From Publishers Weekly
The soul of the Haven family decays inside a massive faux Tudor dubbed On Ne Peut Pas Vivre Seul—"One Cannot Live Alone." Barraged with the spiraling lies and self-deceptions chronicled here, however, readers may wonder whether living alone is such a bad idea. This first book by Miller,
Esquire's award-winning fiction editor, entertains, even fascinates, but ultimately strands the reader with the family's unresolved conflicts and filthy laundry at a homestead literally in flames. The story centers on Merit Haven Ash, grown daughter of two artists, Jenny Meatyard Haven and Lowell Haven, and Fergus Goldwyn, Lowell's lover and Merit's surrogate parent. Miller's talent for caricature is evident early on, as Merit observes her husband Wyatt's obsessive-compulsive behavior, and Fergus, as fabulously bitchy as he is lonely, describes Lowell's evil self-obsession. The author tempers her humor admirably, too, tucking in heartbreaking moments of self-reflection. The trouble is that the scenes don't hang together. Lowell and Jenny are fascinating raptors, and the reader is ready for confrontation as Miller tells the characters' secrets and escalates the drama toward a costume party that is the family's finis. But along the way, Merit and Fergus morph so extremely that their behavior stops making sense. Perhaps their leaps in personality are Miller's take on what happens to children—and adults childlike in their desire for love—when they are betrayed. At the (abrupt and confusing) end, however, it's not the fault of readers if they feel as lost and confused as troubled Merit and her adoptive parent, Fergus.
Agent, Christy Fletcher. Author tour.(May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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From Booklist
Miller, the literary editor at
Esquire, offers up a debut anchored by a hopelessly dysfunctional, codependent family. Lowell Haven is a larger-than-life character, a compelling magnetic force of nature, a man known for painting numerous self-portraits. Lowell stopped painting abruptly five years ago, and a persistent journalist is determined to find out why. Lowell's ex-wife, Jenny, is still roused into a fury at any mention of her ex, and yet she remains obsessed with him, even though he is now living with her former best friend, the persnickety Fergus. Fergus is every bit as fixated on Lowell as Jenny is, despite the fact that Lowell is repeatedly unfaithful to him with both men and women whom he adopts, briefly, as his proteges. At the center of this storm is Merit, Jenny and Lowell's daughter, who eschews her family's tendency toward oddity and marries a nice, stable man whom she can't seem to be faithful to. The novel builds to a party that reunites the family, with disastrous and hilarious results. Literary-fiction aficionados should take note of this deft comic novel.
Kristine HuntleyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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