This is quite an emotional, unique story. The characters are very well developed and the story is at times very heartbreaking. This is a great book to choose for discussion.

The writing was good but like other reviewers have said, there were a lot of characters. I also felt it was hard to get through. I don’t think it was a long book, but it felt long. I guess the pacing was just slower than I am accustomed to. I do recommend for people who are interested in this based on the description, like I said the writing was good. You just need to be prepared for this type of story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

This book took me a very long time to get through. It is a very tough read, not because it's bad at all, but because it's heavy. More often than not I had to put it down after just a few sentences because of the emotional density of it all. The sentence structure is very "stream-of-consciousness" and I can't decide if this is the writers style overall or if it was done with purpose to draw you into the the mental illness pervasive throughout the entire story.

I worked in a psych hospital for awhile, and while I was drawn into the everyday lives of the patients, I was never able to truly see the toll on the families. Particularly the families who stayed invested in the patents while they were locked away, which unfortunately wasn't many. The fact that the burden is carried by children in this story is particularly heartbreaking.

If it wasn't for the great love surrounding the characters and tying them together I don't think I would have been able to get through this book. I know I'll continue to think about this book for quite some time, and to feel a lingering sadness for these characters who are forever affected and never truly healed by the experience of mental illness.

I couldn't wait to read about one woman's descent into mental illness. However, there were so many characters that it almost immediately became quite difficult to keep track of who was who, and worse, to care.
This wasn't particularly well written and I found it wearisome that it started with Walter's first day at college, a trope done to death.
I mostly skimmed this, because it wasn't interesting enough or engaging enough for me to read properly. It was very slow. I wish I could have given this a better review, based on the cover., which was gorgeous.

This novel covers about a decade of this family's life in California, when the eldest son takes off for college, and the high school daughter basically takes care of her younger brother and mother, until she too is able to escape to college. As readers, we didn't get to see much of this family together before the mother ends up severely depressed and forever in a psychiatric center, which is unfortunate to some degree because the mother was such a central force of this novel, and more or less disappears into her agony, while the children move forward. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but it's safe to say all the kids wonder if they will end up like their mother. Julie, the mother's loyal friend from when she was well and working as a nurse, is the person who drops everything to help this family, The novel shows how people gain strength from those who support them and how fragile that faith in others can be. The novel moved a bit slowly to cover these ten years, but for more patient readers, there is much to absorb in these pages.

Although I consider Mona Simpson approving author, this book tested my commitment to her. I felt like it started out with a bang and fizzled out about halfway through. The characters became flat and unbelievable. I struggle to finish it., The ending left me disappointed and unfulfilled. Thank you for my advance copy

Mona Simpson has written a number of highly regarded works of fiction, of which this is her latest. In Commitment, she pens a story of family and the sorts of stresses and bonds that join its members. Single mother, Diane, has done everything and more for her son and daughter; it has not always (or often) been easy. Children, Walter, Lina and Donny have their own deep wishes and needs. All will be challenged.

There is a double (at least) meaning in this book’s title as it refers to both relationships (family and friend) and psychiatric issues. All of these kinds of commitments are explored in the hands of this capable writer.

Publishers Weekly calls this one “deep and tender.” I think that readers will agree. They may also find it a bit slow moving.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for this title. All opinions are my own.

a well-fleshed out character study, although it did drag a little at times. i also didn’t particularly love the fact that it starts off with walter’s first day in college (a trope that’s been done a million times over) and some tidbits of donny’s arc, because i think it relied a little too much on stereotypes regarding addiction and such. however, the writing was very solid and i felt very attached to the characters by the time the story was over — so yes, it is definitely a worthwhile read!

This is a novel about the impact of a mother's hospitalization for serious depression on her three children. The oldest child, Walter is a college student at UC Berkeley. The two younger children are living with their mother's friend Julie while their mother resides in the hospital.

I got half-way through the novel and quit. The narrative and dialogue just didn't hold me and I decided not to continue. Maybe it's just the mood I'm in now because I loved some of the author's earlier work including her novel 'Anywhere But Here' and her short story, 'Lawns'. In fact, 'Lawns' is one of the most powerful stories of sexual abuse I've ever read.

I felt like the book was a little slow. It was a serious subject but I wish there were more moments of lightness. It made it hard to keep reading. The writing was good but it wasn't a book I was eager to return to.

It took a lot of commitment to stick with and finish this book, but I am so glad I did! <i>Commitment</i> is an epic, coming-of-age story about 3 siblings whose mother succumbs to mental illness and is committed to a mental institution while they are all quite young. The commitment was supposed to be temporary, but she never does come home. A friend of the mother's commits to raising the 3 kids and they become her life. Yes, the theme of commitment is woven throughout the story, to the 2 older children who struggle to commit to post-secondary education. The youngest bears most of the brunt of his mother's illness and the older siblings commit to helping him through his issues. The 3 siblings are also committed to their mother and their stand-in mother. This is a deep, immersive read that will stick with you for a long time. I'm still processing the magic of the author's storytelling. Not only is she a prolific wordsmith, but in <i>Commitment</i>, she spins a story that makes the reader feel as if part of the background. Highly recommended!

I wanted to like this book -- I liked previous Simpson books -- but I found it long-winded, depressing, and kind of all over the place. I believe there was true insight in the pages, but it was really hard to fibd.

Such a beautiful cover and with a "Read now" urging on NetGalley (thanks for the ARC) I couldn't wait to read about one woman's descent into mental illness. Except there were so many characters almost immediately it became quite difficult to keep track of who was who and worse, to care.
This wasn't particularly well written and I found it wearisome that it started with Walter's first day at college, a trope done to death.
I mostly skimmed this, because it wasn't interesting enough or engaging enough for me to read properly. It was very slow. I wish I could have given this a better review, based on the cover.

This book was so raw and so real, so broken yet full of such love. All of the characters (except Julie) were deeply flawed, but they were easy to love and get behind. As reader, we spend the entire book growing with the Aziz children, patiently and hopefully waiting on their mother to recover from her mental illness. This is a story of survival but also of making amends and finding happiness in life. I look forward to teaching this novel.

What does “commitment” really mean? In the broadest sense, a commitment is an agreement or pledge to do something in the future. But it can equally mean being willing to give your time and energy to something you believe in, binding yourself to a course of action, or choosing a course of continued love, happiness and fidelity. For an unfortunate few, it can also signify being voluntarily or involuntarily committed to a hospital setting.

All these definitions of commitment are explored in Mona Simpson’s latest novel, which explores the effect of a mentally ill mother’s collapse on her young family and the saving grace of sibling connections and friendships.

When Diane Aziz falls into a deep depression, it falls upon her best friend, Julie, to create a sort of home for Walter, Lina and Donnie. Each of them experiences the reverberations of Diane’s long-term hospitalization in his or her own way. Walter, the oldest, excels at Berkeley, where he is driven to be the master of his own destiny, first by studying medicine, and then by pursuing a career in architecture. Through sheer force of will, he creates a profitable and stable life.

Lina, his younger sister, who is equally bright, takes an “all or nothing” approach to getting into a prestigious Ivy League college. When her high stakes gamble doesn’t succeed, she pursues a love of art and also of a man she is head over heels about, who also elicits feelings of potential loss that may be lurking right around the corner.

And Donnie, the youngest, is left behind (literally and figuratively, since his role is only defined much later in the novel) begins to drift and feel the seductive siren call of escape and drugs.

Ms. Simpson foregoes bells and whistles and inorganic plot twists to simply let these characters reveal themselves, their yearnings and struggles, and their various approaches to creating lives that are filled with individual meaning. While a little editing down could have helped, I loved getting to know Walter, Lina and Donnie. Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for enabling me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this story, although it definitely dragged in parts. The ending was some of that, but other sections were wordier than it should have been. It was a good story about the evolution of a family. I loved seeing their different paths and personalities and how it all tied into a mother with major depression in the heyday of institution life for those people.

Whew. I just finished, and even though I had plenty of time to organize my thoughts about the book, I'm having a difficult time. First off, I loved it. I didn't love it when I began, and I slowly started to love it about halfway through. 3/4 of the way through i was smitten, and it hit me hard. I cared about the characters and what happened to them.

Mona Simpson's writing style is unique, and took some getting used to. I loved the simplicity, the need to not make a big statement, the attention to the every day details of lives. Told from three POVs, I felt connected in different ways to each of the children.

Having grown up and gone to college in the late 70's - early 80's, it was easy to identify with the kids. The connection with mental health and the care received by the mother was interesting, not over-dramatized, and felt real and heart-felt.

This was a long tale (you have to make a "commitment" to read it - yikes!), but I felt rewarded by my time spent with it.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I fell hard in love with this book. The story, the characters, the landscape, all drew me in and didn't let go. Mona Simpson beautifully tells a story of a single mother and her three kids: Diane, the fragile young mother. Walter, the high school graduate bound for Berkeley. Lina, the high achiever junior in high school holding down a job in an ice cream parlor. Donnie, a carefree middle schooler close to his mom. Their lives turn upside down when Diane falls into a major depression, and is eventually admitted into a state hospital. Told in six sections spanning over a decade, against a backdrop of Southern California, Northern California, and "back east", this is a story of family, of hope, and ultimately a story of love, in all its various nuances.

This was a ARC from @netgalley, thank you! I really enjoyed this story, not sure if I have ever read Mona Simpson before but now want to read her backlist. A family in California; a single mother and her three children, followed over many years. The mother has mental illness and goes to a facility, with hopes of getting better and coming back to her life, but it never happens. Her best friend takes on the care of the children, and really becomes their mother. We go through adolescence, college, and young adulthood with each of the children. All of the characters go through so much, the relationships are fraught but ultimately hopeful. There is a lot of love and a lot of anguish. I really cared about this family. This is 5 stars or close for me. #netgalley #commitment #monasimpson #foundfamily #relationship #siblinglove #bookstagram #booklover #reader #bookblog #lovetoread #fictionreader #bookreview #bookrecommendation #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #takeapagefrommybook #readallthebooks #booksbooksbooks

"Commitment,” the newest novel by Mona Simpson tracks the struggles of a single mother and her children in 1980s Los Angeles. This is the first I’ve read of Simpson but won’t be the last. ‘Commitment’ is a one of a kind work.