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Strangers at the Feast
On Thanksgiving Day 2007, as the country teeters on the brink of a recession, three generations of the Olson family gather. Eleanor and Gavin worry about their daughter, a single academic, and her newly adopted Indian child, and about their son, who has been caught in the imploding real-estate bubble. While the Olsons navigate the tensions and secrets that mark their relationships, seventeen-year-old Kijo Jackson and his best friend Spider set out from the nearby housing projects on a mysterious job. A series of tragic events bring these two worlds ever closer, exposing the dangerously thin line between suburban privilege and urban poverty, and culminating in a crime that will change everyone’s life.
In her gripping new book, Jennifer Vanderbes masterfully lays bare the fraught lives of this complex cast of characters and the lengths to which they will go to protect their families. Strangers at the Feast is at once a heartbreaking portrait of a family struggling to find happiness and an exploration of the hidden costs of the American dream.
Published to international acclaim, Jennifer Vanderbes’s first book, Easter Island, was hailed as “one of those rare novels that appeals equally to heart, mind, and soul,” by the San Francisco Chronicle . In her second novel, this powerful writer reaches new heights of storytelling. This page-turner wrestles with the most important issues of our time—race, class, and above all else, family. Strangers at the Feast will leave readers haunted and deeply affected.
In her gripping new book, Jennifer Vanderbes masterfully lays bare the fraught lives of this complex cast of characters and the lengths to which they will go to protect their families. Strangers at the Feast is at once a heartbreaking portrait of a family struggling to find happiness and an exploration of the hidden costs of the American dream.
Published to international acclaim, Jennifer Vanderbes’s first book, Easter Island, was hailed as “one of those rare novels that appeals equally to heart, mind, and soul,” by the San Francisco Chronicle . In her second novel, this powerful writer reaches new heights of storytelling. This page-turner wrestles with the most important issues of our time—race, class, and above all else, family. Strangers at the Feast will leave readers haunted and deeply affected.
334 pages, Hardcover
First published July 16, 2010
24 people are currently reading
2145 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Vanderbes
6 books184 followersJennifer Vanderbes is an award-winning novelist, journalist and screenwriter whose work has been translated into sixteen languages.
Her first novel, Easter Island was named a "best book of 2003" by the Washington Post and Christian Science Monitor. Her second novel, Strangers At The Feast, was described by O, The Oprah Magazine as "a thriller that also raises large and haunting questions about the meaning of guilt, innocence, and justice." Her third novel, The Secret of Raven Point, was hailed as “unputdownable” (Vogue) and “gripping” (New York Times), and Library Journal wrote: “the only disappointing thing about this book is that it has to end."
Her first non-fiction book, Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims, is forthcoming from Random House and HarperCollins UK.
Her essays have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and The Atlantic, and her short fiction has appeared in Granta, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Best New American Voices.
Her books have received awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the New York Public Library. She was named a 2019-2020 NEH Public Scholar for her work on Wonder Drug.
Vanderbes received her B.A. in English Literature, Magna Cum Laude, from Yale and her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She lives in New York City with her two daughters.
Her facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Jenn...
Her first novel, Easter Island was named a "best book of 2003" by the Washington Post and Christian Science Monitor. Her second novel, Strangers At The Feast, was described by O, The Oprah Magazine as "a thriller that also raises large and haunting questions about the meaning of guilt, innocence, and justice." Her third novel, The Secret of Raven Point, was hailed as “unputdownable” (Vogue) and “gripping” (New York Times), and Library Journal wrote: “the only disappointing thing about this book is that it has to end."
Her first non-fiction book, Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims, is forthcoming from Random House and HarperCollins UK.
Her essays have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and The Atlantic, and her short fiction has appeared in Granta, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Best New American Voices.
Her books have received awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the New York Public Library. She was named a 2019-2020 NEH Public Scholar for her work on Wonder Drug.
Vanderbes received her B.A. in English Literature, Magna Cum Laude, from Yale and her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She lives in New York City with her two daughters.
Her facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Jenn...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 300 reviews
May 24, 2021
A comic but tragic story about a Thanksgiving dinner that goes wrong on so many levels. The complex character development gave me a strong affinity to these people; however, I thought some information (i.e. Douglas's ex-girlfriend and Gavin's extramarital affairs) lacked purpose. I loved the surprise ending - a twist that I didn't see coming! This was my first audiobook, so I was worried about how I would take to it, but the narration by Renee Raudman was quite pleasing. Her use of different voices/accents for each character seemed believable, in my opinion.
October 13, 2015
What is it about Thanksgiving that makes it such a juicy setting for a dysfunctional family gathering? This was good and I plan to write a review later...
September 18, 2018
Superb read for Thanksgiving or family gatherings! Ever hear somebody tell you how distant their ex is, how marrying said person - in retrospect - was just insane? And then you meet this ex at some function or other and find said dullard charming, kind, intelligent? Your perspective is entirely different!
Families are like that too sometimes, where one member has strong opinions about another, but truly does not know the loved one and has judged him or her far differently than others would.
The words "strangers" at the feast in this story has a double meaning.
Told from six alternating points of view, the voices belong to those who will come together one Thanksgiving day. Five of the characters are adult members of a single-family, a loving family with no abuse or awful dysfunction, all college-degreed, and loyal to those they love. Really, it could be any of our families.
Their individual stories, which meander back in time, are weaved together beautifully. Certain random things you might note in Eleanor's tale - a little anecdote that shows what a kindhearted woman she truly is - will pop up later in the remembrances of her daughter with entirely different meaning.
Ginny loves her father, a quietly dull insurance man, but assumes that his somewhat removed personality is because of his experiences in Vietnam. Despite being unmarried and childless, she is a professor of "family studies" and writes books about how wars like Vietnam have caused psycho logical impotence in the American man. Yet all she believes about this is based solely on her assessment of her dad. And she is wrong.
The one voice we hear that does not belong to this family unit is that of a 17-year-old boy whose life intersects that of the others. We know from exceptionally small snippets early on that a tragedy is going to occur on this day, but as we see Kiijo's various life experiences and the love he has for his grandmother, we do not know what the horror will be or why it will happen.
This book was an exceptionally good character study, and although I had to wait for the climactic event to occur, I did not tire of hearing their various tales. The ending did not wrap up in a way that totally satisfied me, but I give this a solid four stars.
Families are like that too sometimes, where one member has strong opinions about another, but truly does not know the loved one and has judged him or her far differently than others would.
The words "strangers" at the feast in this story has a double meaning.
Told from six alternating points of view, the voices belong to those who will come together one Thanksgiving day. Five of the characters are adult members of a single-family, a loving family with no abuse or awful dysfunction, all college-degreed, and loyal to those they love. Really, it could be any of our families.
Their individual stories, which meander back in time, are weaved together beautifully. Certain random things you might note in Eleanor's tale - a little anecdote that shows what a kindhearted woman she truly is - will pop up later in the remembrances of her daughter with entirely different meaning.
Ginny loves her father, a quietly dull insurance man, but assumes that his somewhat removed personality is because of his experiences in Vietnam. Despite being unmarried and childless, she is a professor of "family studies" and writes books about how wars like Vietnam have caused psycho logical impotence in the American man. Yet all she believes about this is based solely on her assessment of her dad. And she is wrong.
The one voice we hear that does not belong to this family unit is that of a 17-year-old boy whose life intersects that of the others. We know from exceptionally small snippets early on that a tragedy is going to occur on this day, but as we see Kiijo's various life experiences and the love he has for his grandmother, we do not know what the horror will be or why it will happen.
This book was an exceptionally good character study, and although I had to wait for the climactic event to occur, I did not tire of hearing their various tales. The ending did not wrap up in a way that totally satisfied me, but I give this a solid four stars.
February 22, 2011
American mythologizing of Thanksgiving is still perpetuated--the idea of goodwill between Indigenous Americans and European "pilgrims" and the lie that America was founded on cooperation and integrity rather than eminent domain and genocide. The myth of the first Thanksgiving shapes and parallels the thematic core of Vanderbes' new novel, a scathing, biting, and bitterly droll portrait of a suburban family that takes place on Thanksgiving 2007. It is no coincidence that Stamford Connecticut, the site of the massacre against hundreds of Pequots by Puritans (and the cause for the second Thanksgiving celebration), is the story's site of greedy real estate expansion and criminal expropriation under the deception of eminent domain and public safety.
On the one hand, this story of the Olsens can be read as a novel of a modern-day dysfunctional family in America. This includes a Yale graduate turned Vietnam vet (Gavin); Gavin's Wellesley grad wife, Eleanor, who spent her entire adult years as a housewife; their leftist academic daughter, Ginny, who majored in the history of the American family and who, as a single mother, adopted a mute, seven-year-old orphan from India; their son, Douglas, a real-estate entrepreneur on the verge of bankruptcy due to the subprime crash; and Douglas's wife, Denise, who escaped her blue-collar roots in Pittsburgh and desires a comfortable, upper-middle class comfort zone for them and their three children.
On the other hand, Vanderbes probes beneath the family itself and mines deep into the myths that underlie and underscore the American dream, as well as taking on issues of race, class, and the basis of war and the male warrior mentality.
The novel could be said to be a pastiche of Wharton, Franzen, Updike, Roth, Bellow, and other prolific writers of social criticism and the nuclear family. But Vanderbes puts her own thumbprint on this tragedy, especially with her creation of Eleanor Olsen. Eleanor is a shattering composite of strength and fragility, a fiercely loyal and upright wife and mother who is also a sad and fractured soul. There is a private moment between her and Gavin that centers on a singular opportunity for Eleanor to write professionally. It is so penetrating and heart-stopping that I had to put down the book and weep. Moreover, her palpable sense of exile throughout the story just blew me away.
"Her friend...noticed the same thing: this menopausal cloak of invisibility. They were a forsaken demographic...Still, she sometimes wished she had known that a time would come when the world would quietly brush her under the rug, suggest she kindly step out of its way."
As the family gathers at Douglas and Denise's McMansion in Greenwich, a crime invades their tenuous peace and shatters the shaky boundaries between the privileged and the poor, the dominant and the dislocated. And in this novel, the shock waves occur after the denouement. The climax is the cauldron and the anti-climax is the scorching segment of the story, the boiling spill that turns everything upside down.
This is a page-turner that reads like a domestic thriller. It isn't without its annoyances, such as Ginny's irritating and pedantic political correctness that borders on fanatic. However, the author has a purpose here and deals with it quite capably . Each person will surprise you; just when you think you are in-step with events and tuned into the characters, the narrative tilts and shifts you into a gear that simultaneously revs you up and brings you to a grinding halt. This is a savage must-read to feast on. The prose is tart; the words are edible.
On the one hand, this story of the Olsens can be read as a novel of a modern-day dysfunctional family in America. This includes a Yale graduate turned Vietnam vet (Gavin); Gavin's Wellesley grad wife, Eleanor, who spent her entire adult years as a housewife; their leftist academic daughter, Ginny, who majored in the history of the American family and who, as a single mother, adopted a mute, seven-year-old orphan from India; their son, Douglas, a real-estate entrepreneur on the verge of bankruptcy due to the subprime crash; and Douglas's wife, Denise, who escaped her blue-collar roots in Pittsburgh and desires a comfortable, upper-middle class comfort zone for them and their three children.
On the other hand, Vanderbes probes beneath the family itself and mines deep into the myths that underlie and underscore the American dream, as well as taking on issues of race, class, and the basis of war and the male warrior mentality.
The novel could be said to be a pastiche of Wharton, Franzen, Updike, Roth, Bellow, and other prolific writers of social criticism and the nuclear family. But Vanderbes puts her own thumbprint on this tragedy, especially with her creation of Eleanor Olsen. Eleanor is a shattering composite of strength and fragility, a fiercely loyal and upright wife and mother who is also a sad and fractured soul. There is a private moment between her and Gavin that centers on a singular opportunity for Eleanor to write professionally. It is so penetrating and heart-stopping that I had to put down the book and weep. Moreover, her palpable sense of exile throughout the story just blew me away.
"Her friend...noticed the same thing: this menopausal cloak of invisibility. They were a forsaken demographic...Still, she sometimes wished she had known that a time would come when the world would quietly brush her under the rug, suggest she kindly step out of its way."
As the family gathers at Douglas and Denise's McMansion in Greenwich, a crime invades their tenuous peace and shatters the shaky boundaries between the privileged and the poor, the dominant and the dislocated. And in this novel, the shock waves occur after the denouement. The climax is the cauldron and the anti-climax is the scorching segment of the story, the boiling spill that turns everything upside down.
This is a page-turner that reads like a domestic thriller. It isn't without its annoyances, such as Ginny's irritating and pedantic political correctness that borders on fanatic. However, the author has a purpose here and deals with it quite capably . Each person will surprise you; just when you think you are in-step with events and tuned into the characters, the narrative tilts and shifts you into a gear that simultaneously revs you up and brings you to a grinding halt. This is a savage must-read to feast on. The prose is tart; the words are edible.
August 23, 2010
This book had many echoes for me, preceded as it is by a massive literature of family interactions. Perhaps it is this week's cover of Time magazine carrying the picture of Jonathan Franzen, but The Corrections comes to mind, as does Ian McEwan's Saturday.
Strangers
is an in-depth look at an ordinary family, together on a holiday. The action takes place in one day, Thanksgiving, which has got to be one of the more stressful vacations ever invented for modern man. The holiday comes in the middle of the week, so we often carry stresses from work to the home of our family host. It is also the most travelled holiday for more people travel long distances for that one day than any other holiday on record. There are few among us who cannot claim to be members of dysfunctional families, and our willingness to subject ourselves to a reversion to old family interactions under the guise of "celebrating", "feasting", and "getting together" constantly amazes me. Sometimes it feels as though we feast on each other. This book shows how good intentions can go awry when families get together. The sense of forboding is strong throughout, and the tension builds as each family member's history is reviewed. The sadness and sense of loss we feel at the end, however, is totally unexpected, and filled with grace.
June 17, 2011
This book pulled together so many themes and characters exemplifying contemporary American life that I admire the author. It's Thanksgiving Day in upscale Connecticut, and two generations of the family, divided by terrible secrets, come together to share the holiday. A second set of characters are unwelcome guests, and one of the family empties a gun into the intruders.
Anyone of the family could have done it, but it's not the one you expect.
The richness lies in the characters, the father a repressed Vietnam vet, his dithery wife, a daughter who is a feminist scholar, and her brother who is teetering on the edge of economic ruin with his wife ready to leave him.
There's not a cliche in the book and the plot soars off into a direction I couldn't have guessed.
A very satisfying read. This is a book with some meat on its bones.
Anyone of the family could have done it, but it's not the one you expect.
The richness lies in the characters, the father a repressed Vietnam vet, his dithery wife, a daughter who is a feminist scholar, and her brother who is teetering on the edge of economic ruin with his wife ready to leave him.
There's not a cliche in the book and the plot soars off into a direction I couldn't have guessed.
A very satisfying read. This is a book with some meat on its bones.
November 23, 2020
As I pulled the book off the shelf to read a couple weeks ago I was thrilled to open it up & discover that it’s a novel set on Thanksgiving day. How timely as I have been thinking of turkey and cranberries with the cool change of weather.
We are introduced to the individual characters by their own chapters and it follows this theme as you read introducing new players as needed. I love this style of writing as you feel you are privy to all the motivations, fears and thoughts of the individuals. Discussed in this novel are many issues like racism, poverty, feminism, violence in war, capitalism but the emphasis on each issue is subtle and illustrated by the situations the characters are enveloped in.
We are introduced to the individual characters by their own chapters and it follows this theme as you read introducing new players as needed. I love this style of writing as you feel you are privy to all the motivations, fears and thoughts of the individuals. Discussed in this novel are many issues like racism, poverty, feminism, violence in war, capitalism but the emphasis on each issue is subtle and illustrated by the situations the characters are enveloped in.
March 13, 2021
It is 2007 and three generations of the Olson family have gathered together to celebrate Thanksgiving. The novel is told from the perspective of each adult at the gathering. Eleanor and Gavin are the oldest generation, father to Ginny and Douglas. Ginny is a single academic and has just returned from India where she adopted a seven year old mute girl. Doug is married to Denise and has two children. He is struggling with financial issues and Denise is getting more and more frustrated with their situation. The turkey won't cook, family issues arise and each person remembers the past differently. Meanwhile, a black adolescent from the projects has targeted the Olson family for mysterious reasons.
Gavin served in the Vietnam War and came home to hostile feelings and difficulty finding a job despite having graduated from Yale. He took a sales job and has stayed with it all this time in order to be the wage earner and father to his family. Eleanor, a graduate of Wellesley, is a 'typical' housewife who once harbored thoughts of becoming a writer. Both Gavin and Eleanor are fairly low in affect and not very expressive.
Ginny is a prominent professor and researcher in social anthropology who lectures and teaches around the world. She goes to different countries and does volunteer work. While volunteering in India, she met Priya, her seven year old adopted daughter.
Douglas's mantra is 'money, money and more money'. He leverages so much that there is nothing left on his plate but debt and a job he's afraid he'll be fired from. His marriage is rocky and Denise is forced by their financial circumstances to return to work. She takes a job as a nutritionist in the schools. She fantasizes about how her life could be different.
The family dynamic of the Olsons' is troubled. Each is in their own bubble, separated from the others. Priya's muteness may be a metaphor for all that won't or can't be spoken. Dougs desire to acquire more and more causes him to lose on a grand scale. While Eleanor and Gavin wanted the good life for their kids, they became more and more alienated from them.
Meanwhile, there is disaster waiting right outside and what was a despairing dinner becomes a catastrophic one. This is a very interesting and character driven novel, one which I will remember for some time. It is a good lesson in Karma and how sometimes, 'no good deed goes unpunished'.
Gavin served in the Vietnam War and came home to hostile feelings and difficulty finding a job despite having graduated from Yale. He took a sales job and has stayed with it all this time in order to be the wage earner and father to his family. Eleanor, a graduate of Wellesley, is a 'typical' housewife who once harbored thoughts of becoming a writer. Both Gavin and Eleanor are fairly low in affect and not very expressive.
Ginny is a prominent professor and researcher in social anthropology who lectures and teaches around the world. She goes to different countries and does volunteer work. While volunteering in India, she met Priya, her seven year old adopted daughter.
Douglas's mantra is 'money, money and more money'. He leverages so much that there is nothing left on his plate but debt and a job he's afraid he'll be fired from. His marriage is rocky and Denise is forced by their financial circumstances to return to work. She takes a job as a nutritionist in the schools. She fantasizes about how her life could be different.
The family dynamic of the Olsons' is troubled. Each is in their own bubble, separated from the others. Priya's muteness may be a metaphor for all that won't or can't be spoken. Dougs desire to acquire more and more causes him to lose on a grand scale. While Eleanor and Gavin wanted the good life for their kids, they became more and more alienated from them.
Meanwhile, there is disaster waiting right outside and what was a despairing dinner becomes a catastrophic one. This is a very interesting and character driven novel, one which I will remember for some time. It is a good lesson in Karma and how sometimes, 'no good deed goes unpunished'.
September 11, 2010
Incredibly sad, but funny too!
The Olson family has gathered together for Thanksgiving dinner at daughter's Ginny's house, a college professor who has just adopted a mute 7-year-old girl from India. Her brother Douglas has overextended himself in the real estate market and since the bubble burst is almost broke, much to the dismay and scorn of his wife Denise. Of course their three young children are present, and the grandparents, Eleanor and Gavin, who love each other but have little in common. Eleanor, a typical 50's wife, who once thought marriage and motherhood were everything, is vaguely dissatisfied with her life, while Gavin, a Vietnam vet, who has never lived up to his potential has spent his life in a job he hates. Although none of them are very happy they're fond of one another and often funny, and each in his or her own way is determined to make the best of things. Then Ginny's stove malfunctions and the turkey doesn't cook. In order to save the day, and have dinner, the family disperses in three cars to Douglas's and Denise's McMansion, which is morgaged to the hilt and they are in danger of losing. And here tragedy strikes!
Kijo Jackson and his friend Spider, who live on the other side of town in one of the projects, are bent on revenge, especially Kijo, who is basically a good kid but feels his grandma has lost her home to greedy developers like Douglas. They break into the Gavins' home, thinking the family is away, but then the Gavins return unexpectedly. What follows is not only a disaster for all concerned but a poignant examination of both race and class in our society and what price some people will pay for the American dream.
The Olson family has gathered together for Thanksgiving dinner at daughter's Ginny's house, a college professor who has just adopted a mute 7-year-old girl from India. Her brother Douglas has overextended himself in the real estate market and since the bubble burst is almost broke, much to the dismay and scorn of his wife Denise. Of course their three young children are present, and the grandparents, Eleanor and Gavin, who love each other but have little in common. Eleanor, a typical 50's wife, who once thought marriage and motherhood were everything, is vaguely dissatisfied with her life, while Gavin, a Vietnam vet, who has never lived up to his potential has spent his life in a job he hates. Although none of them are very happy they're fond of one another and often funny, and each in his or her own way is determined to make the best of things. Then Ginny's stove malfunctions and the turkey doesn't cook. In order to save the day, and have dinner, the family disperses in three cars to Douglas's and Denise's McMansion, which is morgaged to the hilt and they are in danger of losing. And here tragedy strikes!
Kijo Jackson and his friend Spider, who live on the other side of town in one of the projects, are bent on revenge, especially Kijo, who is basically a good kid but feels his grandma has lost her home to greedy developers like Douglas. They break into the Gavins' home, thinking the family is away, but then the Gavins return unexpectedly. What follows is not only a disaster for all concerned but a poignant examination of both race and class in our society and what price some people will pay for the American dream.
August 23, 2011
Any book dealing with the housing crisis would not interest most financially-depressed Americans. When I received a copy of 'Strangers at the Feast' by Jennifer Vanderbes, and read the notes, I wasn't sure that I would find anything of interest. Depression, most likely.
But the minute I broke down and opened the book, I couldn't put it down.
The Olson family is celebrating Thanksgiving 2007. Gavin, the patriarch, is a Vietnam war vet who finds solace in his silence. His wife, Eleanor, reminded me of a 1950's style housewife before women's lib. Eleanor has desires and dreams, but is too afraid to pursue them. Ginny, their daughter, is an academic and a single parent. And Douglas, their son, is a real estate developer with the deal of a lifetime ready to crash down around him.
Kijo and Spider are friends and products of a housing project. When these two set out on a mysterious job, the confrontation between them and the Olson family will forever change each of their lives. While the outcome held no surprises, the catalyst threw me for a loop.
'Strangers' is a microcosm of life in present-day America with emotions and trials we all deal with on a daily basis. It is intense (Vanderbes doesn't skimp on the intensity), yet it contains humor at just the right moments. Her characters are well-drawn and very sympathetic. Kijo and Spider earn our sympathy and tears for the fate of their mission.
But the minute I broke down and opened the book, I couldn't put it down.
The Olson family is celebrating Thanksgiving 2007. Gavin, the patriarch, is a Vietnam war vet who finds solace in his silence. His wife, Eleanor, reminded me of a 1950's style housewife before women's lib. Eleanor has desires and dreams, but is too afraid to pursue them. Ginny, their daughter, is an academic and a single parent. And Douglas, their son, is a real estate developer with the deal of a lifetime ready to crash down around him.
Kijo and Spider are friends and products of a housing project. When these two set out on a mysterious job, the confrontation between them and the Olson family will forever change each of their lives. While the outcome held no surprises, the catalyst threw me for a loop.
'Strangers' is a microcosm of life in present-day America with emotions and trials we all deal with on a daily basis. It is intense (Vanderbes doesn't skimp on the intensity), yet it contains humor at just the right moments. Her characters are well-drawn and very sympathetic. Kijo and Spider earn our sympathy and tears for the fate of their mission.
August 7, 2010
Let me say it straight out: this book is astoundingly GOOD. Page-turning, jaw-dropping, laugh-out-loud, cry-into-your-sleeves, gasp-with-recognition GOOD. It takes on nothing less than the theme of what is wrong with America today and it does it very well.
The action takes place over one Thanksgiving day with lots of flashbacks. There hasn’t been a family like the Olsons since Zoe Heller’s The Believers – with a dollop of the movie Pieces of April blended in. This family DEFINES dysfunction.
Gavin, the father, is a Vietnam vet whose career went wildly off track because of the anti-war sentiment when he returned. His wife Eleanor is a Wellesley graduate who traded in ambitions for an apron and a cookbook. Douglas, their older son, cashed in on the real estate boom – making him more successful than his old man ever was – and is now suffering the effects of the crash. His wife Denise – a one-time poor girl who has become enamored of the money – is less than enchanted with him. Ginny, the academic daughter, is emotionally closed-off and has recently adopted a 7-year-old Indian daughter, Priya,
Add to that two 17-year-olds from the housing projects – Kijo and Spider – who have a personal grudge against Douglas and break-in and enter his home while they’re temporarily away – and you have the makings of a potentially tragic situation.
The author, Jennifer Venderbes, has a clear understanding of the human condition. Her dialogue is crisp, compelling, and pithy. There are little gems throughout this book. For instance: “Men didn’t have heroes, they STUDIED heroes, as though greatness and masculinity could be transmitted through reading, as though knowing the lyrics to every Mick Jagger song…got them one step closer to playing Madison Square Garden. A woman, at most, would dress like the woman she admired…”
There is much about the emasculation of the American warrior (Ginny is writing a paper on it), and how Vietnam was directly responsible for this phenomenon; this emasculation will show up time and time again. There is much about eminent domain and how it plays out in the real world, particularly with race relationships. There is much about how we – as Americans – have lost our sense of values and have substituted it with worship of money and status.
But the book is never preachy or never pedantic. It’s filled with smart conversation, convincing characters, compassion and insights. Portions will make you laugh with recognition, other portions will break your heart. In a way, this is a portrait of the “every family.” You won’t soon forget the Olsons or the world that Jennifer Venderbes has so expertly created.
The action takes place over one Thanksgiving day with lots of flashbacks. There hasn’t been a family like the Olsons since Zoe Heller’s The Believers – with a dollop of the movie Pieces of April blended in. This family DEFINES dysfunction.
Gavin, the father, is a Vietnam vet whose career went wildly off track because of the anti-war sentiment when he returned. His wife Eleanor is a Wellesley graduate who traded in ambitions for an apron and a cookbook. Douglas, their older son, cashed in on the real estate boom – making him more successful than his old man ever was – and is now suffering the effects of the crash. His wife Denise – a one-time poor girl who has become enamored of the money – is less than enchanted with him. Ginny, the academic daughter, is emotionally closed-off and has recently adopted a 7-year-old Indian daughter, Priya,
Add to that two 17-year-olds from the housing projects – Kijo and Spider – who have a personal grudge against Douglas and break-in and enter his home while they’re temporarily away – and you have the makings of a potentially tragic situation.
The author, Jennifer Venderbes, has a clear understanding of the human condition. Her dialogue is crisp, compelling, and pithy. There are little gems throughout this book. For instance: “Men didn’t have heroes, they STUDIED heroes, as though greatness and masculinity could be transmitted through reading, as though knowing the lyrics to every Mick Jagger song…got them one step closer to playing Madison Square Garden. A woman, at most, would dress like the woman she admired…”
There is much about the emasculation of the American warrior (Ginny is writing a paper on it), and how Vietnam was directly responsible for this phenomenon; this emasculation will show up time and time again. There is much about eminent domain and how it plays out in the real world, particularly with race relationships. There is much about how we – as Americans – have lost our sense of values and have substituted it with worship of money and status.
But the book is never preachy or never pedantic. It’s filled with smart conversation, convincing characters, compassion and insights. Portions will make you laugh with recognition, other portions will break your heart. In a way, this is a portrait of the “every family.” You won’t soon forget the Olsons or the world that Jennifer Venderbes has so expertly created.
July 12, 2011
I wanted to like this novel more than I actually did, and ultimately found it very disappointing. I found the characters that Vanderbes created to be initially interesting, and thought her foreshadowing and tension building to be enough to keep me turning the pages, but then grew irritated at the two dimensional characters, who she never fully rounds out beyond stereotypes (the academic do-gooder, the traditional babyboomer housewife, the ambitious and greedy son, the poor but well-meaning black kids, the controlling Stepford wife), etc. If the event this novel culminates in had happened sooner, instead of all the build-up for a disappointing payoff, I think this story would have worked much better. I wish Vanderbes had focused more on the event itself, and less on what led up to it, or perhaps had her focus been on both equally, I would have been more satisfied? I definitely could have done without the section where Gavin reads Ginny's paper on the emasculation of American men. In fact, I skipped that part altogether. It seems this novel really needed a better editing job all-around.
January 21, 2011
I enjoyed the stories that were told about the past and personalities of this slightly nut-so family that I'm almost everyone could relate to a member of their own family. Eleanor and Gavin are the mother and father of Ginny and Douglas. Eleanor is and overbearing mother and Gavin is a Vietnam vet who got his kneecap busted up at the start of his arrival in the war. The injury probably saved his life because he had to go on desk duty but he is very angry all the years later that his "manhood" was damaged. (His "manhood is in his knee??? I don't get it.) Douglas got rich from real estate and suffered financially from the real-estate crash. His wife, Denise was once poor and was at first enamored by the wealth that her husband provided, now not so much. Ginny is single and has many degrees which she is pretty snotty about. She also, on impulse, goes to India and brings home a psychologically mute orphan to fulfill her life. All of these quirky people gather for Thanksgiving only to end up moving the feast to another household where they meet up with two boys trying to rob their house. And, if possible, it all goes downhill from there!
I enjoyed the strange back grounds of all of these people, but the only thing I didn't like was the backgrounds over shadowed the foregrounds. Two much buildup and too little action.
I enjoyed the strange back grounds of all of these people, but the only thing I didn't like was the backgrounds over shadowed the foregrounds. Two much buildup and too little action.
March 26, 2012
This book is eerily prescient about the present day. The plot is simple enough, following a semi-functional New York family through Thanksgiving day in 2007. Yet it contains the distant rumbles of economic collapse, the offhandedness of privilege, and in an unexpected (though fully prepared) act of violence, it reveals the underbelly of race relations in America in ways frighteningly similar to the unarmed boy recently shot to death by a man not charged in the incident. If fiction is a means of knowing, this book is one way of understanding what went wrong in Florida last month, and why.
June 24, 2011
This was a total surprise that I loved this book. It starts out as a simple straight forward book however every chapter creates a new twist and new layer. A great great book!
August 4, 2010
I am not sure I would have picked it up to read on my own. I received it from Simon and Schuster as a giveaway and I am really grateful for that opportunity because I really enjoyed the book.
The author skillfully shines a light on so many issues facing society today. Throughout the book, the author’s use of comments by the characters, to foreshadow the last scene, is very effective. In one day, many of their insecurities and fears are revealed, almost casually, and often with humor. Without being overbearing or seeming contrived, the tension builds slowly towards the final scene, and the impact of it, is explosive.
Through the use of character named chapters, the author fully develops the players and explores their lives, opening their wounds and illustrating that their past and present decisions all have consequences, some minor, some major. The contrast between the behavior of the men and women is stark. Devotion, loneliness, loyalty and regret, injustice, greed and envy are major components of the story. I liked the fact that Priya was mute since so many of the issues in the families were unspoken and hidden.
My daughter told me she was told that books are windows into the lives of some readers and mirrors for others. For me, this book was a mirror reflecting back my own world, in many respects, with all of the issues I have faced raising my family and it opened a clearer window into my children’s. Likewise, if my children read it, they will find it to be a mirror of theirs and a window into mine. I remember reading Water For Elephants shortly after my mother passed away. I wished I had read it sooner so I would have had the insights it provided, before she died. I hope my children read this so that they come to better understand the conflicts their parent faced, the choices and sacrifices they made, as they brought them up and tried to provide a better life for them while trying to instill moral values that would lead them down life’s path in a successful, healthy way. Perhaps, after reading it, they will take a little less for granted and become a little less obsessed with the material things in life.
Many of the thoughts and emotions that the characters experienced seemed almost too familiar. Who has not agonized over personal safety, finances, security, children’s futures and the well being of the family? Who does not know someone who has been scarred by the Viet Nam war, who has watched in horror as the events of 9/11 unfolded, or been touched by a bitter divorce, hurt by the financial scandals, or faced crime in their neighborhoods?
The author did a marvelous job of exposing all of life’s frailties and the dangers to which we are exposed. I highly recommend it for reader’s of all ages and all backgrounds. It is a Thanksgiving Day no one will soon forget.
The author skillfully shines a light on so many issues facing society today. Throughout the book, the author’s use of comments by the characters, to foreshadow the last scene, is very effective. In one day, many of their insecurities and fears are revealed, almost casually, and often with humor. Without being overbearing or seeming contrived, the tension builds slowly towards the final scene, and the impact of it, is explosive.
Through the use of character named chapters, the author fully develops the players and explores their lives, opening their wounds and illustrating that their past and present decisions all have consequences, some minor, some major. The contrast between the behavior of the men and women is stark. Devotion, loneliness, loyalty and regret, injustice, greed and envy are major components of the story. I liked the fact that Priya was mute since so many of the issues in the families were unspoken and hidden.
My daughter told me she was told that books are windows into the lives of some readers and mirrors for others. For me, this book was a mirror reflecting back my own world, in many respects, with all of the issues I have faced raising my family and it opened a clearer window into my children’s. Likewise, if my children read it, they will find it to be a mirror of theirs and a window into mine. I remember reading Water For Elephants shortly after my mother passed away. I wished I had read it sooner so I would have had the insights it provided, before she died. I hope my children read this so that they come to better understand the conflicts their parent faced, the choices and sacrifices they made, as they brought them up and tried to provide a better life for them while trying to instill moral values that would lead them down life’s path in a successful, healthy way. Perhaps, after reading it, they will take a little less for granted and become a little less obsessed with the material things in life.
Many of the thoughts and emotions that the characters experienced seemed almost too familiar. Who has not agonized over personal safety, finances, security, children’s futures and the well being of the family? Who does not know someone who has been scarred by the Viet Nam war, who has watched in horror as the events of 9/11 unfolded, or been touched by a bitter divorce, hurt by the financial scandals, or faced crime in their neighborhoods?
The author did a marvelous job of exposing all of life’s frailties and the dangers to which we are exposed. I highly recommend it for reader’s of all ages and all backgrounds. It is a Thanksgiving Day no one will soon forget.
December 6, 2010
I am in awe of this book. Every once in awhile a book comes along that just takes my breath away and this book did that for me.
A horrific crime occurs on Thanksgiving Day as 3 families gather together. The families include parents of 2 grown children and their children. BUT, take note, this plot doesn’t even begin to describe all the sub-stories that unfold in these family'a lives. It becomes much, much deeper than that.
Listed below are some quotes which struck me and were taken from different sub-plots in the book.
“Parents would do anything to protect their family.”
***
“Eleanor shook away any regret: she had been a wife, a mother. She had done wonderful and important things. How could she be sad that the world didn’t congratulate her for what was a reward in and of itself. Still she sometimes wished she had known that a time would come when the world would quietly brush her under the rug, suggest she kindly step out of its way. Perhaps she would have done more, gone more places, while she still felt welcome.”
***
“To his daughter he wanted to say, I fed you; I clothed you. I made certain you were always safe, never without shelter. I spent my days at a desk, living a life I felt beneath me so that you would never have to do the same. So that you could get a PhD, flaunt your cleverness, gallivant around the world, pursue every fleeting interest, and toss aside any man who bored you, knowing that if you ever stumbled, ever fell, I would catch you. Was that not being a father? Being a man?"
***
“We must stop and we must repent. The mistakes, the offenses. Only then will America repair itself…We must mourn the fallen, the slain, the sacrificial lambs who suffered at our hands.”
***
I loved this book and highly recommend it. It is moving, it is deep and serious and it touched my heart.
A horrific crime occurs on Thanksgiving Day as 3 families gather together. The families include parents of 2 grown children and their children. BUT, take note, this plot doesn’t even begin to describe all the sub-stories that unfold in these family'a lives. It becomes much, much deeper than that.
Listed below are some quotes which struck me and were taken from different sub-plots in the book.
“Parents would do anything to protect their family.”
***
“Eleanor shook away any regret: she had been a wife, a mother. She had done wonderful and important things. How could she be sad that the world didn’t congratulate her for what was a reward in and of itself. Still she sometimes wished she had known that a time would come when the world would quietly brush her under the rug, suggest she kindly step out of its way. Perhaps she would have done more, gone more places, while she still felt welcome.”
***
“To his daughter he wanted to say, I fed you; I clothed you. I made certain you were always safe, never without shelter. I spent my days at a desk, living a life I felt beneath me so that you would never have to do the same. So that you could get a PhD, flaunt your cleverness, gallivant around the world, pursue every fleeting interest, and toss aside any man who bored you, knowing that if you ever stumbled, ever fell, I would catch you. Was that not being a father? Being a man?"
***
“We must stop and we must repent. The mistakes, the offenses. Only then will America repair itself…We must mourn the fallen, the slain, the sacrificial lambs who suffered at our hands.”
***
I loved this book and highly recommend it. It is moving, it is deep and serious and it touched my heart.
September 15, 2010
A family gathers for Thanksgiving, but events put them on track for disaster. Ms. Vanderbes is a brilliant writer, but this book doesn’t showcase her talent. The characters are stereotypes, but not particularly good stereotypes. The book is ninety percent set up with anvil-level foreshadowing (one review referred to the book as being served an appetizer when promised a feast). There is a brilliant idea for a novel contained within these pages, and Ms. Vanderbes possesses the skill to make such an idea come to life, but this book is a misfire. This book reminded me of nothing so much as the sort of literary endeavor that gives satirists so much to work with – indeed, for the first several pages, I expected some twist indicating Ms. Vanderbes was subtly mocking high-brow literature and its pretensions. Unfortunately, I think Strangers at the Feast was intended as serious literature with no hint of irony. Not recommended.
August 5, 2010
I liked how each character took turns telling about themselves and they where true to thierselves.
how real they were. i can see so many pieces of people that i know in them.
I agree with some of the characters and disagree withsome. I thing the way soldiers were treated durning and after vetnam a disgrace. those who spit on them are the blighted ones. I am a mix of genny and her mom.
I wanted to know more about the characters what happened next to them.
I would have liked a different ending. Happy everafter type. but the ending did fit thier world and characters really well. i enjoyed the book
how real they were. i can see so many pieces of people that i know in them.
I agree with some of the characters and disagree withsome. I thing the way soldiers were treated durning and after vetnam a disgrace. those who spit on them are the blighted ones. I am a mix of genny and her mom.
I wanted to know more about the characters what happened next to them.
I would have liked a different ending. Happy everafter type. but the ending did fit thier world and characters really well. i enjoyed the book
November 17, 2020
Most of the action takes place on Thanksgiving Day, so this was a fun November read for me.
September 23, 2010
The Olson family gathers to celebrate the Thanksgiving holidays at the home of one of its members, Ginny. Ginny has recently made some drastic changes to her life, adopting a daughter from India, buying a house and her decision to host the family for this event is surprising but seems to be in line with this new phase of her life. Her brother Douglas and his wife Denise are drowning in severe debt as a result of Douglas's over speculation in the real estate market that has now gone bust. So while they smile and put on an appearance for their children and the rest of the family, there is trouble brewing. And Ginny and Douglas's parents, Eleanor and Gavin, are dealing with their own loneliness as they were never very communicative with each other following Gavin's return from the Vietnam war. While the meal starts off at Ginny's house, they are forced to move to Douglas's house because Ginny's stove malfunctions. This simple act sets the stage for a tragedy and calls into stark focus the underlying issues that have long simmered below the surface.
From the synopsis of the book, I knew there was to be a catastrophic event that would rock the whole family. But because this part of the story does not happen till much later, I was able to focus on the excellent characterization of the family that preceded this event. It is in the description of the individual members of this family, their quirks and demons, their sympathies and triumphs, that the author really shines and displays her talent as a writer. The reader is able to delve into the lives of a complex and ultimately sad family. To call this family dysfunctional really does not do them justice as they are so much more and it cheapens and trivializes their true intricacies. Each member of the family harbors private concerns, pains and resentments that shape them into the people they choose to become. Ginny as the know it all college professor and generally unlikable daughter on the spur of the moment adopts a mute seven year old from India. While I could sympathize with almost all other members of her family, Ginny was the character I liked least. She spent her time throwing around her intelligence, constantly lecturing her family on every injustice in history and just being generally obnoxious. Her decision to adopt a child did not at all engender her to me as it was not well thought out and just seemed like a momentary emotion and a poorly thought out one at that. She always seemed to be caught up in displaying her supposed intellectual superiority that she rarely took a moment to examine herself and her motives. I never warmed to her and her thoughts on the last page further confirmed my belief in how shallow she was.
Ginny's brother Douglas was a sad character to read. Here was a man who both consciously and unconsciously lived to please his father and feeling like this was an impossible goal. But the more he tried, the more he seemed to drift away from and displease his father. Sadly, his father returned from the Vietnam war an uncommunicative and taciturn man who shut his wife and the subsequent family they would have out of his inner thoughts. By the time he realizes his love for his wife and his family, both they and he had grown used to his aloofness. Gavin's character was a sad character to read because the reader is privy to his feelings and thoughts and so sees him more sympathetically than his family for whom he is a distant figure inspiring fear, longing, exasperation but nothing outside of obligatory familial love. Eleanor his wife was the typical sixties wife who believed that since her husband worked hard, provided for his family, never brutalized her or her children, she would put up with his remoteness. The amalgamation of all these personalities leads to the family who we meet at the beginning of the story. The final crime that occurs during this family gathering is not as monumental as I had originally thought it would be but served as the catalyst that ignites tensions long held.
This story resonates the lack of communication that characterizes many of our lives. The stored up hurts that pile up over the years, the unspoken emotions, the remembered sins, unspoken praises, will in many cases produce individuals and families that navigate life in a maze, never acknowledging the underlying causes of various actions. This book is sad and I think most people will find it very depressing and may see the whole story in a negative light. But if one is willing to see beyond this, you will find a story that makes you ponder the complexity of relationships and their fundamental meaning.
*Review copy provided by Simon and Schuster.
From the synopsis of the book, I knew there was to be a catastrophic event that would rock the whole family. But because this part of the story does not happen till much later, I was able to focus on the excellent characterization of the family that preceded this event. It is in the description of the individual members of this family, their quirks and demons, their sympathies and triumphs, that the author really shines and displays her talent as a writer. The reader is able to delve into the lives of a complex and ultimately sad family. To call this family dysfunctional really does not do them justice as they are so much more and it cheapens and trivializes their true intricacies. Each member of the family harbors private concerns, pains and resentments that shape them into the people they choose to become. Ginny as the know it all college professor and generally unlikable daughter on the spur of the moment adopts a mute seven year old from India. While I could sympathize with almost all other members of her family, Ginny was the character I liked least. She spent her time throwing around her intelligence, constantly lecturing her family on every injustice in history and just being generally obnoxious. Her decision to adopt a child did not at all engender her to me as it was not well thought out and just seemed like a momentary emotion and a poorly thought out one at that. She always seemed to be caught up in displaying her supposed intellectual superiority that she rarely took a moment to examine herself and her motives. I never warmed to her and her thoughts on the last page further confirmed my belief in how shallow she was.
Ginny's brother Douglas was a sad character to read. Here was a man who both consciously and unconsciously lived to please his father and feeling like this was an impossible goal. But the more he tried, the more he seemed to drift away from and displease his father. Sadly, his father returned from the Vietnam war an uncommunicative and taciturn man who shut his wife and the subsequent family they would have out of his inner thoughts. By the time he realizes his love for his wife and his family, both they and he had grown used to his aloofness. Gavin's character was a sad character to read because the reader is privy to his feelings and thoughts and so sees him more sympathetically than his family for whom he is a distant figure inspiring fear, longing, exasperation but nothing outside of obligatory familial love. Eleanor his wife was the typical sixties wife who believed that since her husband worked hard, provided for his family, never brutalized her or her children, she would put up with his remoteness. The amalgamation of all these personalities leads to the family who we meet at the beginning of the story. The final crime that occurs during this family gathering is not as monumental as I had originally thought it would be but served as the catalyst that ignites tensions long held.
This story resonates the lack of communication that characterizes many of our lives. The stored up hurts that pile up over the years, the unspoken emotions, the remembered sins, unspoken praises, will in many cases produce individuals and families that navigate life in a maze, never acknowledging the underlying causes of various actions. This book is sad and I think most people will find it very depressing and may see the whole story in a negative light. But if one is willing to see beyond this, you will find a story that makes you ponder the complexity of relationships and their fundamental meaning.
*Review copy provided by Simon and Schuster.
December 19, 2023
Basic gist – dysfunctional family without a single likable character comes together for Thanksgiving. Not a single family member has one nice thing to say about each other and they are, frankly, incredibly annoying and perhaps the worst family. If it were me, I’d probably have come up with an excuse to not go to that dinner.
Sister bought a new house and wanted to host dinner – she spent hours and hours slaving over the meal and the family kept making snide remarks about how gross the food would be. WELLLL, none of that really matters because she blew all the circuits in the kitchen and brother decided they needed to vacate the house in case the house blew up? I don’t know. It was wack. And then it got weirder and weirder until the cops had to be called. And, yet, it managed to get even weirder. That’s about as far as I’m going to go in order to not spoil anything, if you so decide to read it.
I’m guessing you can predict my opinions on this book solely based on my summary. I did not enjoy reading this book - but, it was my book club's Thanksgiving read. So I read it. And I’m not exactly sure of the lesson we were supposed to take away from this story. Or even the major themes of the novel, other than spoiled white kids get what they want no matter who they take down in the process.
I don’t give many books one star, but I definitely feel that it was justified here. It’s even rarer for me to write a completely negative review on a novel that I know someone worked really hard to create, but I just couldn’t live with myself if I wasn’t honest here on this one.
I think it’s rather obvious that I wouldn’t recommend this one, but, hey, you do you. You may end up loving it and thinking that I’ve completely lost my mind. Which, honestly, I think I may have.
Sister bought a new house and wanted to host dinner – she spent hours and hours slaving over the meal and the family kept making snide remarks about how gross the food would be. WELLLL, none of that really matters because she blew all the circuits in the kitchen and brother decided they needed to vacate the house in case the house blew up? I don’t know. It was wack. And then it got weirder and weirder until the cops had to be called. And, yet, it managed to get even weirder. That’s about as far as I’m going to go in order to not spoil anything, if you so decide to read it.
I’m guessing you can predict my opinions on this book solely based on my summary. I did not enjoy reading this book - but, it was my book club's Thanksgiving read. So I read it. And I’m not exactly sure of the lesson we were supposed to take away from this story. Or even the major themes of the novel, other than spoiled white kids get what they want no matter who they take down in the process.
I don’t give many books one star, but I definitely feel that it was justified here. It’s even rarer for me to write a completely negative review on a novel that I know someone worked really hard to create, but I just couldn’t live with myself if I wasn’t honest here on this one.
I think it’s rather obvious that I wouldn’t recommend this one, but, hey, you do you. You may end up loving it and thinking that I’ve completely lost my mind. Which, honestly, I think I may have.
May 8, 2014
Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good. Because I seem to have gotten myself not only on an advance access reading list from Simon & Schuster, but on their mailing list for finished copies of books, too. About a month ago I received a copy of Strangers at the Feast by Jennifer Vanderbes from the good folks at Scribner, along with a copy of The Hundred Foot Journey (reviewed here), which makes me suspect that it might be a mailing list catering to bookclubs.
I barely remember seeing this book in hardcover when it was published last year and I don't think I really knew anything about it, but when I picked up the paperback I was mildly intrigued to read the synopsis: On Thanksgiving Day 2007, as the country teeters on the brink of a recession, three generations of the Olson family gather. While the Olsons navigate the tensions and secrets that mark their relationships, seventeen-year-old Kijo Jackson and his best friend Spider set out from the nearby housing projects on a mysterious job. Little does either party know that their paths are about to cross in fateful ways.
While this book doesn't go as far in certain directions as I was hoping for, Vanderbes does a very neat job linking up the antecedent and postcedent storylines for each character. It's mostly a story of race, wealth, and privilege, the restrictions of class and gender, the politics of war, and family ties that are so twisted that there's no hope of unraveling them. Much of it is heartbreaking in its unflinching realities, and knowing in the end that the real "perps" don't get any comeuppance is both revealing and extremely uncomfortable, at least for this reader.
Some of the passages that I turned down while reading:
From one of Kijo's chapters: "From the decorations around the house, it was hard to tell who Grandma Rose thought more highly of: Jesus or Elvis Presley. Jesus hing in the bathroom, kitchen, living room, and Kijo's room, but not in Grandma's bedroom. A signed photo of Elvis sat propped o her nightstand beside a photo of her late husband. A framed Elvis album hung over her bureau. Kijo figured Jesus probably wouldn't like the lady friends who sometimes stayed the night" (184).
From one of Eleanor's (the matriarch of the Olson clan) chapters: "But Eleanor did no believe in complaining. She merely sat with Marybeth and other friends in one of their living rooms, reminiscing about the days they wore miniskirts--oh, how Eleanor had loved showing off her legs. The days when waiters promptly appeared at their tables and flirted. When salesgirls eyed their pocketbooks and asked, eagerly, how they could be of help. When they opened magazines and turned on televisions and recognized their beautiful trim selves.
But Eleanor waved away any regret: she had been a wife, a mother. She had done wonderful and important things. How could she be sad that the world didn't congratulate her for what was a reward in and of itself? "
I barely remember seeing this book in hardcover when it was published last year and I don't think I really knew anything about it, but when I picked up the paperback I was mildly intrigued to read the synopsis: On Thanksgiving Day 2007, as the country teeters on the brink of a recession, three generations of the Olson family gather. While the Olsons navigate the tensions and secrets that mark their relationships, seventeen-year-old Kijo Jackson and his best friend Spider set out from the nearby housing projects on a mysterious job. Little does either party know that their paths are about to cross in fateful ways.
While this book doesn't go as far in certain directions as I was hoping for, Vanderbes does a very neat job linking up the antecedent and postcedent storylines for each character. It's mostly a story of race, wealth, and privilege, the restrictions of class and gender, the politics of war, and family ties that are so twisted that there's no hope of unraveling them. Much of it is heartbreaking in its unflinching realities, and knowing in the end that the real "perps" don't get any comeuppance is both revealing and extremely uncomfortable, at least for this reader.
Some of the passages that I turned down while reading:
From one of Kijo's chapters: "From the decorations around the house, it was hard to tell who Grandma Rose thought more highly of: Jesus or Elvis Presley. Jesus hing in the bathroom, kitchen, living room, and Kijo's room, but not in Grandma's bedroom. A signed photo of Elvis sat propped o her nightstand beside a photo of her late husband. A framed Elvis album hung over her bureau. Kijo figured Jesus probably wouldn't like the lady friends who sometimes stayed the night" (184).
From one of Eleanor's (the matriarch of the Olson clan) chapters: "But Eleanor did no believe in complaining. She merely sat with Marybeth and other friends in one of their living rooms, reminiscing about the days they wore miniskirts--oh, how Eleanor had loved showing off her legs. The days when waiters promptly appeared at their tables and flirted. When salesgirls eyed their pocketbooks and asked, eagerly, how they could be of help. When they opened magazines and turned on televisions and recognized their beautiful trim selves.
But Eleanor waved away any regret: she had been a wife, a mother. She had done wonderful and important things. How could she be sad that the world didn't congratulate her for what was a reward in and of itself? "
November 7, 2010
Strangers at the Feast tells the story of the dysfunctional Olson family as they gather for Thanksgiving dinner, 2007. Little does the family have reason to suspect that their day will end in tragedy. The three generations of family members consists of Gavin, quiet, aloof, Vietnam Vet; his wife Eleanor ; their two children Douglas, (married to Denise with three children). Gavin and Eleanor's single daughter Ginger, an intellectual working in academia, is hosting the dinner in her newly acquired, but run down home in Westchester County, New York. She is also introducing her newly adopted, seven year old daughter, Priya, from India, to her family. Her daughter does not speak.
To get a feel for how dysfunctional the family is, I selected a few passages:
When Eleanor learns that her newly adopted granddaughter does not speak, her response is:
" She's mute? A single mother raising a MUTE seven year old from India?"
(Oh, Eleanor loved her daughter, but what a dung heap of liberation her generation had inherited. Ginny cared so much about her right to do things, she ignored the difficulties.)
Ginny's brother Douglas, a real estate developer, struggling with career and family, is obnoxious to say the least His thoughts about his sister:
(A mute orphaned child, a house without a television, a living room full of plywood furniture. Ginny's obsession with deprivation was like a bizarre medical condition.)
When a problem in Ginny's kitchen causes the family to move the Thanksgiving dinner to another location, Douglas' only thoughts were:
(He'd counted on stuffing, vegetables, dessert. Was this her plan? Deprive them of football and food and teach them some kind of history lesson?)
The plan now is to move Thanksgiving to Douglas and Denise's home in an upscale neighborhood of Greenwich, Connecticut. No one is prepared for what happens there.
MY THOUGHTS - I loved this novel. The story is constructed in such a way that the suspense begins to build early on. You know, and the jacket indicates, that something bad is going to happen --but you do not know what. The story is told in alternating chapters from the point of view of each of the family members, as well as by (2) outsiders not related to the family. The author, in my opinion is very talented, having created a story that draws you in from the beginning and never eases up. Each of the characters is dysfunctional, and by the end of the novel, you will feel like you know each of them, as if they had been part of your own family (at least I felt that way). It's one of those stories that sends a message, in this case: for every action, there is a reaction.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - I'll be talking about this one at this year's Thanksgiving dinner. RATING - 5/5 stars
To get a feel for how dysfunctional the family is, I selected a few passages:
When Eleanor learns that her newly adopted granddaughter does not speak, her response is:
" She's mute? A single mother raising a MUTE seven year old from India?"
(Oh, Eleanor loved her daughter, but what a dung heap of liberation her generation had inherited. Ginny cared so much about her right to do things, she ignored the difficulties.)
Ginny's brother Douglas, a real estate developer, struggling with career and family, is obnoxious to say the least His thoughts about his sister:
(A mute orphaned child, a house without a television, a living room full of plywood furniture. Ginny's obsession with deprivation was like a bizarre medical condition.)
When a problem in Ginny's kitchen causes the family to move the Thanksgiving dinner to another location, Douglas' only thoughts were:
(He'd counted on stuffing, vegetables, dessert. Was this her plan? Deprive them of football and food and teach them some kind of history lesson?)
The plan now is to move Thanksgiving to Douglas and Denise's home in an upscale neighborhood of Greenwich, Connecticut. No one is prepared for what happens there.
MY THOUGHTS - I loved this novel. The story is constructed in such a way that the suspense begins to build early on. You know, and the jacket indicates, that something bad is going to happen --but you do not know what. The story is told in alternating chapters from the point of view of each of the family members, as well as by (2) outsiders not related to the family. The author, in my opinion is very talented, having created a story that draws you in from the beginning and never eases up. Each of the characters is dysfunctional, and by the end of the novel, you will feel like you know each of them, as if they had been part of your own family (at least I felt that way). It's one of those stories that sends a message, in this case: for every action, there is a reaction.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - I'll be talking about this one at this year's Thanksgiving dinner. RATING - 5/5 stars
August 17, 2010
The Short of It:
Just like a runaway train, Strangers at the Feast picks up speed and hurls you toward its dramatic conclusion. You won’t be able to put this one down.
The Rest of It:
It’s Thanksgiving day. Ginny, has invited her parents, her brother, his wife and their three kids to enjoy dinner in her new home. Ginny, single and an academic sort at that, is not well-versed in the kitchen, but is excited about hosting such an important meal. The others are excited about the prospect of seeing her new home, but they have their doubts over how successful the dinner will be.
While waiting for dinner, each character has time to reflect on the past. The story is told through alternating points of view, whereas each chapter is dedicated to a character in the story. As the story progresses, it’s clear that the meal is anything but traditional and that there are larger issues to consider.
The mere mention of Thanksgiving brings many images to mind. The glistening bird, the mounds of mashed potatoes, the gravy boats and…the drama. You know what I am talking about. Where Aunt Jolene drank a little bit too much wine and ended up out by the trash cans, or how that bird may have looked perfectly roasted on the outside, but really wasn’t. It happens. As much as I love Thanksgiving, there is also a little piece of me that dreads it as well. Vanderbes has written a novel that somehow encapsulates that exact feeling of dread. Family dynamics, intimate secrets, it’s all here.
As the tension mounts, you know something is going to happen, but what? Well, I won’t share anything else because I want you to read it for yourself but Vanderbes does not disappoint. The writing is tight, the pace is gripping, and the characters are worth remembering. I was very excited to receive this book and once I cracked it open, I could not put it down.
What I especially admire is that this isn’t JUST a page-turner, this is a book with a message. If you’re a fan of well-constructed stories, ones that unfold like a three-act play, are page-turners and include well-developed, conflicted characters, then there is no doubt in my mind that you will enjoy Strangers at the Feast.
Just like a runaway train, Strangers at the Feast picks up speed and hurls you toward its dramatic conclusion. You won’t be able to put this one down.
The Rest of It:
It’s Thanksgiving day. Ginny, has invited her parents, her brother, his wife and their three kids to enjoy dinner in her new home. Ginny, single and an academic sort at that, is not well-versed in the kitchen, but is excited about hosting such an important meal. The others are excited about the prospect of seeing her new home, but they have their doubts over how successful the dinner will be.
While waiting for dinner, each character has time to reflect on the past. The story is told through alternating points of view, whereas each chapter is dedicated to a character in the story. As the story progresses, it’s clear that the meal is anything but traditional and that there are larger issues to consider.
The mere mention of Thanksgiving brings many images to mind. The glistening bird, the mounds of mashed potatoes, the gravy boats and…the drama. You know what I am talking about. Where Aunt Jolene drank a little bit too much wine and ended up out by the trash cans, or how that bird may have looked perfectly roasted on the outside, but really wasn’t. It happens. As much as I love Thanksgiving, there is also a little piece of me that dreads it as well. Vanderbes has written a novel that somehow encapsulates that exact feeling of dread. Family dynamics, intimate secrets, it’s all here.
As the tension mounts, you know something is going to happen, but what? Well, I won’t share anything else because I want you to read it for yourself but Vanderbes does not disappoint. The writing is tight, the pace is gripping, and the characters are worth remembering. I was very excited to receive this book and once I cracked it open, I could not put it down.
What I especially admire is that this isn’t JUST a page-turner, this is a book with a message. If you’re a fan of well-constructed stories, ones that unfold like a three-act play, are page-turners and include well-developed, conflicted characters, then there is no doubt in my mind that you will enjoy Strangers at the Feast.
September 8, 2010
I wrestled with 3 to 4 stars for this book. Let's say 3.5. The synopsis given when you click on the book here on GR is very accurate.
The Olson family -- Eleanor and Gavin (the early 60 year old parents) and their grown children (Ginny-single/liberal/guardian of a mute girl she brings home from India; and Doug and his wife, Denise, and their 3 children...very well off family, caught up in the 9-11 economic bust) gather at Ginny's newly purchased house (a true "fixer"), but since her oven fails in the middle of dinner preparations, everyone loads up themselves and the food and goes back to the Connecticut suburbs of perfectly manicured lawns and the grandeur of the home of Doug and Denise to continue the preparations for the Thanksgiving feast. While this is happening, two teenagers from the "other side" of town have broken into Doug and Denise's house and are hiding upstairs in the bedroom when the Olsons arrive.
The story starts with the present day Thanksgiving as I described above and each chapter goes back in time to tell the story of each character and how their lives developed into what and where they are now. The two teenagers' (Spider and Kijo) lives are also part of the flashbacks, and we learn why they have chosen to break into Doug and Denise's home specifically.
I thought there was great character development. When I finished the book, I had to let it all sink in. If I had to summarize in one sentence, I'd say it is a tragic portrayal of the haves and have nots; unfortunately, a true depiction of how life can sometimes be here in America. Worth the read.
The Olson family -- Eleanor and Gavin (the early 60 year old parents) and their grown children (Ginny-single/liberal/guardian of a mute girl she brings home from India; and Doug and his wife, Denise, and their 3 children...very well off family, caught up in the 9-11 economic bust) gather at Ginny's newly purchased house (a true "fixer"), but since her oven fails in the middle of dinner preparations, everyone loads up themselves and the food and goes back to the Connecticut suburbs of perfectly manicured lawns and the grandeur of the home of Doug and Denise to continue the preparations for the Thanksgiving feast. While this is happening, two teenagers from the "other side" of town have broken into Doug and Denise's house and are hiding upstairs in the bedroom when the Olsons arrive.
The story starts with the present day Thanksgiving as I described above and each chapter goes back in time to tell the story of each character and how their lives developed into what and where they are now. The two teenagers' (Spider and Kijo) lives are also part of the flashbacks, and we learn why they have chosen to break into Doug and Denise's home specifically.
I thought there was great character development. When I finished the book, I had to let it all sink in. If I had to summarize in one sentence, I'd say it is a tragic portrayal of the haves and have nots; unfortunately, a true depiction of how life can sometimes be here in America. Worth the read.
August 31, 2010
A family gathers for Thanksgiving, all having their own problems, that they are caught up in. At the same time there is a family who lost their home to one of the Olsen family's greed to wipe everyone on a block out of their homes, so that his company can build a building on their land. He has one home in particular condemned for blight and the family loses the home they have lived in for generations. Kuji and his friend are out on Thanksgiving hoping to make a point to the Olsen family. The two family's colide, and things turn pretty ugly.
The book is pretty interesting, the family each has their own reaction to the things happening in the world at the time.
From the back of the book here is the description of the book:
On Thanksgiving Day 2007, as the country teeters on the brink of a recession, three generations of the Olson family gather. Eleanor and Gavin worry about their daughter, a single academic, and her newly adopted Indian child, and about their son, who has been caught in the imploding real estate bubble. While the Olsons navigate the tensions and secrets that mark their relationships, seventeen-year-old Kijo Jackson and his best friend Spider set out from the nearby housing projects on a mysterious job. A series of tragic events brings these two worlds ever closer, exposing the dangerously thin line between suburban privilege and urban poverty, and culminating in a crime that will change everyone's life.
The book is pretty interesting, the family each has their own reaction to the things happening in the world at the time.
From the back of the book here is the description of the book:
On Thanksgiving Day 2007, as the country teeters on the brink of a recession, three generations of the Olson family gather. Eleanor and Gavin worry about their daughter, a single academic, and her newly adopted Indian child, and about their son, who has been caught in the imploding real estate bubble. While the Olsons navigate the tensions and secrets that mark their relationships, seventeen-year-old Kijo Jackson and his best friend Spider set out from the nearby housing projects on a mysterious job. A series of tragic events brings these two worlds ever closer, exposing the dangerously thin line between suburban privilege and urban poverty, and culminating in a crime that will change everyone's life.
September 7, 2011
I loved this book! Reading it was like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle, where every piece that you put in it's place brought the picture just a little more into focus. By the end of the book, you had a complete picture, and realized that every piece was of equal importance, each piece contributed to the whole, and the picture would not have been complete if any of the pieces were missing. I think my mouth fell open about one third of the way through the book, and hung that way until long after I finished it. The basic story was of Thanksgiving dinner for the Olsens. The back story was what led to dinner in that house, at that time of day, and that story started even before Gavin and Eleanor married in 1968. The story continued, though, right on through the birth of their two children, Douglas and Ginny, through the marriage of Douglas and Denise, the birth of their children, and Ginny's adoption of her daughter, Priya. All of these events, and all of the smaller events in between, the living of their lives, brought this family, the Olsen's, to Thanksgiving dinner, 2007. The culmination of this Thanksgiving day will alter all of their lives, and the lives of others who have been touched through the years, by various members of the Olsen family.
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March 21, 2011This was the first book we read for the new book club I'm in (one of two!) We had all heard good things about this one . . . and we were all disappointed. On the surface this seems like it would really be up my alley (I love books about families in crisis!), but unfortunately the characters were so unlikeable that I couldn't get into it. And beyond unlikeable, I just didn't find them that interesting--there was the mother who was fragile and old-fashioned, the son who lost his money in the real estate bust, the stoic dad, the stubborn and over-educated daughter, the daughter in law who came from a rougher background--and they were all types. Plus, the whole book builds to an event that takes up maybe 30 pages and then has maybe 15 pages of effects. I wanted to read more about how this crisis affected their lives, and less about what their lives were like before.
Also, there is a bit about an adult brother and sister who "fiercely hug" every night before bed that freaked us all out. Unintentional incest overtones alert!
Also, there is a bit about an adult brother and sister who "fiercely hug" every night before bed that freaked us all out. Unintentional incest overtones alert!
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