The Other Family

by Joanna Trollope

Chrissie, in the twenty-three years she'd been together with Richie, had always believed that he loved her.He loved their three daughters and their house in Highgate and their happy, lively existence. But if she really was the love of his life, why had he never given her the one thing that would have made her life perfect?Then suddenly Richie is no longer there, and without him Chrissie's carefully constructed life is in jeopardy.The one big fact she had always tried to keep from her daughters threatens to overwhelm them all. For Richie had still been married to his first wife, the one with a son that he had abandoned in Newcastle.And now, with Richie gone and the practicalities of wills and money to be sorted out, it is finally time for the two families to face each other ...

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit, British Literature, Family, Womens Fiction, Novels

333 pages, Paperback

First published March 27, 2010

About the author

Joanna Trollope Potter Curteis (aka Caroline Harvey)

Joanna Trollope was born on 9 December 1943 in her grandfather's rectory in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England, daughter of Rosemary Hodson and Arthur George Cecil Trollope. She is the eldest of three siblings. She is a fifth-generation niece of the Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope and is a cousin of the writer and broadcaster James Trollope. She was educated at Reigate County School for Girls followed by St Hugh's College, Oxford. On 14 May 1966, she married the banker David Roger William Potter, they had two daughters, Antonia and Louise, and on 1983 they divorced. In 1985, she remarried to the television dramatist Ian Curteis, and became the stepmother of two stepsons; they divorced in 2001.

From 1965 to 1967, she worked at the Foreign Office. From 1967 to 1979, she was employed in a number of teaching posts before she became a writer full-time in 1980. Her novel Parson Harding's Daughter won in 1980 the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Reviews

[Deborah Markus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Joanna Trollope's work. This novel was a quietly compelling read with some impish authorial touches -- taking the cat's point of view for a couple of pages, for instance.

SPOILER ALERT

I don't know if it's fair for me to be disappointed that one of the main characters never really comes to grips with her own flaws and those of the man she loved. I simply can't imagine being so out of touch with reality that I would come on to a man I knew was married, set up house with him, have three kids with him, somehow accept the fact that he never got a divorce and therefore never married me, and then, more than twenty years later, feel nothing but anger -- self-righteous anger -- toward his wife and the 14-year-old son he left.

I don't mean that people can't do horrible things, or dumb things, or regrettable things -- especially when we're young and infatuated. But this is a woman who's supposed to be an otherwise reasonable person, whose friends and family apparently find her likeable.

I'm glad that Trollope didn't force a moment of clarity and a big group hug; but I won't be coming back to this book (the way I do to some of her other works) because I just don't want to spend so much page time with someone so insistently wrongheaded about something so important.

(Plus two of the daughter characters never quite jelled for me and came across as rather annoying. And what kind of name is "Dilly," anyway?)

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

I keep forgetting that I hate Trollope. I guess the literary last name keeps fooling me. This had her usual somewhat superficial and often irritating characters and flimsy plotline, not to mention her SUPER annoying syntax. "I think," she said, "that I'll have dinner now." "What," she asked," is the point?" Agh.

This book is about a woman and her three daughters after her rock star husband dies. Except he is not her husband, he never actually married her, and he had a first (and only) wife and a son previously.
Ways that this could be interesting:
One family does not know of the other
Commitment issues are explored
"Second wife" therefore loses out big time because they were never married (touched upon but hardly dealt with)

What Trollope actually did:
Nothing.
All we got were three shallow and self absorbed daughters who act a whole lot younger than their apparent ages, and one daughter decides to be chummy with her half brother which scandalizes everyone (why?) and gets potentially sketchy at times (why??).
Blech.

[Cassie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh, this book was TERRIBLE! The writing was hard to follow, there were so many paragraphs that I just skipped because they had nothing to do with the rest of the story, the characters were all very unlikable, the storyline was ridiculous. These women were heinous! The only semi-interesting part of the book was the very end when Amy visits Scott and then that is so abruptly over and it gets awful again. I don't even want to keep writing this review or go into any detail because I don't want to think about the book anymore. AWFUL!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all I need to point out that very few people in my family are divorced so I am not sure if this book is an accurate depiction of that situation or not. I simply don't know. My hubbys family is the same way. So I truly have no idea if this is accurate or not.

I felt zero sympathy for Chrissie and her self-absorbed and foolish oldest two daughters. Chrissie has no reason to "hate" Margaret and Scott and yet she does. Why? What have they done to her and her family? Nothing. In all those years they have never contacted her, her family or her deceased husband.

The character of Richie I found disgusting. He is a disgusting human being and a pathetic excuse for a father. Why would any woman with half a brain be married to him after she saw him abandon his first wife and child? Apparently human beings are easily disposable.

Chrissie, Dilly, and Tamsin are self absorbed and childish. They are very unlikeable. Amy is actually more grownup than her mother and older sisters who see her as "betraying" them by striking up a friendship with her half brother, Scott. Scott is very much like his father in that he uses women for his own enjoyment and then discards of them afterward. I saw Margaret as very pathetic almost hoping Richie will come back to her by still wearing his wedding ring. Legally, they were still married so she did have the right to do so but foolish of her to actually have a small hint hope that it would happen.

I liked the cat Dawson more than any of the characters in this book.

By the end of the story I truly did not care about what happened to any them because they were so unlikeable, especially Chrissie, Dilly and Tamsin. Good riddance to their characters.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

Until last year, I had never read any books by Joanna Trollope, though I had heard of her. I found those books I did read to be interesting, and worth the time. When my husband brought home the Advanced Reader's Edition of this one, I decided to give it a go.

When the book opens, the family of Richie Rossiter - a well-known composer and pianist, and a teen favorite of an earlier time - has just died, and his family has just received the news. Chrissie, his wife, and his three daughters are numb and stunned to even try to believe that Richie is gone and won't be coming back. Chrissie, who is much younger than Richie, had been his manager as well as his partner, and he had been the center of all of their lives.

At the reading of his will, we learn that he has, in fact, provided for his family. Both of them. Yes, Richie had a wife and grown son who lived in the North (Newcastle to be exact), and he leaves them his treasured piano and the rights to the first 25 years of his music. Chrissie is thrown for a loop, even though she realized that she was on thin ice, not being legally married to Richie. His daughters by her are shocked, especially the youngest, Amy, who had no inkling of this situation. Richie's first wife, Margaret, and his grown son, Scott, are thrown for a loop, as Richie had never indicated before that he even remembered that they existed.

This book is an interesting look at family dynamics in the face of an unexpected death followed by surprising revelations. I thought it was well-written, and though I sometimes wished that Chrissie and her two older daughters would just grow up, their confusion and reluctance to move forward were understandable. The reaction - and actions - of the youngest daughter, Amy, were both shocking and revealing of her character, as opposed to those of her siblings. Margaret and Scott are not quite as fully developed, but you can appreciate their lives together after Richie walked out.

Richie, though not a character per se, comes across as one of those people who is kind of a sleaze, but charming and talented, so others make allowances for him. I really wanted to dig him up and beat the crap out of him!

I enjoyed this book. It's not great literature, but it's not just a simple, melodramatic story either. The characters seem real, and by the end of the book, you have the sense that things will work out, even if not the way each character had originally planned.

[Esil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really like this book. I have read many o fJoanna Trollope's previous books and I have enjoyed them less and less over time. I am not sure if her books have changed or my tastes have changed. I suspect it's more likely that my tastes have changed. I find that I am less interested in domestic books than I used to be. Having said that, I am always happy to read a well written book with a good plot and good characters. In this case, I found that I could not relate to the characters' emotions. I found them self absorbed and the story somewhat predictable.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Joanna Trollope, always have, though some of her novels more than others. I thought for a while that this one was going to fall into the "not as much" category until about half-way in. It's the story of the two families a father/husband leaves behind when he dies. The first wife and son (now grown) and the second wife (though they never actually married) and their three mostly grown daughters. Because of an unexpected will, the two families must deal with each other about inheritance issues and about the implications of this surprise will. But they also must simply deal with the fact of his death. So the novel is about grief as much as it is about "the other family." And about half-way in it also becomes about moving on after grief and about the very different reactions that the characters have to the father/husband's death and the revelations about the other family.

I like any novel that demonstrates that grief is varied and complicated and The Other Family does just that.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book almost got put into the "could not finish" category. I think the only reason I finished is because it's the 100th book I've read this year (feels like it should be more!) I figured I should actually read it. The set-up is interesting enough, three daughters realize after their father dies that their parents were never really married at all. Aside from that, I am unable to locate any positives. First of all, I could not get a hold of the writing style. It wasn't full of errors or too complex or anything like that. It was just very, very unreadable. Something about the way the author constructs sentences hurts my head, not because the words are challenging (they’re not, at all), but the way they’re put together felt like someone rubbing gravel in my brain. It was very uncomfortable to read. Also, all the characters suck. There is not a redeeming one amongst them. And if these characters do have redeeming qualities the author switches so quickly between them the reader doesn’t get to find out anything good. Ugh, just a colossal waste of time.

[Barbara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely awful. I would advise anyone reading this book to put it down and walk away. Do not waste your time.
At the beginning of the book, we learn that Richie has suffered a heart attack, and his "wife" and daughters are left to deal with the aftermath. From the beginning, this second family is absolutely brutal, with (sometimes) the exception of Amy. All they do is yell at each other, and have an incredibly irrational hatred towards their fathers first family (whom Richie had abandoned, yet secretly and without their knowledge left an item each in his will for). I spent most of the book hoping they would meet the same end as Richie.
This book did pick up very slightly in parts of its last few chapters, once Amy goes to meet Scott- on its own, this would have almost made an interesting story.
In all, an absolutely plotless book with infuriating characters- again, don't waste your time.

[Maison Koala · Rating 2 out of 5]

DIECI lunghi, interminabili, faticosissimi giorni per costringermi a terminare questa lettura soporifera, a tratti vivace quanto una cartella di Equitalia.

Tutto ruota attorno alla discussa eredità di un pianoforte Steinbach tra vecchia e nuova famiglia di un defunto pianista di Newcastle; e davvero sarebbe stato utile allegare al libro un campanello modello concierge a svegliare il lettore di quando in quando: trama inconsistente, personaggi stereotipati, stile prolisso per un effetto fazzoletto di cloroformio spalmato sul naso già a pagina dieci.

Peccato, perché la Trollope ha firmato anche tante storie carucce.

Giudizio tecnico finale: ronf, ma a tempo dí musica.

[Neringa Gal · Rating 1 out of 5]

skaitant knyga nuo pradziu jau deliojausi rating.ir nuo 4* nukrito iki 1* kol perskaiciau.nes omg.kas cia buvo
nesamoniu nesamone

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unexpectedly better than I assumed.
I have had this book for so long on my shelves, I have no idea when it even came to live there. I must admit I had this book pegged as something else completely and of course, my assumptions, which in the end were completely off, caused me to put off reading this book. It couldn't have been farther from my guess.
This is a story about how fictitious singer/songwriter Ritchie Rossiter's two families deal with his sudden death. There's his first wife, granny looking Margaret who never quite let him go even after twenty-three years of absence. Margaret's thirty something year old son Scott. Both he and his mother still live in the North of London where Ritchie grew up and struggled during the first half of his life to become a success. Then there is tall blonde Chrissie the second woman in his life and her three stair step, almost grown daughters Tamisin, Dilly and Amy. This is the story of how they cope or don't cope after the center to all of their lives has died. It's about their grief and how it brings some together and tears some apart. How it causes them all to rethink the way they live their lives. And how sometimes whether you like it or not, transition is an inevitable part of life.

I'm the very beginning it took me a moment to adapt to the author's writing style. But once I did, I begun to enjoy reading the book. There was a time up until maybe the middle that I felt I couldn't put it down. But then it sort of lost its momentum and I longed to finish it. It seemed to drag on with tedious details and repetition. Chrissie's closed mindedness really made me tired. The way Dilly was such a sheep was annoying and Tamisin's airs and indecisiveness were obnoxious. Mean Margaret and her chats with the cat, I really couldn't have done without. Scott was ok but he wasn't a complete enough character. The same with Amy, she had potential but she the most in depth character and still she was slightly flat.
Just barely making it to 3 stars. It could have been better but instead it seemed to peter off after half way through.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with the person who said the characters were unlikeable. I found that especially to be true of Chrissie, the second "wife." I mean, who was SHE to hate Richie's real wife and son? Like it was their fault he left them for her? I found it hard to be sympathetic toward her as she was a homewrecker.

And I really, really LIKE Joanna Trollope's work, but I'm starting to think her best work is behind her. I wasn't crazy about her last book either.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay, but I did not understand the second family. They were angry at the first family for existing when in fact it should have been the other way around. I did not feel any sympathy for Chrissie or her two older girls. I totally thought their anger was illogical.

[Ellie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the worst book I've ever read in my entire life. It has no plot I'm baffled how it was ever written

[S.C. Skillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Joanna Trollope's contemporary novels. Trollope is, together with Susan Howatch, one of the two current authors whose stories and writing style always thrill me. Why? Because Trollope explores human behavious and emotions in a way that is so accurate, so faithful, so discerning, that I, the reader, feel I am being carried along by the current of a river of emotional intelligence to a destination of light and freedom. She tools down through words and behaviour until suddenly we reach the emotion, the agenda, that lies beneath it all - and that moment is exhilerating. I feel "Aahh! we're there!"

I have felt this with every one of this author's contemporary novels. Trollope is a specialist in behaviour patterns, to be found especially among women, that can appear to the superficial observer as devious, calculating, selfish,infantile and irritating. But her humanity is such that she shines the light of understanding through this; for behind it all is an authentic, complex, frail human being that we can relate to, empathise with, and have compassion for.

In this story Trollope examines the situation that arises upon the death of a man who left his wife and son in Newcastle-upon-Tyne twenty five years ago for a new woman in London, with whom he had three daughters, and lived as if he was married to her - only he wasn't. We see what happens when, through the trauma of bereavement, one family ultimately has to acknowledge the existence, the emotions, the humanity of the other family, and deal with all the pain and anger and bitterness that arises.

Yes, this book gets five stars, as Joanna Trollope is wonderful.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richie Rossiter is a famous singer-songwriter and pianist based in England who has millions of loyal fans all over the world. To those fans, Richie is living the type of life they could only dream of; he is an extremely lucky man. What the world at large could never imagine was that Richie Rossiter is actually living a secret life.

In his late forties, Richie abandoned his first wife Margaret and their young son Scott in Newcastle - in northeast England - for a young woman who believed that she could bring him stardom in London. Not only did the young woman, Chrissie, rejuvenate Richie Rossiter's career, they lived together for the next twenty-three years in domestic bliss - and had three lovely daughters: Tamsin, Dilly and Amy. However, the trouble with death is that it comes quicker than anyone might suspect, and leaves so many unanswered questions in its wake.

When Richie dies unexpectedly, Chrissie realizes she must finally tell her daughters the truth: that their parents were never married, and that the girls' father had another family. However, this is only the first of many revelations that come to light with the reading of Richie's will. It seems that he never truly forgot the family he left behind so long ago. Now two grieving families are left to confront their losses - as well as each other - and no one will ever be the same.

I must say that I absolutely loved this book. Ms. Trollope is a remarkable writer, her writing style is so poignant and insightful. Her characters are well-developed and so true to life, that I couldn't help feeling for them all. I give this book an A+! and look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

[Rhonda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a great idea, but it just didn't "go anywhere".

Chrissie's husband, Richie, is a famous pianist who dies unexpectedly. Chrissie must now tell her three daughters that she and their father were never married, that he never divorced his wife and that he has a son with her. When the will is read, Richie leaves one thing each to his actual wife and son, and this causes a lot of stress in everyone's lives. Yet it never seems to get interesting, at least not for me.

[Staci · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book made NO SENSE!!! The second family is ANGRY at the first family for existing? The second "wife" was aware of what she created by interfering with a family in progress...If anyone had the right to be angry or resentful it should be the first family. But they were far more gracious in light of how things went...

I did like the dynamic between the son and the youngest daughter though. I would have liked the book better if the premise weren't so ridiculous.

[Susan Liston · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those books where in five years if someone asked if you had read it, you would squint and frown and after reading the blurb say..."Yeah, I think so. Sounds familiar." Wasn't terrible, although some of the characters needed to be slapped, but wasn't memorable. (I've read two other books by this author, one I really liked and the other I found sort of tiresome. So I'm still on the fence about her)

[Omaira · Rating 2 out of 5]

Este libro ha sido una gran decepción, especialmente porque no ha pasado prácticamente nada a lo largo de sus 421 páginas. Al inicio conocemos a Chrissie y a sus tres hijas, Tamsin, Dilly y Amy, en el peor momento de sus vidas, pues la pareja de Chrissie y padre de sus hijas, Richie, acaba de morir de manera inesperada. Chrissie y él llevaban juntos más de 20 años, pero no se habían casado porque él nunca llegó a divorciarse de Margaret, su primera esposa. Cuando se lió con Chrissie abandonó a Margaret y a su hijo Scott y cortó el contacto con ellos. Ahora Chrissie, al no ser legalmente la esposa de Richie, se verá en problemas para heredar y también deberá avisar a Margaret del fallecimiento de Richie. Y ya está, a partir de aquí se está repitiendo siempre lo mismo: los problemas económicos de Chrissie, el rencor que ella y dos de sus hijas le tienen a Margaret y a Scott, Margaret compadeciéndose de sí misma y Scott y Amy tratando de ser amigos.

Cosas que no entendí:

- El odio/rencor que sienten Chrissie, Dilly y Tamsin contra Margaret y Scott. Desde el principio se dice que Richie dejó de lado a Margaret y a Scott y que estos nunca le causaron problemas. Si Richie no se divorció de Margaret fue porque no le dio la gana, así de claro. Los que tendrían que estar enfadados son Margaret y Scott, pues vieron cómo Richie les dejó y ni siquiera volvió a ejercer de padre. Pero no, Chrissie y sus hijas se comportan como si los otros fueran malvados y tuvieran la culpa de sus males. Incluso hablan mal de ellos, como si Chrissie no hubiera sido la que jugó el papel de amante cuando Richie estaba con Margaret…
- Margaret y sus esperanzas de que Richie volviera. Me parece increíble que a una mujer la abandone su marido y que ella le siga esperando más de 20 años después a pesar de saber que él tiene una nueva familia. Casi me da algo cuando menciona que sigue llevando la alianza de casada y que en cierto modo quería que él volviera. Por favor, un poco de dignidad.
- No le veo un propósito a la novela. Después de los primeros capítulos, en los cuales vemos lo que he mencionado anteriormente, ya no sucede nada. Ni siquiera hay un verdadero contacto entre las dos familias, solo se hablan en momentos puntuales y debido a una sorpresa que hay en el testamento de Richie.
- Todo gira en torno a Richie y, sin embargo, él acaba siendo el gran desconocido de la historia En la primera página se dice que ha muerto, así que yo esperaba conocerle mejor mediante flashbacks, cartas o cualquier otra cosa, pero no. No llegué a comprender su actitud, ya que con su herencia dejó claro que no había olvidado a Margaret y a Scott, así que no sé por qué no se esmeró en intentar mantener el contacto con su hijo. Sus hijas dicen adorarlo, pero no se detalla casi nada de su vida con Chrissie y con ellas, es más, parecen más preocupadas por lo del dinero que por lo que a nivel emocional supone la muerte de Richie.

Lo único bueno de este libro fueron Scott y Amy. Amy es la hija menor de Richie y tiene 18 años, Scott casi le dobla la edad, pero a raíz de una serie de circunstancias empiezan a hablar un poco y me gustó cómo intentan tener una relación fraternal, pero esto escandaliza a otros personajes y resulta sorprendente ver que hasta dan a entender que hay algo sucio en el asunto. No hay absolutamente nada que justifique malos pensamientos al respecto, así que no entendí qué pretendía la autora con esto.

La historia podría haber dado mucho más de sí, pero finalmente se queda en nada. La puntuación que le doy se debe al inicio y al interés que me despertaron Amy y Scott.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[marie rodriguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had to bail on the book too boring ,I couldn't get into it.

[Imogen Henderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked how the author smoothly changed perspectives throughout the book, however that was pretty much the only thing I liked

[Desiree · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not even push through to finish even though I was over halfway done. The writing was all over the place, the plot didn't really seem to lead anywhere.

[Lu Etchells · Rating 1 out of 5]

No stars. None. It was THAT terrible.

This is one of those books where you wish whoever had written the blurb on the jacket, had written the entire thing. That way, perhaps it would have bordered on being intelligent and marginally entertaining.

I am absolutely dumbfounded as to how Trollope, who is a huge literary star, can possibly have put her name to this – let alone written it. Admittedly, I’ve never read any of her work before, and if this is remotely consistent with her other books, I certainly shan’t be bothering again.

I’m not even sure I know where to start.

The actual writing is awful; dialogue is clunky and makes it very difficult to follow.
“Would you like,” she asked, “a cup of tea?”
“I am going,” she said as she stood up, “in to the kitchen”.

My 9 year old writes better than this!

As for the actual plot, I’m left wondering WTAF was she thinking? This isn’t a story! This is basically some bloke died, his family are having to deal with the aftermath … it’s life. Now, OK, you could argue that real life breeds some of the very best literature; however, this is certainly not the case with The Other Family. It’s so mundane, so typical of what’s happening up and down streets throughout the world, that there’s just nothing to it.

I genuinely don’t understand the purpose of this book.

It doesn’t teach you anything. It doesn’t make you think about anything (apart from perhaps inheritance tax, which isn’t necessarily something I look for in a good read). It doesn’t make you feel anything (other than boredom).

The main character, Chrissie, to all intents and purposes “the widow” (who isn’t, because he never got round to marrying her) is so inherently unlikeable. She has no redeeming qualities at all, and every time she said anything, I simply wanted to slap her. The idea that she resents Richie’s family, simply because they had the audacity to exist before she came along, is beyond bizarre. Why her children should feel the same, is equally mindboggling. I have no doubt these deranged and self-absorbed people exist; however, they should never find their ways to the pages of any book. Unless they’re going to be disgustingly evil, and it’s actually a thriller you’re reading.

This wasn’t.

There was nothing thrilling. Ever.

Equally, two of Chrissie’s children are pathetic, simpering little bitches who could do with a slap. One doesn’t want to move in with her boyfriend because … well, no there’s no reason. The other doesn’t want to take a job because she’ll have to work alternate weekends. In the beauty industry? Oh my God, call the Unions!

The only remotely decent one is Amy, who redeems herself marginally by, shock! Horror! Going to Newcastle.

Yes, that is as exciting as this book gets. An 18 year old gets on a train (by herself) and goes to Newcastle. A heady journey from London, I’m sure you can agree.

Undoubtedly the most entertaining character was Dawson, the overweight cat who resided with the actual wife – though arguably because he had the good grace to remain asleep on the back of the sofa for the vast majority of his “scenes”.

I only read this because it was 99p on Kobo. I am so disappointed, I’m almost tempted to request a refund!

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found that I enjoyed reading this book. Its premise:

Famous pianist dies unexpectedly and leaves behind a grieving family - wife and three daughters. But it turns out he never really married his "wife." He left another wife and son behind to be with the second "wife" and start a new family. And refused to divorce the first wife and marry the second wife. And then left in his will (unexpectedly) his piano and all the rights to his early songs to his first family. To the point - he was quite a cad. In many different ways. For leaving behind his first family and refusing to have anything to do with them. For refusing to divorce his first wife and provide her with closure. For leaving his second family to have to deal with the aftermath of his inconsideration in paying estate and property taxes because they weren't legally married. For giving away anything that would provide support for his second family (even though it was gracious of him to finally remember upon death his first family).

What I didn't understand about this book and what prevented me from trying to really understand this book was how much hatred the second family - Chrissy and the three girls had for his first family - Margaret and his son. I mean HATRED. When the youngest daughter Amy wants to get to know her half brother, they look at it as a betrayal. Yet Margaret, who was left behind, doesn't seem to harbor the same hatred. Hurt, yes. Anger, yes. But not the same bitter hatred as the other women. And I just don't understand why. And this made me think they were ALL a bunch of cads. All of them - except really for Margaret and Scott, who really weren't all that developed as characters.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not my favorite Trollope novel, but even a mediocre Trollope is better than a "great" novel by most others. No one makes a reader feel more a part of the family (or families) at the center of her books. Her characters are always real and likable, flaws and all.
This story starts with the death of a middle aged father, a quasi-famous musician, Richie Rossiter. Left behind to grieve are Chrissie Rossiter and her grown daughters with Richie, (the youngest, Amy, is 18). Richie had been married to Margaret (and never quite got around to filing for divorce) and together they had a son, Scott, now close to 40 years old and a bit of a commitment phobe, which is not a long stretch considering Richie abandoned Margaret and Scott when Scott was a boy of 14. Margaret and Scott never saw Richie once he left them to live with Chrissie. Amy is shocked to learn, with the reading of the will as the catalyst for truth telling, that Chrissie and Richie were not actually married, despite decades together, 3 children and diamond rings on Chrissie's left hand! And, from there the story really takes off. Since Chrissie & Richie were never legally married (because he was still married to Margaret even though he hadn't seen her in nearly 30 years) Chrissie cannot inherit the way a spouse would.
All of this turmoil leads to internal growth, new beginnings, new relationships and a lot of change! I did NOT dislike the book and I did enjoy the hours I spent within its pages, but knowing just how capable the author is of writing a really superb novel, left me thinking she could do better, which she has before and since this one was published.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joanna's recent novels have been 'issue books' and 'The Other Family' focuses on a particularly modern dilemma -the plight of a bereaved family whose parents have not married.
Richie was a successful musician, but his unexpected death leaves his long-term partner and their three daughters facing financial disaster. Their plight is exacerbated by learning that he has left his beloved piano and all his music royalties to his 'other family', his actual wife and her son.
Yet the sense of loss and betrayal does not descend into morbidity. Each charcter finds a way of standing on their own feet, although it is those who are more generous and open-hearted who fare better.
It is an excellent read, well crafted and insightful, as you would expect from such an accomplished writer.
The Other Family: A NovelJoanna Trollope

[Ange · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joanna Trollope is my guilty secret. Chick Lit is not really my thing, but perhaps because her novels seem to have a more mature perspective than many in that genre, I generally enjoy them. Having said that, I usually forget the plot straight away - they don't make a lasting impression. The Other Family was no different to others I've read in that respect. Most of the characters were irritating - all wrapped up in the recently deceased Richie - and unable to get a grip and get on with things. I couldn't get a good vision of Richie through the writing. First I thought he must have been a rock god, but that didn't seem correct - his appeal was to ladies of "a certain age" - so was he more Tom Jones than Mick Jagger? Richie's partner Chrissie, and their daughters Tamsin and Dilly were portrayed as shallow and needy. Only the youngest daughter Amy stood out as a character of substance. Although I was engaged (and enraged) by this family, I don't think it was a terribly good novel. There are better Joanna Trollopes.