In today's political climate, this one struck close to home. I found it to be a spot-on parody and engaging story.

This is a fairly straightforward husband/wife/daughter family crisis/conflict sort of tale; it's done well, and the vast wealth of the family adds a bit of exotic spice. The real fun is in the framing, and the larger plot that involves the political machinations of those wealthy Republican movers, shakers, and edgelords who refused to get over Obama's election. Lots of pointed and edgy fun with broad satirical strokes. Given where we are now it all seems a bit innocent and dated, but that doesn't make the parts of the book that work any less fun.

Good book that had a few slow parts. It had some good parts to it that stood out. Not my cup of tea but someone else may like it.

A political satire that was clearly written for the liberal suburban hausfrau not for me. It's a shame, I was very excited to read something from this author.

Funny in a strange kind of way, but I think I need to stay away from anything political for a while. Kudos to the author though for getting us to find humor

Perhaps I should have known that I wouldn't like this book. Contemporary literary fiction rarely leaves me satisfied. This book was unfortunately no exception. I understand that this is a satire, that the characters are not meant to be likable, and that the events of the story are meant to be somewhat surreal or ridiculous in order to portray the outrageousness of real world events. I appreciate the effort Homes exerted to write this novel. It's just not for me. It felt bloated and tiring to read. Perhaps that was the point.

Once again, though, I would have much rather read a nonfiction account of the events satirized in this book, as I feel that would have been a more valuable dedication of my time.

This was a political satire novel that bordered on "realistic" as we bear witness to "Big Guy" Hitchens and his attempt to restore the Republican party, no matter what it takes.
As he does so, we also watch his family disintegrate. I really enjoyed this book, even if it at times was uncomfortably real. Thankful for the ARC.

n 2012, author A.M. Homes published her novel, May We Be Forgiven. It was awarded the 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction, and this fan has been waiting for more work since.

Her newest novel, The Unfolding, was well worth the wait. It follows a character known only as the “Big Guy,” as he mourns John McCain’s loss of the 2008 presidential election. And it focuses on his relationship with his wife and daughter during this time in which he fears for the future of America.

I recently spoke with A.M. Homes about her complex characters, how she believes the 2008 campaign directly led to the current state of political division, and more. Here’s our conversation.

This one seems extremely up my alley but didn't work for me for a variety of reasons. I think it maybe hit a bit too close to home? For whatever reason, I couldn't get invested in the characters in the way I wanted and meant to.

On the night of the 2008 election, The Big Guy needs to feel like he can take back control after John McCain lost his bid to be President. He is rich enough to create a way to just what he wants.

The Unfolding is the story of The Big Guy and his reaction to the 2008 election. He gets some other like minded men together to come up with a plan on how they can get their country back and save it. At the same time his wife is falling apart and his daughter learns that what she knows might not be true.

I like the concept but the execution failed. It is a two POV story with one being The Big Guy and the other his daughter. The Big Guy's chapters were mainly about how to "save" America and his daughter's were about the family. The Big Guy's were long and boring while the daughter's were more interesting but about half the length so it left you wanting more. I cared more about the family story and less about old, rich, white guys thinking the country is coming to an end because Obama won. The story told in those chapters was lots of long winded talks with little action and very vague in plans.

Unfolding

I have read Homes’ previous work so his writing was familiar to me; this was another reason why I requested this book. I sadly didn’t enjoy this book as much as I had enjoyed Homes’ previous work ‘This Book Will Save Your Life’. I think I went in this book with very high expectation, but the book didn’t live up to that level of expectation. I find Homes’ writing quite deep, he extensively researches on topics he writes about in his books. Unfolding was no exception, I, wasn’t very informed about America politics as it’s not a topic the interest me, but from Unfolding I learnt stuff I hadn’t been aware of. I learnt that American politics is much more than what we see on the surface, what we see on the news and read in textbooks. The author even mentioned it in his book that there were levels going up to 25 or more.

Set in 2008 the time of American election where Barack Obama was elected as the first Black president. This revelation had shaken many Americans to the core, they were not expecting this to happen. The story starts on election day when Big Guy, Charlotte and Meghan who had turned 18 meet up at Washington so that Meghan can cast her very first vote. All her life Meghan is brought up knowing how great America is but as the book progresses, she learns she may have been sold a lie.

I felt the relationship between Big Guy, Charlotte (Big Guy’s wife) and Meghan is not what we consider normal between a conventional family. Quite early in the book Big Guy is looking back and telling his wife Charlotte that he knows it wasn’t easy for her to live with him he refers himself as “I know I’m no cake walk”. I found Meghan relationship with her mother strange special when she gives the analogy of horse riding as an ‘unspoken’ activity according to her mother and compares it with how she interacts with her mother through ‘a look, a nod, a sigh’. As a reader this was quite touching to know that Meghan is a normal person like the rest, just craving for love and affection.

I find Homes’ also touched on family dynamic of elite people, people who are so rich with bank balance that exceeds 6 zeros. Homes’ told us through his story that rich people aren’t exempt from problems, especially in their homes. It was so evident that Charlotte was suffering from depression and that others were also aware, but nothing was done or said until she hit rock bottom.

Even though this wasn’t one of my favourite Homes’ works there is a lot to learn from Homes’ writing. I really enjoyed reading the family dynamics between Big Guy, Charlotte and Meghan. I wouldn’t say it was an easy read, Homes’ writing is so deep you have to stay focused or you won’t be able to comprehend what’s going on. I am waiting eagerly for the authors future work.

I would like to thank A. M. Homes, NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking for allowing me the opportunity to read an EARC of this book.

I enjoyed The Unfolding, even if I didn't completely "get" it. I found Meghan's trajectory more interesting than that of the Big Guy, perhaps because I couldn't get a handle on what he and his cronies were really trying to do. It was interesting to get into the heads of men whose views are so different than mine. I think Homes captured the experience of the 2008 election very well and it really brought me back, as someone who was just slightly older than Meghan (but different from her in just about every other respect) at the time.

The ferocious start leads us in a direction I didn’t expect. And that may be a good thing.. This often hilarious look at the origins of the MAGA movement feels like a relished satire, until a soft underbelly takes center stage. Fans out for blood might be disappointed, but maybe this compassionate take can bring us all to a somewhat better place.

I was unable to complete this book because I just couldn't find any narrative urgency. It felt more like an experiment in making the abhorrent sympathetic, and I couldn't continue because there wasn't enough of a plot. Or there was a plot, but it was a horror story that has happened in real life and I couldn't take it. The attention to detail was what I expect from Homes and the prose was strong as always, but I couldn't connect with this story even with my analytical side. Thanks to Goodreads and the publisher for the e-galley.

I've heard great things about Homes' previous work and maybe I should have started there. This novel is essentially fine but nowhere near as outrageous or revealing as it seems to think it is. In fact, reading it feels like re-reading old news articles you've already read (and been irritated/stressed out by) from the last six years. It doesn't really have anything to add to a conversation that's already been picked apart ad nauseam in the news cycle.

I should pay closer attention to my choices. Had I known the subject matter concerned a version of the person who continues to dominate the news, I never would have chosen this book.

I wanted this book to work. I wanted it to be really about a cabal of people behind all the craziness we're seeing in the world. I wanted the plan, the execution, the details.

What I got was a family drama filled with unlikeable characters masquerading as a political novel.

The last 15 pages were the most interesting, but, again, not enough.

Strong writing in a decent story. I find it more challenging to like a story when I don't like most of the characters, as I found here. However, I suspect many will connect with book, as it has a lot of good qualities.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

I really enjoyed this book about a super wealthy family and how they handle the loss of their candidate during the 2008 election. Super creative and unpredictable. I loved hearing the perspective of the wife and daughter, as well as the main character. It’s pretty reflective of what is happening now and a decent explanation of how we arrived here. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

When I first dipped into “The Unfolding” it took about three pages for me to say, “Yuck. No” But then I tried again and was initially engaged by the story but finally was not able to go any further. It sickened me. It infuriated me. If that was A. M. Homes’ goal, this is a five star novel.

The Big Guy is a wealthy conservative who, in his outrage over the election of a Black man to the Presidency, gathers like minded men together to make sure this doesn’t happen again. His college-age daughter is studying history, and imagine what happens when she finds that the history she is studying not not jive with the history her family espouses. This is ultimately a book about family but the other elements that push their way into the story were hard for me to take.

I’m not sure who this novel is intended for. I’m not even sure that readers who would cheer for the Big Guy would embrace it. I’m giving it two stars—it’s well written, and I tried twice to give it a go. I’m interested to see the kind of discussion this novel whoops up.