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Dear Strangers: A Novel
The acclaimed author of The Rug Merchant once again "empowers us to seek the remarkable in what we all too often overlook" ( Albuquerque Journal )
As children, Oliver and Mary Finley awaited the arrival of their adopted baby brother-until their father's death shattered everything. Dear Strangers unfolds twenty-one years later, when attempts at a family reunion take a shocking turn, revealing hidden truths about the southwestern town where all of them came of age. Luminously written, with the taut emotional suspense of Dan Chaon and Kazuo Ishiguro, Meg Mullins weaves multiple perspectives into a masterful portrait of a community and the consequences of destiny and choice, grief and atonement, and the unexpected bonds formed with family and strangers alike.
As children, Oliver and Mary Finley awaited the arrival of their adopted baby brother-until their father's death shattered everything. Dear Strangers unfolds twenty-one years later, when attempts at a family reunion take a shocking turn, revealing hidden truths about the southwestern town where all of them came of age. Luminously written, with the taut emotional suspense of Dan Chaon and Kazuo Ishiguro, Meg Mullins weaves multiple perspectives into a masterful portrait of a community and the consequences of destiny and choice, grief and atonement, and the unexpected bonds formed with family and strangers alike.
304 pages, Paperback
First published December 22, 2009
About the author
Meg Mullins
6 books5 followersMeg Mullins is from New Mexico and has had short stories published in various publications.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 19, 2010
"my book club is reading mullins's first novel, the rug merchant , this month. liking her sophomore effort so far. very different setting, similar themes."
that was my status update while reading. the theme here was not the same- ushman's story was all about loneliness while this novel resonates the theme of loss. what i admire about mullins's writing is her ability to chose a theme and to craft a story around it. i believe that craft is in her case the correct word. this is a writer i'd love to meet, to interview, to observe "in process," because it seems to me that both novels revolve around their central themes like precisely-tuned and crafted machines.
i've read a few negative reviews of this novel, several readers particularly critique it for "beginning well, then losing steam." i disagree. i will allow that a reader who needs, primarily, story or plot in a book, who will say that, at the end of the day, it's plot that makes a book worth the effort or not, will more than likely find the type of craftsmanship i'm extolling less than fully satisfying. perhaps he or she will not "find" it at all. i simply state there is substance here and skill, too. i'm looking forward to what she'll give us next.
that was my status update while reading. the theme here was not the same- ushman's story was all about loneliness while this novel resonates the theme of loss. what i admire about mullins's writing is her ability to chose a theme and to craft a story around it. i believe that craft is in her case the correct word. this is a writer i'd love to meet, to interview, to observe "in process," because it seems to me that both novels revolve around their central themes like precisely-tuned and crafted machines.
i've read a few negative reviews of this novel, several readers particularly critique it for "beginning well, then losing steam." i disagree. i will allow that a reader who needs, primarily, story or plot in a book, who will say that, at the end of the day, it's plot that makes a book worth the effort or not, will more than likely find the type of craftsmanship i'm extolling less than fully satisfying. perhaps he or she will not "find" it at all. i simply state there is substance here and skill, too. i'm looking forward to what she'll give us next.
July 1, 2010
Oliver is a character obsessed--with his father's death when Oliver was very young, with the subsequent "return" of the baby they had adopted, with finding this brother and somehow acknowledging him. At times, I can imagine a reader growing tired with this story...obsession can be the same story over and over again. It is the other characters, as foils for Oliver, who make the story work. There is Oliver's mother, Mrs. Finley, Mr. Nice-guy, his replacement father, Oliver's girlfriend, Miranda, who is a photographer like he is, his sister, Mary, and Jared, the boy he thinks may be his lost brother. These characters interrupt his obsession but many of them also provide a wonderful insistence, in an odd way, on life and presence. My favorite part of the book was the photography--Nonny's flower on her tongue, Miranda's anonymous appointments with strangers she photographs from the dark yards outside their homes while they are inside. This is the second book I've read this summer where photography is a major theme. Wonderful.
July 12, 2015
Auf Deutsch gelesen.
Leider konnte dieser Roman nicht halten, was er, meiner Meinung nach, versprach. Oliver, der seinem Vater hinterhertrauerte und auch Miranda, die ungewöhnliche Bilder von fremden Menschen machte - dies wären sehr interessante Protagonisten gewesen. Doch Meg Mullins schaffte es nicht, sie mir näher zu bringen. Ich hatte nicht das Gefühl, sie gut kennenzulernen, sie blieben auf Distanz und ihre Handlungen oftmals geradezu unverständlich. Auch wäre es nicht nötig gewesen, zusätzlich die Sichtweisen von Olivers Mutter, Stiefvater und Schwester mit einzubringen, das war für so ein schmales Buch ein wenig zu viel des Guten. Die doch eher kühle Sprache tat ihr übriges, um es mir zu erschweren, mich irgendwie emotional in die Handlung einzufühlen. Oftmals kam sogar ein Gefühl von Langeweile aufgrund unnötiger Längen auf und ich möchte noch einmal betonen - dies war kein Wälzer.
Allerdings war die Grundidee durchaus eine gute, es war eher die Umsetzung, an der es deutlich haperte und die mich zu diesem eher negativen Fazit bringt.
Leider konnte dieser Roman nicht halten, was er, meiner Meinung nach, versprach. Oliver, der seinem Vater hinterhertrauerte und auch Miranda, die ungewöhnliche Bilder von fremden Menschen machte - dies wären sehr interessante Protagonisten gewesen. Doch Meg Mullins schaffte es nicht, sie mir näher zu bringen. Ich hatte nicht das Gefühl, sie gut kennenzulernen, sie blieben auf Distanz und ihre Handlungen oftmals geradezu unverständlich. Auch wäre es nicht nötig gewesen, zusätzlich die Sichtweisen von Olivers Mutter, Stiefvater und Schwester mit einzubringen, das war für so ein schmales Buch ein wenig zu viel des Guten. Die doch eher kühle Sprache tat ihr übriges, um es mir zu erschweren, mich irgendwie emotional in die Handlung einzufühlen. Oftmals kam sogar ein Gefühl von Langeweile aufgrund unnötiger Längen auf und ich möchte noch einmal betonen - dies war kein Wälzer.
Allerdings war die Grundidee durchaus eine gute, es war eher die Umsetzung, an der es deutlich haperte und die mich zu diesem eher negativen Fazit bringt.
July 4, 2010
I had trouble getting into this at first because you have to wait a bit to understand who the characters are and what their relationships to each other are, but worth persevering through.
March 27, 2017
The book "Dear Strangers" by Meg Mullins is an interesting romantic yet suspenseful novel. This book is for anyone whose stared at strangers before, become curious at how their lives might be. This one is for those who look at windows and wonder what is inside that room. Meg Mullins depicts a family in such a realistic and natural light. The son, looking for his long lost adopted brother. The daughter, an alcoholic and sex addict. The new girlfriend of the son, a photographer of strangers.
We meet an ensemble of characters who paint a portrait of a seemingly normal family in the United States.
Characters long for the past, nostalgia is in the air. The characters are so intertwined with each other, that they reflect aspects of each other. Have you ever wondered why someone close to you begins to pick up on your catch phrases and starts to like your favorite foods?
Meg Mullins dissects her characters and shows the sides that the characters want to hide, but cannot. Their interactions prove that they are not only characters, that they are so humanistic, they feel real. I recognized these characters, because I know people like them. I recognized my fiance in the son. I recognized myself in the girlfriend, her curiosity always winning and helping her lose her battles.
I really enjoyed the realism and the sadness in these characters. Everyone of them is longing for the past, but they just cannot capture the high that the past once gave them.
We meet an ensemble of characters who paint a portrait of a seemingly normal family in the United States.
Characters long for the past, nostalgia is in the air. The characters are so intertwined with each other, that they reflect aspects of each other. Have you ever wondered why someone close to you begins to pick up on your catch phrases and starts to like your favorite foods?
Meg Mullins dissects her characters and shows the sides that the characters want to hide, but cannot. Their interactions prove that they are not only characters, that they are so humanistic, they feel real. I recognized these characters, because I know people like them. I recognized my fiance in the son. I recognized myself in the girlfriend, her curiosity always winning and helping her lose her battles.
I really enjoyed the realism and the sadness in these characters. Everyone of them is longing for the past, but they just cannot capture the high that the past once gave them.
February 13, 2019
I guess I was mislead by the cheerful cover and intriguing description on the book jacket. This book had interesting characters and is told in flashbacks the tragedy of Oliver’s childhood. It wasn’t a bad book, but just a lot more depressing than it was marketed as. Decent plot, good flow so if you are in a melancholy mood this might suit you.
June 17, 2026
Just finished this one! Another new Author. This book was strange.Family is waiting to adopt a baby to have a playmate for their other son. The father suddenly dies and it shattered everything. Don't want to give too much away.
January 16, 2019
This was a perfect book for me to read during the end of the year and the start of the new year.
April 18, 2020
Good storyline, just not my style of writing.
December 29, 2015
The story was interesting but took a while to develop, spending a lot of time delving into long flashbacks. It was emotionally full fleshed out, but felt slow on action until really far into the book. The characters' traits were distinct but once the story delved into their thoughts, it all started to merge into the same cloudy, emotional narrative that could be hard to follow.
September 27, 2013
A rather strange book - had a hard time getting into it but read it while traveling. It is a book about grief so related a bit - sometimes seemed disjointed but as you read you could understand the reasoning. Not sure I would recommend it?
February 22, 2010
A story about grief, loss, and family. Well done.
March 25, 2010
Starts out interesting and loses steam.
April 14, 2010
Slow and depressing.
July 20, 2010
I found this book dreadfully depressing. I forced myself to finish it. I kept going, because I was curious how all the characters finally meshed with one another.
July 5, 2014
Very complicated book with interesting tie-ins.
August 25, 2014
Not my favorite book, but interesting way all the characters are interconnected.
July 27, 2015
I found this book slow and tedious to read. An okay read overall, the story was somewhat interesting, but lacked intrigue for me.
February 7, 2016
I think this is a book I might be thinking about and remembering for awhile before I decided how I actually feel about it.
August 6, 2023
BORING!!!!!
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December 3, 2009Couldn't get into this one and passed it on.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews