Meet the Aziz family - three children and mother Diane. The father, an Afghanistan native is no longer in the picture. The tight-knit and dysfunctional family deals with a multitude of issues in this story including mental illness. In the 1980's, the eldest child is off to college as the younger children are forced to reckon with their mother's deepening depression.

It's a fascinating study of a family - one you will not soon forget. Mona Simpson lovingly paints a picture of a group of people bond by blood trying to do the best they can. I can't tell you much more, except that you will love this book! If you like family stories, contemporary issues and beautiful writing, Commitment is for you!
#Commitment #MonaSimpson #Knopf #Pantheon

Thank you to the author and publisher for an e-ARC via NetGalley.

This novel follows a family as they navigate their personal lives and family crises throughout the years. The story can be very slow, and there were times when I considered DNFing it for that reason. But I am glad I powered through as the story itself was very moving and a testament to the love shared with both friends and family.

This book was very confusing but beautifully written but I could not finish the book. It kind of over explained some things and didn't explain enough during other parts of the book.

Honestly Mona Simpson is allowed to keep writing the same book for as long as she lives. California! Women chafing against being seen only as mothers! Absent dads and the children who wrongly revere them! Whatever "the counterculture" meant when Walter Cronkite was the only news anchor! God I love Mona Simpson. Thank you for never changing.

Single mom and nurse Diane Aziz has three children - Walter, Lina and Donnie. After she drives Walter to college at UC Berkeley, she falls into a deep depression and must be hospitalized, which leaves her remaining two children in limbo. Thankfully, a friend Julie steps up.
Meanwhile, the children must discover themselves and their way in life. Walter navigates pre-med classes, roommates, work, and love. Lina works at the ice cream shop before discovering art. Donnie struggles behaviorally until he is invited to embrace sobriety.
This book moves slowly through almost a decade of living. Some parts were definitely too wordy, and I didn't care for some of the graphic sex scenes or profanity. But overall, I enjoyed the story. I wanted to find out what happened with the family members. And the relationships and interactions between the siblings, their mom and their adopted mom touched my emotions. I also appreciated themes like navigating mental health and long-term illness, relating to siblings, and choosing friends who become family.

I didn’t finish this long and boring book which seems to have mental illness as the connective tissue in this dysfunctional two-dimensional family.

I am vey disappointed. This looked like it would be an interesting book.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

in 1970s california, walter is taken to college. he waits for a phone call to hear that his family made it home safe. relief hits him when his mother finally calls and tells him that she’s home and will call him next sunday. little does walter know that he will be spending almost every sunday with his mom from inside a mental health institution.

while providing deep insight into many characters, the novel does drag in many instances. there were moments i was glued into reading, and other moments i wanted to be done. each character is beautifully written, but the plot was very gripping until the last quarter.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy in exchange for an honest review!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf press for the free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great coming of age novel with dysfunctional family drama thrown in. We have the Aziz family consisting of a single mom doing her best to raise her children to be set up for a better life than she experienced. She manipulates the school system so that her kids are able to go to a much better school district than they are zoned for. But the kids, being from a lower class and income level than their peers, have to grow up dealing with their poverty being front and center. The story opens with Walter going to college. Walter blossoms there cultivating friends for the first time and really enjoying himself. The other kids are left at home with Diane and do not fair so well.

Diane becomes so depressed that she is hospitalized. Her closest friend tries to care for the kids remaining at home and pursue Diane's dream for them The middle child, Lina, works at an ice cream parlor, and gambles on the Ivies like her friends. The youngest, Donnie, falls into drugs.

This novel, at its heart, is about family and our duty to support each other. These are the struggles that we all face at one point or another when our own parent falls ill. As a single mom of three, I found I had great empathy for Diane and felt at times, that there, but for the grace of God, go I.

Highly recommend!!

At times I got bogged down in this book because it became very depressing, but I soldiered on and ended up really enjoying it! Diane is a single mother raising Walter, Donnie, and Lina; she uses another address to get them into a fancy school and later Walter gets accepted into UC Berkeley. Happy to be away from home, he thrives there and does well, but his siblings are another story. And so this is the tale of a family trying to make it in the midst of many struggles financially, economically, mentally, and physically. But they are "committed," to each other, to their community, and often to other things outside of their control. I'm so glad I stuck with it as it's an homage to families who may not have it all but will make the best of what they DO have to not only survive but to thrive in this often-cruel world!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Commitment by Mona Simpson is truly one remarkable story!

I loved everything about Commitment!
The writing is stellar and gripping.
I was captivated almost immediately. The writing grabbed me from literally the first page and kept me entranced.
Her writing flows so beautifully. You can't help but to flip the pages and keep reading.
My first book by Mona and I must say she is an amazing writer.
The way she wrote these characters was phenomenal.
I enjoyed this one too much.
This story is as touching as it is inspiring!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Knopf,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. Will recommend it to everyone I know!

I was thrilled to see that Mona Simpson had a new book. Her writing is so clear and precise, it becomes almost invisible, disappearing into the the stories of the characters and their journeys. With similar themes as Simpson's previous titles--absent father, mother with mental illness, children who must find their own ways--"Commitment" follows siblings, mother, and family friends through a decade of change and growth as they explore college, relationships, and the impact of chronic illness on the lives of everyone it touches. This was a joy to read and I will heartily recommend it to our users.

Slice of life meets coming of age with family dynamics & exploration of self woven in.
Slow & meandering at times considered dnf’ing yet compelled to continue reading.
Especially liked the occasional foreshadowing references sprinkled in--provided a glimpse into the characters' future selves.
Also wonderful layers of meaning in the book's title.

With great thanks to NetGalley & Knopf Publishing for this e-ARC!