Valli reviewed on
From the back:
Jennifer Vanderbes delivers a gripping, complex, and satisfying drama that explores how the forces of culture and history shape an American family in the face of tragedy.
On Thanksgiving Day 2007, three generations of the Olson family gather. Eleanor and Gavin worry about their daughter Ginny, an unmarried academic in her thirties with a newly adopted Italian daughter, and about their son Douglas who has recently been caught in the imploding real estate bubble. But Ginny and Douglas, determined to have a perfect holiday, keep their troubles secret, a skill they have learned from their parents. As old grudges, personality clashes, and a stove malfunction spiral the Olson's holiday into a tense and foodless afternoon, seventeen year old Kijo Jackson and his best friend Spider set out from the housing projects on a mysterious job. As these two families - one white, one black - head towards a violent and inevitable encounter, Vanderbes masterfully lays bare the fraught lives of the fascinating characters and the lengths to which they will go to protect their families.
Jennifer Vanderbes delivers a gripping, complex, and satisfying drama that explores how the forces of culture and history shape an American family in the face of tragedy.
On Thanksgiving Day 2007, three generations of the Olson family gather. Eleanor and Gavin worry about their daughter Ginny, an unmarried academic in her thirties with a newly adopted Italian daughter, and about their son Douglas who has recently been caught in the imploding real estate bubble. But Ginny and Douglas, determined to have a perfect holiday, keep their troubles secret, a skill they have learned from their parents. As old grudges, personality clashes, and a stove malfunction spiral the Olson's holiday into a tense and foodless afternoon, seventeen year old Kijo Jackson and his best friend Spider set out from the housing projects on a mysterious job. As these two families - one white, one black - head towards a violent and inevitable encounter, Vanderbes masterfully lays bare the fraught lives of the fascinating characters and the lengths to which they will go to protect their families.
