Family drama and bad decisions. There's heart here and humor but I didn't particularly like the characters and the writing was a tad too purple for me. Over to others.

I think this story got lost in translation for me. The writing was flowery bordering on over-the-top and I just didn't love the plot.

A Family Affair was a quick and easy read. This is the story of Magalie (Maggy), after she finds out her boyfriend and father of her child is having an affair. Magalie responds to the news that her partner is cheating by having an affair herself. Meanwhile, she is also dealing with the news her mother is in a relationship after losing her husband (Magalie’s father) to cancer.
This story highlights the complexities of families without going to deep, which kept this book a light read. I enjoyed it and would recommend for an easy beach read.
**huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This book is a new translation; the story of middle class families in Montreal, specifically centering two parents and their young daughter. The book is short and sweet, and the real star of the story is the mother, Magalie. She is inherently flawed but remains likeable as she tries to balance what so many modern women struggle with; parenting, working, "having it all". The book analyzes relationships under stress, and provides a modern social critique.

Who's looking for a seriously grown-up book about very messy marriages and family relationships? Well, I was and this book by screenwriter and novelist Nadine Bismuth kept me engaged on all fronts. Sophisticated, spare and unsparing, this novel takes apart the ties that bind, like love, monogamy and loyalty. Set in the upper middle class world of Montreal and translated from the original in French, A Family Affair was a bit of armchair travel combined with sharp observational fiction about ids gone mad in well-designed kitchens.

The writing in this book is reminiscent of the writing in times lost. I loved how flowery the words were but the book itself is very dialogue heavy. It does have a good undertone of what women can do when faced with hardship which was refreshing. It’s basically about a woman who is faced with an unfaithful husband. So instead of confronting him she decides to be unfaithful in return. The outcome of those choices are substantial though. It was a nice read once you got into it but it was at times hard to get lost in the story.

The story takes place in French-Canada where kitchen designer Magalie and lawyer Mathieu co-parent their 5-yr old daughter Charlotte. Magalie's father died 7 years ago and her mother Monique is just beginning to date a man named Andrè, who has a divorced son on the police force named Guillaume. When Magalie found out Mathieu was cheating on her with his young co-worker Sophie, rather than confront him or leave him, she opted to go the same route, cheating on him with her married co-worker Olivier. His wife Isabelle is the lifestyle icon to the brand Magalie and Olivier design kitchens for. The net goes much much further afield encompassing co-workers and foils, babysitters, friends, neighbors, moral dilemmas, human foibles, a murder investigation and an ongoing theme of consequences, and ongoingness.

Nadine Bismuth and translator Russell Smith have written a book so life-like and gripping it could be happening to someone I know and care about, somebody super interesting and funny who really knows how to hold my interest in the telling. The pace and plot keep changing but never get bogged down or veer into slapstick or heaviness. There are descriptions so good I marveled, like a teenager who's "become a monument to ingratitude and laziness"; or a separation "imperceptible to the naked eye, a sort of continental drift". I didn't want this book to end, I respect the ending for its realness.


Loc 1729 should be either my mother has, or our parents: (My parents have) brought the meal
Loc 1860 missing the: On ( ) way to the kitchen

I'm reading through the books eligible for the Giller Prize based on the Crazy For Canlit page on their website (https://scotiabankgillerprize.ca/crazy-for-canlit-2020/) as I am a member of the Shadow Giller jury this year.

This one appealed to me because of its premise and its cover (I'm honest, I do judge books by their cover, want to pick up certain books because their cover appeals...) But ranking it per thoughts of what the Giller jury may be choosing for its Longlist, I would rank this as having low potential. A dialogue heavy, sometimes rambling story about a middle class family from Montreal, I just feel it lacks the depth and sophistication the jury would be looking for to push it forward onto a literary prize longlist.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest

Magalie is a wonderfully flawed career woman with a small daughter. She is trying to balance motherhood, work, her relationship with her partner, and her feelings about her widowed mother moving on. She makes retalitorial mistakes and suffers consequences. She is relatable and likeable.

This would be a great women's book club choice as so many women struggle with the same sorts of issues as Magalie.