A book that is clearly not for everyone since it has a good number of dislikable or hateable characters and a very disfuctional family.
I think the author did a great job with showing of how harmful and hurtful and dislikable people can be towards each other and that made it to me a worthwhile read.

I really enjoyed this. Fantastically written. The characters were not all likeable, but that made the book even more powerful.

It's hard to believe this is the author's second novel. Janet Peery has set the bar for any future novels. Her writing is strong and polished, things you would expect from a seasoned writer. The fictional family is as dysfunction, yet loving. They are angry, yet tender. Bitter, yet deeply emotional. As the mom tries to hold everyone together, she's the first to admit she loves the youngest, Billy, the most. He's a thief, an addict and a liar - and he's dying. His siblings fight in their own ways for their parents' love, even if it means possession of an old chair or one last drive in the country.

The Exact Nature of Our Wrongs by Janet Peery sets the stage to be the story of a dysfunctional family set in fictional small town of Amicus, Kansas. Stories of dysfunction and struggles against oneself have the potential to be powerful ones. Neither the character nor the topics have be likable to create a powerful message in a book. Unfortunately, this book has the unlikable character, but the power of the message does not quite reach me.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2017/12/the-exact-nature-of-our-wrongs.html.

Reviewed for NetGalley.

The Exact Nature of Our Wrongs is a family drama, plain and simple. From the underlying resentment of who is the favorite to divorce and drug addiction, the Campbell family is dysfunctional with a capital D. As the family gathers to celebrate the birthday of Abel Campbell, we see the seams start to unravel. Doro, Jesse, Gideon, ClairBell and Billy all present their own set of issues - as any sort of set of siblings often do.

This is a heartfelt, and humorous, story of a family. Everyone has one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for this review.

Everyone knows that we in America have a drug problem. It's easy to look at the numbers of people who are addicted, at how many we have lost to their addictions, to talk about how to fix the problem. It's easy to forget the human beings that are behind those numbers, the families that hold addicts together and that tear them apart. Janet Peery takes a look at those family dynamics in her riveting The Exact Nature of Our Wrongs. 

Family matriarch Hattie Campbell has brought all her children together for their father's birthday. Although he may not have been a perfect parent, Abel was a good provider, a military veteran, a successful lawyer, and a respected judge in their small Midwestern town. Hattie knows that he doesn't have many birthdays left--honestly, neither does she, now that she's in her 80s and had that little heart attack last year. But she wants to make a nice family evening, so she invited her daughters Doro and ClairBell as well as sons Jesse, Gideon, and even Billy. 

While Doro has made it out of Kansas (she lives in Boston, where she works at a small liberal arts college), the rest of the kids have stayed local, making their alcohol abuse, divorces, DUIs, and financial struggles part of the local gossip. And then there's the youngest, Billy. 

Billy is a gay man, HIV positive, a sharp talker, and a drug addict. When he keels over into his chocolate cake at the birthday celebration, Hattie announces to her other kids that she can't handle him anymore and asks for help, something it is not in her nature to do. 

As the siblings put their heads together and try to come up with a solution to Billy's addiction, years of old resentments and bitterness come to the forefront. An addict is a function of a larger system, and many times that is the family. There are a thousand things that come together to create dysfunction, and author Janet Peery shows us the path that this family (like so many other families) find themselves on. 

Although The Exact Nature of Our Wrongs doesn't offer up easy answers (do those even exist?), it does give us a moving, beautiful, intricate, intimate look at the inner workings of an American family, in all its glory and shame. This is not a happy story where everything works out in the end, but it is powerful and honest and makes us look at ourselves and our choices in new ways. 



Galleys for The Exact Nature of Our Wrongs were provided by St. Martin's Press through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.

Hard to connect to the characters and scenes. There was so much negativity and hatred it had no redeeming factors.

This is definitely a winner! It is so telling of what is happening in families today. It is frustrating, heartbreaking and completely believable.

My thanks to netgalley and St Martins Press for this advanced readers copy.

With American opioid drug use reaching astounding levels by 2016, government officials have vowed to provide funding to meet the challenges to fight this epidemic that has claimed so many lives. “The Exact Nature of Our Wrongs” (2017) is a dramatic and provocative portrayal of family life and addiction in the American heartland by Janet Peery, an award winning and bestselling short story writer and novelist. Peery’s debut “Alligator Dance: Stories” (1998) remains in print, this is her fourth book.

The Campbell’s lived in Amicus, Kansas. The patriarch of the family, an elderly retired judge/attorney Abel Campbell was a WWII veteran that served in Saipan. With a quick and brilliant mind, he studied science and physics. He was a “man’s man” an outdoorsman that enjoyed hunting/fishing. Abel, a perfectionist, had high exact standards for behavior and was profoundly disappointed in his baby boom generation adult children who had brought shame to their once respected family name he had worked diligently to preserve. Often, from the bench and with other connections, his family members had to be excused from legal charges and violations.
Hattie, married for over sixty years to Abel had tried to shield her children from their father’s scathing wrath and judgment. As a daughter of pioneers, she was thoughtful and kind serving her community through church and civic duties. With all the scandals involving her adult children’s multiple divorces, public intoxication, DUI’s, drug/alcohol related embarrassing public confrontations, firearms violations, foreclosures, and family estrangement when “family problems” were brought to light-- Hattie was deeply troubled over these issues. In her late 80’s with a heart condition, she prayed that she would outlive her youngest son Billy, who was often unable to pay his rent or buy groceries.
The oldest daughter “Doro” (Theodora) had relocated to the east coast, and had successfully raised two daughters as a single parent. Smart and literary minded, she loved poetry and literature, wrote Western novels under a pen-name, and had a great job working at a college in her community. Doro's siblings viewed her as a goody two shoes and know it all, so she had to watch her critical opinions of her siblings carefully. Doro returned to Kanas with greater frequency to help with her elderly parents increasing hospitalizations and health issues, and additional alarming family problems.
Jesse: the oldest son since their brother Nick had passed away. Nick's premature death was due to a genetic heart condition combined with sepsis, and not his heroin addiction. Jesse, a brooding moody man had tried to keep his alcohol consumption under control. His family didn’t approve of his renting a room in his house to Patsy Gaddy, a floosy who had broken his heart numerous times.
Gideon: A menacing darkness in his character caused others to avoid him. His sister called him the “Uni-Bomber”. Still, he was thoughtful and concerned about his family, and sincerely tried to help. He usually carried a flask of alcohol tucked inside his coat pocket.
ClairBell: Fiercely devoted to her parents, opinionated, obnoxious, judgmental, and very jealous of anyone who had the slightest advantage over her, real or imagined. The large amount of pills she took were prescribed by a doctor. ClairBell spent most of her days on her couch, affected by a variety of ailments; she loved bingo, blackjack, and yard sales, and never hesitated too loudly voice her thoughts and ideas.
Billy: The youngest 40-something, at one time or another, had ingested every illegal substance known to man. He was a confident happy-go-lucky flamboyant gay man, and used his charm and colorful personality to get the money he needed to buy drugs. Everyone loved him, and likely felt sorry for him because of his HIV status, his life prolonged for decades by AZT drug therapy. Billy's siblings were most anxious to have him admitted to a rehab facility/program.

This novel was never meant to be a pleasant feel good type story. Rather, the focus is on addictive behavior patterns: such as co-dependency, enabling, control and manipulation, scapegoating, lying and other problems that impact families with substance and alcohol related issues. The Campbell’s needed to unite as a family—set aside differences, and deal constructively with themselves and each other, as this expertly developed storyline evolved and boldly moved to a realistic and unforgettable conclusion.
**With thanks and appreciation to St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley for the direct e-copy for the purpose of review.

This book pushes all my favorite envelopes!: addiction, repression, family dysfunction. But it does it in a literary, snarkily funny way I've never quite experienced before. I loved it and enjoyed -- and was stimulated by -- every minute of it. Probably least importantly, everyone in it is such a likable mess that anyone reading it will find it utterly refreshing. More importantly, it's GORGEOUSLY written, a family drama with plenty of clever comic relief. Even as Peery pokes fun at her characters, she shows off the full spectrum of each's humanity. I especially appreciated the mother, Hattie, queen of denial, and the younger daughter, ClairBell. The best way to describe ClairBell is "a hoot." But, I absolutely fell in love with and cared for each member of the Campbell clan. This book has it all. I will highly recommend it to anyone who likes dysfunctional family dramas that push the boundaries, with more than a touch of humor, a la Cynthia Sweeney's The Nest, and the tv show Transparent. An enthusiastic five stars!!!

With such rich, detailed characters and the exploration of a family and all its permutations, Hattie, the matriarch, her children, their spouses come to life in this tapestry. Sometimes annoying, irritating, destructive, loving, tender... amazing read.

Genre: Adult Fiction
Pub. Date: September 19, 2017
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press.

Tolstoy's begins “Anna Karenina” with his now famous first line of "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." That opening is a fitting way to begin this review. This character-driven novel is a family drama that looks into the dynamics of a family in Kansas as the parents are in their sunset years. The wife has been a homemaker and her husband is a retired judge who is now showing signs of dementia. They had six children but lost one child decades earlier after a lifetime of health issues. The surviving five adult children are well into middle age and learning how to cope with their aging parents. Unfortunately, their children might be living in their 47 to 60-year old bodies, but seem trapped within their ten-year-old minds, filled with sibling rivalry. The children (still in competition for being the favorite) all have eyes on their parents’ estate that they hope to inherit, especially one special chair of their father’s.

In an obvious attempt to obtain the chair, the youngest daughter suggests hosting an 89th birthday party for the father. She innocently suggests bringing the chair over to her home so he can sit in it during the party. The siblings all see right through this and they are annoyed, the reader is chuckling. It is at the celebration when their youngest (the mother’s favorite) passes out in the birthday cake. The youngest is a charming, sweet, gay man who is also hopelessly drug-addicted. So once again they need to drag him to rehab. But it soon becomes clear to the reader that although the youngest is the designated problem child, all the adult children have issues. Unlike, the youngest they are functioning, but still are struggling with either prescription drugs, or maintaining long-term relationships, or lost a home to foreclosure, or another’s DUI’s (thank goodness the judge still has some influence), and one has a hidden sexual identity issue. None are shining stars. In other words, they are your typical dysfunctional family, and they are all unhappy in their own way. But here is the thing; they are as tight-knit as they are troubled. And throughout the story, just when you think they are terrible to one another you come to see their unbreakable bonds. You will giggle when reading how the two sisters agree to take their mom on a “mother-daughter” day.

The author, Janet Peery (a National Book Award finalist in 1996), in beautiful prose, gives us a portrayal of real life, with flawed characters as are real people. We go through a year in their lives, with medical, emotional, mental, physical, and financial troubles. I found this novel to be a spot-on family portrait, with its members showing and still loving each other for what and who they are. A story about forgiveness without being preachy for it left me with lingering warmth (preachy just annoys me). This is a good book to help one remember, that in today’s world we all seem obsessed with appearing perfect when in reality none of us are or ever will be. The youngest son spends time wondering why so many flaws in a family whose loving parents did not have such problems. He is unable to find an answer. The reader is free to make their own conclusion for Perry does not tell us. We are left with the thought-provoking question of just what makes a family a happy or an unhappy one. It may not be as simple as Tolstoy suggested.

Maybe it's because I grew up in a relatively normal family, but I just couldn't identify (or sympathize) with any of the characters in this book. Every member of the family was deeply flawed in one way or another (with the possible exception of Doro who seems to have a lot more common sense than the rest of the family combined). I did feel some sympathy for Hattie - but it was mixed with frustration that she brought everything on herself.

These were middle-aged 'children' who still act like youngsters - and not in a good way. There's fighting and jealousy and irritation with one another and with their parents. This is not a happy book!! The writing is good (though sometimes seemed to go off on a long tangent) but I have to admit it was a chore to get through it.

I give it 3 stars for the writing - and for the fact others might enjoy it a lot if they're familiar with these kinds of situations in their own families. Thankfully, I'm not.

Beautifully and lyrical. The story of a family coming together, as family's do, and adult children playing the roles they been playing for their whole lives. Complex and detailed, drawing pictures of real people.
Wonderful.

The Exact Nature of Our Wrongs by Janet Peery is a highly recommended look at the dysfunctional, aging Campbell family.

In Amicus, Kansas, the Campbell family has long been through the actions of their patriarch, Abel. Long retired, Abel was a town lawyer and later a judge. He ruled his family, including Hattie, his wife, via his scathing comments, exacting expectations, and demanded to be the center of attention. Hattie wonders of their family, once well-regarded by the community, is now considered to be to total decline as all of her and Abel's children were, and some are still, plagued by alcoholism, drug addictions, divorces, and foreclosures.

Of the five surviving children, it is the youngest, Billy, who receives the brunt of his father's loathing, yet the bulk of his mother's love and ever-present enabling. The rest of the siblings know Billy's issues, even as they deal with their own. Certainly it is Billy's health and addictions that have monopolized the family discourse for years.

This is a family drama where the family members are all playing out long-held roles despite the fact that the parents are in their late 80's, heading to 90s, with children in their early 50's to mid-sixties. The roles they have played and continue to play in their family's dynamics remain predictable and consistent, as the members seem to be unchanged, or unable to change and part ways with the familial role they have consistently acted out. And Hattie, bless her heart, plays favorites with such devotion that it is amazing that that all of the rest of the adult children don't simply let go of their need for approval. Yet they all cling to their bond of birth and replay old feuds and their need for their parent's approval.

There is no doubt that The Exact Nature of Our Wrongs is a beautifully written novel, both lyrical and descriptive. Peery's adept descriptions and details about the setting and her character's fears and foibles will resonate with many people who have experienced complex family dramas of their own. The characters are finely drawn and feel like real individuals. The Campbell's come to life as a real family comprised of individuals who are hurting, each in their own way. The story itself is slow moving as it recounts these latter years in the life of the senior Campbells and their children visiting them. Hattie is the heart of the story, along with her favorite Billy, while everyone else vies for her love.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Press.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2017/09/the-exact-nature-of-our-wrongs.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2130081420
https://www.librarything.com/work/19493435/reviews/146257277
https://www.facebook.com/shetreadssoftly/

This story is ultimately about everyone's family. There are always perceptions of who was the favorite, who was the smart one and in this story all of those old feelings come bubbling to the surface when they come to deal with their father and his declining health. I love when a family is a character as much as the individuals are because I often think of my family in that way. Beautiful writing only adds to the beauty of the story itself.

<i>Even a hundred years past the town’s founding a visitor to Amicus might guess it had been laid out by rival drunks.</i>

This is the opening sentence of author Janet Peery’s novel The Exact Nature of Our Wrongs and a metaphor for the Campbell family, the protagonists of the novel. This is a story about a dysfunctional family trying to deal with jealousy, alcoholism, drug addiction, illness. At a family gathering, a group of middle-aged siblings plan an intervention for their youngest brother, Billy. They have to be careful about proceeding with the plan because Billy is their mother’s favourite and she is a classic enabler who has always protected him from any repercussions of his behaviour while their father has always been a stern disciplinarian – a bad combination when bringing up children. However, it becomes clear very quickly that Billy is not the only one with problems.

This is a beautifully written novel and I did enjoy the prose quite a bit. However, I found the family very unlikeable with the exception of the mother, Hattie who, really, I just felt sorry for. They are all self-obsessed and self-delusional and I found it hard to feel empathy. On the other hand, I could recognize that adult children can hold resentments from childhood that continue to colour their behaviours and attitudes throughout their lives. And despite all their petty jealousies and addictive behaviours, it was clear that this was a family that loved each other deeply if not always kindly. This is a mostly slow moving quiet book about one dysfunctional family over the course of a single year and, if I never learned to like the Campbells, Peery’s beautiful prose made me want to.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

The place is Amicus, Kansas; the Campbell family has come together to celebrate the birthday of their frail, ancient patriarch, Abel. Ultimately, though, their attention is drawn, unavoidably, to the youngest among them. Billy is a walking pharmacy, but he won’t be walking anywhere for much longer if something isn’t done.

I read this book free and early thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press. If I had paid full retail price, it would have been worth every red cent. It had me at hello.

Everyone has known for some time about Billy’s dependency issues; he’s been riding the roller coaster of addiction for many years. Billy’s father wants to take a hard line with him, while his mother, Hattie, just wants to bring him home and tuck him into the guest bedroom. Brother Jesse objects, “He’s forty-fricking-seven, Mom.”

Elder daughter Doro, who is sixty and perhaps the only sane, normal person in the family, is concerned for her mother, who is past eighty and has already had a heart attack. Doro reminds her mother that “It’s Amicus. It’s your family. Where two’s company and three turns into an intervention.”

The setting of Amicus and the time period we see as we reach back into the family’s history is well rendered, but remains discreetly in the background as it should, not hijacking the story. The story itself is based on character, not just of any one person, but of the family itself. By the twenty percent mark I feel as if I have known these people all my life. The full range of emotion is in play as I immerse myself in this intimate novel, and there are many places that make me laugh out loud.

It isn’t too long before I can identify someone I know that is a Hattie, and someone that is a Billy. Given the widespread horror of opiate addiction, I will bet you a dollar that you know someone too. Before the halfway mark is reached, a terrible sense of dread comes over me, an aha moment I would not wish on my worst enemy. I begin to sense that perhaps I am Hattie.

This problem is everywhere. In the case of Billy Campbell, there’s a complicating factor: Billy is HIV positive and has been since he was 21. And again, I suspect that for many others, such issues also blur the distinction between medical treatment of some sort, and addiction.

I hope that you can get this book and enjoy it for its sly humor, brilliant word-smithery, and unmatchable character development. It’s excellent fiction, just exactly right for a chilly autumn evening in your favorite chair or snuggled beneath the quilts. But for me, it is valuable as a wake-up call, and it will do the same for many other readers also—I have no doubt.

It’s the right story, at the right time.

This book was not for me. From the description I was expecting to find a strong family working to overcome adversity. I felt more like it was a hot mess. I could not get into the book even after reading one-fourth of it. The writing style was good, but the story was simply not something I personally enjoyed.

Talk about an unhappy and dysfunctional family! There are a lot of characters, none of whom seem to like either each other or themselves, which made this a tough read because no one was someone I wanted to spend time with, not Hattie, not Abel, not Billy, not Doro, Clairebell, Jesse, or Gideon. The fact that they were able to put some of the enmity aside for Billy was a positive. This is a mid-western family and there were all sorts of nice details. Not all books have to have a happy ending but this just felt remarkably sour to me. These are 50 year olds who, even though their parents are still manipulating them, can't quite get it together. There are some lessons here for those of us who have challenges with our own parents. The writing felt very mannered to me, which didn't help. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I really wanted to like this but it was a tough go for me.