, and I wanted there to be more! I had no emotional reaction to what I was reading, and I wasn't invested in anything that was happening. The chapter titles also summarize exactly what's about to happen in the chapter, and I found it really odd. I mean, why would I read the chapter if you've basically just told me what happens in it? For example, "Peter comes to the airport," "Sasha comes to fetch us," "cooking dinner, getting drunk," etc. I really didn't like being told what was about to happen.
Unfortunately, I wasn't connected to the characters at all. I wanted to tell Kate to grow up - she was annoying me so much, and I didn't feel any sympathy for her. And I felt like everyone else was a bit two-dimensional. They were present, but I couldn't tell you much about them.
It was a very quick read, but I couldn't help wondering if I would have liked it better if there was just a bit "more" to it. I loved Pittard's writing style, but the premise and plot felt very predictable. In a way, it read more like literary fiction to me - it explored the ties that bind and the tensions that break, but I didn't feel like I really understood the purpose of what I was reading. For a short book, it feels like the story meanders around and has no point to it. Sadly, it was ultimately a forgettable read for me.
See my full review on So Obsessed With!
It all felt a bit flat to me, and I wanted there to be more! I had no emotional reaction to what I was reading, and I wasn't invested in anything that was happening. The chapter titles also summarize exactly what's about to happen in the chapter, and I found it really odd. I mean, why would I read the chapter if you've basically just told me what happens in it? For example, "Peter comes to the airport," "Sasha comes to fetch us," "cooking dinner, getting drunk," etc. I really didn't like being told what was about to happen.
Unfortunately, I wasn't connected to the characters at all. I wanted to tell Kate to grow up - she was annoying me so much, and I didn't feel any sympathy for her. And I felt like everyone else was a bit two-dimensional. They were present, but I couldn't tell you much about them.
It was a very quick read, but I couldn't help wondering if I would have liked it better if there was just a bit "more" to it. I loved Pittard's writing style, but the premise and plot felt very predictable. In a way, it read more like literary fiction to me - it explored the ties that bind and the tensions that break, but I didn't feel like I really understood the purpose of what I was reading. For a short book, it feels like the story meanders around and has no point to it. Sadly, it was ultimately a forgettable read for me.
See my full review on So Obsessed With!
July 19, 2014
I stayed up until three in the morning finishing Reunion by Hannah Pittard. I could not stop reading it. Kate Pulaski is a screenwriter who is washed up and has just made a mess of her marriage. When I started this book, I was amazed at how much I didn’t like the main character. She is a perpetual liar, she spends money without the thought of tomorrow, she is very manipulative and critical of others, and she hates her dad. So, why didn’t I want to stop reading? The author is amazing, she hooked me without my knowing it and I think that she could do this to any reader.
At the beginning of the story, Kate was ready on a plane already that had been delayed and she gets a phone call telling her that her dad had died, that he had shot himself. Her brother and sister want her to come to her dad’s house, she doesn’t even want to do that. But she does end up on a plane to Atlanta, her hometown. Over four days, her secrets and her brother and sister’s emerge, she learns that she is similar the man she hated, her father. The four days are filled with emotional turmoil and painful lessons, and discovery and when all this is revealed, I began to understand her, why she acted the way she did and how she stopped hiding from herself. The more that she stopped deceiving herself and started to challenge others, the more I liked her.
This book is an emotional journey that I was reluctant to take because of what I knew of Kate at the beginning but I found myself so wrapped up in her self-exploration and courage to face the truth that I could not lay the book down, I had to know what was going to become of Kate. Now I want to read more of Hannah Pittard’s books.
I received this Advance Reading Copy as a win from FirstReads but that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in this review.
September 19, 2014
I'm completely in awe of Hannah Pittard, a writer I've been following for years. This book is so honest and beautiful.
January 2, 2015
Sometimes in your reading life you just need first person narration. I needed all of Kate's "I's". Sometimes you also need a dysfunctional family...this book delivered that, too. And Pittard did a great job of pulling you in with the opening line:
"On June 16, at roughly eight thirty in the morning, I get the phone call that my father is dead."
Well, you have to keep reading after that, at least I did.
Kate's life is pretty well in shambles before she finds out about her father's suicide and before her siblings tell her she has to travel to Atlanta for the funeral -- which will also involve coming face-to-face with her four stepmothers and many half-siblings. As Kate haphazardly deals with her disastrous life, she also comes to terms with her relationship with her father.
This is a quick read and a good one for discussion. There's sibling relationships, adultery, childhood issues, and so much more. It's kind of the less-funny, more serious version of This is Where I Leave You.
"On June 16, at roughly eight thirty in the morning, I get the phone call that my father is dead."
Well, you have to keep reading after that, at least I did.
Kate's life is pretty well in shambles before she finds out about her father's suicide and before her siblings tell her she has to travel to Atlanta for the funeral -- which will also involve coming face-to-face with her four stepmothers and many half-siblings. As Kate haphazardly deals with her disastrous life, she also comes to terms with her relationship with her father.
This is a quick read and a good one for discussion. There's sibling relationships, adultery, childhood issues, and so much more. It's kind of the less-funny, more serious version of This is Where I Leave You.
July 15, 2015
REUNION is an emotional journey that I was at first, hesitant to take because of what I knew of Kate at the beginning but I found myself so wrapped up in her self-exploration and courage to face the truth that I could not put REUNION down, I had to know what was going to become of Kate. Now I want to read more of Hannah Pittard. Be prepared not to do anything else once you start reading REUNION. Hannah Pittard is going to pull you right in and never let you go. Your time reading is going to fly by and you become emotionally invested in all of these characters.
Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 20, 2014
Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
The literary canon is full of novels about family dysfunction, with more than a few books focusing on the challenges which ensue when family members come together to mourn the death of one of their own. Sometimes hijinks ensue (such as in Jonathan Tropper's superlative This is Where I Leave You), and other times, things turn out infinitely more maudlin.
Hannah Pittard's new novel, Reunion, falls somewhere squarely between the two. Kate Pulaski is a screenwriter struggling both professionally and personally. Her marriage is dissolving (and she's not sure just how upset she is about that) and she is trying to dig herself out of a great deal of debt. Just before her flight home to Chicago is about to take off, she learns that her estranged and oft-married father has committed suicide.
While this is shocking, she is even more surprised to learn that Elliot and Nell, her older brother and sister, are heading to Atlanta, where they all grew up, to go to the funeral and try to figure out what caused their father to kill himself, despite the fact that none of them had seen him for several years. And worse than that, they expect Kate to join them.
"I have a quick, searing feeling that the entire weekend is going to be a series of still lifes starring me and my siblings standing awkwardly three abreast, each of us waiting for one of the others to make the first move."
The siblings reunite and get together with Sasha, their father's fifth wife (who happens to be around the same age as them) and the daughter of their six-year-old half-sister. Of course, their father's suicide isn't the only thing weighing them down emotionally. Elliot has fears that his own marriage might be falling apart, Nell is unhappy with her own life, and Kate has a number of issues—not the least of which are her drinking problem, her inability to tell the truth, and her tendency to say whatever she wants, no matter who it might hurt.
As Kate, Elliot, and Nell deal with their own problems, and their unresolved feelings about their father, they also must navigate the presence of Sasha and Mindy, as well as the envy, jealousy, and childhood rivalries that once again rear their ugly heads. And how they deal with these issues may have a profound effect on their lives and their relationships with each other.
Much as in Pittard's first novel, the fantastic The Fates Will Find Their Way, her beautiful prose and storytelling talent are on full display in Reunion. While there certainly are emotionally charged scenes in the book, it's not particularly depressing, and in fact, Pittard shows glimpses of a dark humor from time to time. Kate is quite an unsympathetic character (although it's easy to understand why), but her behavior is a bit like watching a car wreck—it's upsetting but you can't seem to look away. It takes a talented writer to sustain your interest in, and your enjoyment of, characters who aren't particularly likeable, ones you'd like to shake a time or two.
My father died unexpectedly in May, and while that incident caused tremendous upheaval in my life and those of my mother and siblings, reading Reunion I felt that no matter what challenges we dealt with, we clearly weren't in bad shape compared to the Pulaski family. This is a complex book, but an enjoyable and emotionally complex one. Definitely makes you think how you'd handle the same situations.
The literary canon is full of novels about family dysfunction, with more than a few books focusing on the challenges which ensue when family members come together to mourn the death of one of their own. Sometimes hijinks ensue (such as in Jonathan Tropper's superlative This is Where I Leave You), and other times, things turn out infinitely more maudlin.
Hannah Pittard's new novel, Reunion, falls somewhere squarely between the two. Kate Pulaski is a screenwriter struggling both professionally and personally. Her marriage is dissolving (and she's not sure just how upset she is about that) and she is trying to dig herself out of a great deal of debt. Just before her flight home to Chicago is about to take off, she learns that her estranged and oft-married father has committed suicide.
While this is shocking, she is even more surprised to learn that Elliot and Nell, her older brother and sister, are heading to Atlanta, where they all grew up, to go to the funeral and try to figure out what caused their father to kill himself, despite the fact that none of them had seen him for several years. And worse than that, they expect Kate to join them.
"I have a quick, searing feeling that the entire weekend is going to be a series of still lifes starring me and my siblings standing awkwardly three abreast, each of us waiting for one of the others to make the first move."
The siblings reunite and get together with Sasha, their father's fifth wife (who happens to be around the same age as them) and the daughter of their six-year-old half-sister. Of course, their father's suicide isn't the only thing weighing them down emotionally. Elliot has fears that his own marriage might be falling apart, Nell is unhappy with her own life, and Kate has a number of issues—not the least of which are her drinking problem, her inability to tell the truth, and her tendency to say whatever she wants, no matter who it might hurt.
As Kate, Elliot, and Nell deal with their own problems, and their unresolved feelings about their father, they also must navigate the presence of Sasha and Mindy, as well as the envy, jealousy, and childhood rivalries that once again rear their ugly heads. And how they deal with these issues may have a profound effect on their lives and their relationships with each other.
Much as in Pittard's first novel, the fantastic The Fates Will Find Their Way, her beautiful prose and storytelling talent are on full display in Reunion. While there certainly are emotionally charged scenes in the book, it's not particularly depressing, and in fact, Pittard shows glimpses of a dark humor from time to time. Kate is quite an unsympathetic character (although it's easy to understand why), but her behavior is a bit like watching a car wreck—it's upsetting but you can't seem to look away. It takes a talented writer to sustain your interest in, and your enjoyment of, characters who aren't particularly likeable, ones you'd like to shake a time or two.
My father died unexpectedly in May, and while that incident caused tremendous upheaval in my life and those of my mother and siblings, reading Reunion I felt that no matter what challenges we dealt with, we clearly weren't in bad shape compared to the Pulaski family. This is a complex book, but an enjoyable and emotionally complex one. Definitely makes you think how you'd handle the same situations.
June 14, 2015
I was nervous to read this, only because Pittard's debut, The Fates Will Find Their Way, was by far my favorite book of 2011. All too often you read something amazing by an author and then are let down by their other books (e.g., anything by George Orwell other than 'Animal Farm' and '1984'). But 'Reunion', while completely different than Pittard's debut, is also excellent. Where 'The Fates Will Find Their Way' succeeded because of how incredibly haunting it was, this book is excellent because of how brutally honest it feels.
July 3, 2017
It's no secret that I'm a fangirl when it comes to Hannah Pittard books. She is perfection and writes books that read like dreamy artsy fartsy indie movies. There are paragraphs that take your breath away and leave you in a puddle of tears. The main character is so deeply flawed and unlikable, but you keep rooting for her to get her shit together. Hannah Pittard gets people like no other author I've read and reading Reunion is like taking a voyeuristic trip to Atlanta with a dysfunctional family for a funeral. It's dark as one would expect from a story centered around a funeral, and the journey is so satisfying even if the end doesn't give concrete details about what happens to all the characters. No epilogue needed to explain where the characters end up in a year or two. That's left up to us readers, some might hate when authors do this, but in the hands of Hannah Pittard, this works perfectly.
July 26, 2014
3.5 Pittard brings the reader inside of a family reuniting after their Father's suicide. A rather familiar plot but it is the well drawn characters that drew me into this story. That father , a many times married man has left numerous ex-wives and various children who feel about him many different things.
This is mainly the story of Kate, who with Elliot and Nell are the original children whose mother died when Kate was young. These older children have many different issues in their private lives that spill over into this reunion . The author does a wonderful job of conveying the complicated matters that make up a family, the chaotic relationships that can evolve between siblings. Although Kate in her thirties it was interesting watching her change from a self involved individual to a more caring and honest person.
Tis is a real and honest story of grief, of self-realization and of the many things from the past that can form a person's character.
Getting over it, acquiring understanding and growing as a person in spite of the many difficult moments that makes up a life made this book a very interesting and entertaining read.
ARC from librarything and publisher.
This is mainly the story of Kate, who with Elliot and Nell are the original children whose mother died when Kate was young. These older children have many different issues in their private lives that spill over into this reunion . The author does a wonderful job of conveying the complicated matters that make up a family, the chaotic relationships that can evolve between siblings. Although Kate in her thirties it was interesting watching her change from a self involved individual to a more caring and honest person.
Tis is a real and honest story of grief, of self-realization and of the many things from the past that can form a person's character.
Getting over it, acquiring understanding and growing as a person in spite of the many difficult moments that makes up a life made this book a very interesting and entertaining read.
ARC from librarything and publisher.
May 12, 2025
Funny little book.. I laughed out loud several times. Real life look into grief and not always having our shit figured out.
July 16, 2014
I absolutely adored The Fates Will Find Their Way and I have been waiting for a followup ever since. So, when I saw that Pittard's second novel was on its way, I had to scrounge up an ARC. I then quickly devoured the book in one sitting and let it sit in my mind for a while. After some thought, I'll say a couple of things about the book without spoiling any plot points:
It's a good book with very solid writing that kept me interested throughout and pushed me along to the ending, which unfortunately was just ok. The characters are a little bit cliche and sometimes two dimensional, and the plot is somewhat predictable and mundane. It's basically a bildunsgroman about a 30-something who, through the death of her estranged father, finally finds out who she is and what she wants in life. As said, the writing is superb and expected from Pittard, but the premise and execution of the plot fall a bit flat. This is still a good quick read and I will not damn it in any way. I think I was maybe just expecting a bit more considering how phenomenal her debut was. So it's not quite a sophomore slump, but not quite a knockout.
October 27, 2015
Hannah Pittard grabbed me by the throat with her debut, THE FATES WILL FIND THEIR WAY, and I must have blacked out from the force of it because I somehow missed that she wrote this second wonderful book since then (with a third on the way!) FATES was a tour-de-force, written entirely in the second person, haunting, dreamlike, and melancholic. REUNION is sassy, biting, and playful. Both books feature enigmatic female protagonists and are about growing up, about loss and maturity, but you'd never know they were written by the same author. Pittard is a virtuoso, a first-rate storyteller who playfully integrates autobiographical authenticity and metaphor in moving ways. I was touched by the sibling bonds in REUNION, at the way shared experience becomes reference becomes in-joke and shorthand and love. It made me want to spend more time with my brother and simultaneously spend more time with this book. If Ms. Pittard's third one is anywhere near this good, I might have to make room in my top 5 living authors list. Nick Hornby, you've been warned.
August 1, 2015
I loved this book. I also really liked her previous book so it's not that big a surprise, except that this one resonated with me on such a personal level. There are no parallels between Kate's family and mine, yet Pittard's rendering of the sibling bond in a family that is disjointed by a parent's early death was spot on, even and especially the fact that there is an irrevocable difference between those who were older and those who were younger. I also loved the self-relfective tone of the narrator. Imagined as a screenwriter, Kate, the narrator, seamlessly contrasts the various possibilities with the actual reality making her noisy brain our collective noisy brain. In light of so many unreliable narrators out there, I loved that this narrator was as reliable as they come, more reliable, in fact, to us than those in the story, must like life itself. Go, do and gratify by reading this book.
June 2, 2017
This is such a lousy book-you have no idea. I debated about writing a review for it because it is just that lousy.The writing is atrocious;it's repetitive to the nth degree.She keeps saying the exact same thing over and over again-in the SAME bloody sentence.
There is NOTHING credible about this woman who has .. was it $47 in the bank. So she spends $45 on getting drunk. Let's be clear here. Someone who is that broke does not buy a plane ticket on someone else's tab and then NOT worry that she doesn't have the return ticket.
This is the story of a spoilt brat who tries desperately hard to be "Zaney" knowing full well that her wealthy family is going to dig her out of this mess and she's going to diddle and daddle her way off into the horizon.
Stupid book. Not funny. Not serious. Not anything at all except a big fat waste of time. JM
There is NOTHING credible about this woman who has .. was it $47 in the bank. So she spends $45 on getting drunk. Let's be clear here. Someone who is that broke does not buy a plane ticket on someone else's tab and then NOT worry that she doesn't have the return ticket.
This is the story of a spoilt brat who tries desperately hard to be "Zaney" knowing full well that her wealthy family is going to dig her out of this mess and she's going to diddle and daddle her way off into the horizon.
Stupid book. Not funny. Not serious. Not anything at all except a big fat waste of time. JM
October 25, 2014
I really loved the way this author wrote this book. She hooked you from the first sentence to the last! It was a story of a somewhat dysfunctional family each going through their own shared and personal drama. The characters were each someone you could look around in your life and find someone just like them. I would definitely read more by this author. Very glad I was given the opportunity to be introduced to her writing through the First Reads program!
June 6, 2022
When you’re like “oh this book looks summery” and then it turns out to be a dead dad story featuring three siblings told from the POV of the very flawed youngest who is a girl named Kate. *laughs nervously*
I know this is space for a review but mostly this book just made me miss having two living siblings to lean on when I’m being the ~crazy youngest~.
I know this is space for a review but mostly this book just made me miss having two living siblings to lean on when I’m being the ~crazy youngest~.
September 17, 2014
Kate, along with her two siblings Nell and Eliot are traveling to Atlanta for their father's funeral after an unexpected death. Their father, the seasoned philanderer leaves behind a trail of wives and children from the five marriages he had since his first, to their mother. Feeling like they are the 'original family' they have stayed out of contact with their father and half-siblings. As the family gathers, trouble is brewing, as each has secrets they are keeping from each other. Bogged down with extreme debt, Kate has also cheated on her loyal therapist husband Peter, the man who affords her the good life and wants more, children. With her siblings severely against the very idea of infidelity, which smells too much like their lusty father, Kate is terrified of revealing her 'sin'. Straight away this is going to make readers dislike her, because we don't see a lot of remorse. I actually prefer this in the character, what we feel compared to how we're supposed to feel about our mistakes. Take a cheating woman and immediately the minds close and out goes compassion from other women, and men. Cheating could be tied to her father, or it could be the result of a woman who hasn't fully come into herself and grown up, who is pressured into being told what to want by her husband. Peter has changed his mind about having a child, something they decided they wouldn't do before marrying. Naturally, he had been pushing his will on her because 'she doesn't really know what she wants, until she has a child, which of course she will want when she has one'. Interesting, because maybe just maybe some people don't want to be parents, aren't ready and won't ever be. Why this is such an affront to those with children? I can understand her resenting her husband and looking for escape, she just chose an affair. Stupid, wrong- sure but certainly a human reaction. I love children, I have children, but do I feel the need to convince those who don't want them into having them? No way, never. Don't have children just because someone else wants one, they're not puppies. Okay rant aside, I felt that had to be addressed.
I liked this mess of a character that so many readers are going to judge harshly. She is out of control, an often cold little mess, but examine her life. I liked her because she is flawed and lost. Not all characters are meant to be nice and pure. It's easy to understand her siblings reaction when truths are exposed but more because they are thinking of the act in terms of their own situations. Now for Peter, lets dissect his wonderful qualities of saving her, of judging her and trying to force his will on her. Is that really good qualities? In fact, I didn't like him. Something about a spouse standing in high judgement over his 'inferior' mess of a woman just ate at me as a reader. Maybe a lesson too, aside from the merits of being faithful, should be not to try and save someone from themselves. It seemed he did some underhanded things, but of course people may miss this because it is always 'well meaning'. What's the famous saying? "God save us from people who mean well." - Vikram Seth Usually, it's more about what they intend for themselves, with no regard about our own growth and needs. I felt that way about Peter. Am I the only one? And communicating with her through everyone else? That's a well rounded person?
Before it's over, she has lessons to learn, things to face and maybe a chance to open herself up to the trail of children her father left behind. Leftovers, her father's leftovers may just have meaning in her life. She will open her eyes to the younger children seeing that maybe they too are hurting. It is a slow process, but she will begin to crack. And maybe along the way her siblings have some growing and confessions of their own. Likable or not, she is all too human.
I liked this mess of a character that so many readers are going to judge harshly. She is out of control, an often cold little mess, but examine her life. I liked her because she is flawed and lost. Not all characters are meant to be nice and pure. It's easy to understand her siblings reaction when truths are exposed but more because they are thinking of the act in terms of their own situations. Now for Peter, lets dissect his wonderful qualities of saving her, of judging her and trying to force his will on her. Is that really good qualities? In fact, I didn't like him. Something about a spouse standing in high judgement over his 'inferior' mess of a woman just ate at me as a reader. Maybe a lesson too, aside from the merits of being faithful, should be not to try and save someone from themselves. It seemed he did some underhanded things, but of course people may miss this because it is always 'well meaning'. What's the famous saying? "God save us from people who mean well." - Vikram Seth Usually, it's more about what they intend for themselves, with no regard about our own growth and needs. I felt that way about Peter. Am I the only one? And communicating with her through everyone else? That's a well rounded person?
Before it's over, she has lessons to learn, things to face and maybe a chance to open herself up to the trail of children her father left behind. Leftovers, her father's leftovers may just have meaning in her life. She will open her eyes to the younger children seeing that maybe they too are hurting. It is a slow process, but she will begin to crack. And maybe along the way her siblings have some growing and confessions of their own. Likable or not, she is all too human.
October 24, 2014
Hannah Pittard’s REUNION is an emotional and moving novel; with brutal honesty and insights into family dysfunction—with all the grief and pain, mixed with humor and wit.
Kate is a struggling screenwriter and pretty much out of work for the summer. She happens to be at the airport, when receiving a call from her brother that their father has committed suicide and she needs to come home to Atlanta for the funeral. This news has left her pretty much emotionless and numb.
You see, her family is not a traditional one. In fact, her father has been married five times. (her mom is deceased and the original family consists of Kate, Elliott, and Nell). However, there are so many ex-wives of all ages, from young to old, and half siblings she has not met; and her father did not know the meaning of the word “faithful”.
Kate does not even want to attend the funeral in Atlanta, as how can she pretend to have loved her father. She is very close to her sister and speaks to her brother when she can. Needless to say, Kate is not a happy camper. She is jaded, untrustworthy, sarcastic, cynical, and does not have a lot going on in her own life at the moment.
Her salary level is very low and with the months she is not working, she will have to find part time work or waiting tables. She is miserable in her marriage, had an affair, has blown through all her money she has made in her career, in debt with school loans, and credit cards, and the last place she wants to be is here with a bunch of pretentious southerners. Her husband has bailed her out of her credit card debt previously, but she can no longer count on him. How will she survive? However, her family does not know her issues, nor does she know what they are going through.
What makes REUNION work is the humor mixed with tragedy, and the dynamics of siblings, as sometimes things are not as they seem. There are always expectations with families, and in reality families do not really know one another.
Kate can only think of jealousy, being the youngest of the (original family), what she missed, what she did not receive, and what everyone else received. Then of course the other families. As Kate, Elliot, and Nell each deal with their own issues, and their unresolved feelings about their father, they also must deal with Sasha and Mindy, as well as their own childhood rivalries.
As Kate learns more about her family and actually takes a step back to listen, she realizes how self-centered she has been as, as everyone views things differently. How could she view her father in one light and her little sister thinks of him as wonderful? All of them have secrets they are hiding and only when they come clean can the healing begin.
I was reminded of the novel I Love You More by Jennifer Murphy (except there were three wives planning a murder). I listened to the audiobook and Julia Whelan’s voice mirrored Kate’s personality for a heartwarming family reunion.
Even though Kate was frustrating at times, the dark humor worked, as was glued to my iPod to learn the fate of this chaotic family. Having spent my entire adult life in Atlanta, enjoyed the comical references. This was my first book by Pittard, and look forward to reading more!
Kate is a struggling screenwriter and pretty much out of work for the summer. She happens to be at the airport, when receiving a call from her brother that their father has committed suicide and she needs to come home to Atlanta for the funeral. This news has left her pretty much emotionless and numb.
You see, her family is not a traditional one. In fact, her father has been married five times. (her mom is deceased and the original family consists of Kate, Elliott, and Nell). However, there are so many ex-wives of all ages, from young to old, and half siblings she has not met; and her father did not know the meaning of the word “faithful”.
Kate does not even want to attend the funeral in Atlanta, as how can she pretend to have loved her father. She is very close to her sister and speaks to her brother when she can. Needless to say, Kate is not a happy camper. She is jaded, untrustworthy, sarcastic, cynical, and does not have a lot going on in her own life at the moment.
Her salary level is very low and with the months she is not working, she will have to find part time work or waiting tables. She is miserable in her marriage, had an affair, has blown through all her money she has made in her career, in debt with school loans, and credit cards, and the last place she wants to be is here with a bunch of pretentious southerners. Her husband has bailed her out of her credit card debt previously, but she can no longer count on him. How will she survive? However, her family does not know her issues, nor does she know what they are going through.
What makes REUNION work is the humor mixed with tragedy, and the dynamics of siblings, as sometimes things are not as they seem. There are always expectations with families, and in reality families do not really know one another.
Kate can only think of jealousy, being the youngest of the (original family), what she missed, what she did not receive, and what everyone else received. Then of course the other families. As Kate, Elliot, and Nell each deal with their own issues, and their unresolved feelings about their father, they also must deal with Sasha and Mindy, as well as their own childhood rivalries.
As Kate learns more about her family and actually takes a step back to listen, she realizes how self-centered she has been as, as everyone views things differently. How could she view her father in one light and her little sister thinks of him as wonderful? All of them have secrets they are hiding and only when they come clean can the healing begin.
I was reminded of the novel I Love You More by Jennifer Murphy (except there were three wives planning a murder). I listened to the audiobook and Julia Whelan’s voice mirrored Kate’s personality for a heartwarming family reunion.
Even though Kate was frustrating at times, the dark humor worked, as was glued to my iPod to learn the fate of this chaotic family. Having spent my entire adult life in Atlanta, enjoyed the comical references. This was my first book by Pittard, and look forward to reading more!
July 16, 2014
Kate Pulaski has made an awful mess of her life, Her husband wants her gone, her screenwriting career is stalled (perhaps for good), she is deeply in debt and has no ready cash. Her life seems to have hit bottom, but there is one more nasty bombshell in store: her estranged, much-married father has killed himself, and her two older siblings, Nell and Elliot, are counting on her to join them in Atlanta to help wind up their father's affairs.
The agreeable surprise of Hannah Pittard's new novel is the unexpected charm of its lying, unreliable narrator, Kate. When her father embarked on his second, third, and fourth marriages, Kate was still living at home and bore the heaviest burden of resentful stepmothers and a steady stream of new half-siblings. Kate is self-aware enough to complain mightily of this unpleasant twist of her fate, but not self-aware enough to recognize how much her unreliable father has shaped her own character and choices. Kate is a curious mixture of volatility, self-deception, and paradoxical blunt honesty, and I found myself becoming surprisingly fond of her. Kate wants to be a better person. Kate is kind of clueless.
A second happy surprise was the way Pittard handled Sasha, the estranged fifth wife of the siblings' father. (It would be easier to refer to her as their stepmother, but it is hard to see her that way; she is younger than all of them). It's rare to see a novelist resist the temptation to make the May half of a May/December romance anything but a cartoon, but Sasha exudes a practical warmth and goodness that makes her easily the novel's most endearing character. In fact, in every way, Hannah Pittard resists cliches and easy answers for her characters. Her gift for creating fully-fleshed-out characters makes Kate's three-day sojourn in Atlanta a believable and refreshingly unusual journey to self-awareness.
Thank to Hachette Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this novel!
The agreeable surprise of Hannah Pittard's new novel is the unexpected charm of its lying, unreliable narrator, Kate. When her father embarked on his second, third, and fourth marriages, Kate was still living at home and bore the heaviest burden of resentful stepmothers and a steady stream of new half-siblings. Kate is self-aware enough to complain mightily of this unpleasant twist of her fate, but not self-aware enough to recognize how much her unreliable father has shaped her own character and choices. Kate is a curious mixture of volatility, self-deception, and paradoxical blunt honesty, and I found myself becoming surprisingly fond of her. Kate wants to be a better person. Kate is kind of clueless.
A second happy surprise was the way Pittard handled Sasha, the estranged fifth wife of the siblings' father. (It would be easier to refer to her as their stepmother, but it is hard to see her that way; she is younger than all of them). It's rare to see a novelist resist the temptation to make the May half of a May/December romance anything but a cartoon, but Sasha exudes a practical warmth and goodness that makes her easily the novel's most endearing character. In fact, in every way, Hannah Pittard resists cliches and easy answers for her characters. Her gift for creating fully-fleshed-out characters makes Kate's three-day sojourn in Atlanta a believable and refreshingly unusual journey to self-awareness.
Thank to Hachette Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this novel!
May 19, 2015
A short, darkly funny novel about three siblings--and their parade of ex-stepmothers and half-siblings--who come together after their father commits suicide.
I liked Pittard's prose and her sense of humor. The story benefited from a clever first person protagonist, and an interesting concept. However, it lagged in terms of character development, particularly for Sasha and Elliot. It's hard to help characters grow, change, or reveal new things in a novel that's set over the course of a few days. Even harder when they spend half of this already limited time giving the narrator the silent treatment. Still, you can't defend the merits of a relationship-driven novel where the reader doesn't have a good sense of what makes half of the major characters tick.
I liked Pittard's prose and her sense of humor. The story benefited from a clever first person protagonist, and an interesting concept. However, it lagged in terms of character development, particularly for Sasha and Elliot. It's hard to help characters grow, change, or reveal new things in a novel that's set over the course of a few days. Even harder when they spend half of this already limited time giving the narrator the silent treatment. Still, you can't defend the merits of a relationship-driven novel where the reader doesn't have a good sense of what makes half of the major characters tick.
June 29, 2016
I just finished reading this book and knew I had to review it while it is still fresh in my mind.
I knew I would love this book just by the cover, even though I know I'm not supposed to judge a book that way. I've always been interested in stories about familial relationships since I don't feel that I have a great one.
This book really spoke to me. I felt really connected to the main character and her relationship with her siblings. This story has a lot of things I look for when reading a book (humor, honesty, clarity, well rounded characters.) I didn't want it to end. This book has brought me happiness. I haven't read anything like this in a long time. I highly recommend reading this treasure of a book.
I knew I would love this book just by the cover, even though I know I'm not supposed to judge a book that way. I've always been interested in stories about familial relationships since I don't feel that I have a great one.
This book really spoke to me. I felt really connected to the main character and her relationship with her siblings. This story has a lot of things I look for when reading a book (humor, honesty, clarity, well rounded characters.) I didn't want it to end. This book has brought me happiness. I haven't read anything like this in a long time. I highly recommend reading this treasure of a book.
January 23, 2016
I couldn't tell if she was poking fun at Benihana or regards it as a legitimate dining experience? Maybe I just answered my own question. Who cares? I LOVE BENIHANA!!!!!!! I WILL ALWAYS LOVE BENIHANA!!!!
March 20, 2014
I loved this book! So real and simple and complete within it's narrrow scope of just a few days in the life of a family.
May 14, 2016
Just a so so book. It received many good reviews but I didn't see (read) anything special.
September 9, 2014
I loved this book. Kate is messed up, but there is so much room for redemption there.
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