Family and Other Catastrophes

Family and Other Catastrophes

by Alexandra Borowitz

Narrated by Amanda Ronconi

Unabridged — 9 hours, 9 minutes

Family and Other Catastrophes

Family and Other Catastrophes

by Alexandra Borowitz

Narrated by Amanda Ronconi

Unabridged — 9 hours, 9 minutes

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Overview

A delightfully quirky debut about family bonds and the chaos that ensues when nature and lack of nurture collide.

Emily Glass knows she's neurotic. But she's got it under control. Sort of. She dons compression socks when she flies (because, you know, deep vein thrombosis) and responds to people routinely overestimating her age with more Lifespin classes and less gluten. Thankfully, she also has David, the wonderful man she'll soon call husband-assuming they can survive wedding week with her wildly dysfunctional family.

Emily's therapist mother, Marla, who's been diagnosing her children since they were in diapers, sees their homecoming as the perfect opportunity for long-overdue family therapy sessions. Less enthused are Emily and her two siblings: ardently feminist older sister Lauren, who doesn't think the wedding party should have defined gender roles, and recently divorced brother Jason, whose overzealous return to singlehood is only tempered by his puzzling friendship with David's Renaissance Faire-enthusiast brother.

As the week comes to a tumultuous head, Emily wants nothing more than to get married and get as far away from her crazy relatives as possible. But that's easier said than done when Marla's meddling breathes new life into old secrets. After all, the ties that bind family together may bend, but they aren't so easily broken.

Laugh-out-loud funny and endearingly raw, Family and Other Catastrophes is as entertaining as your favorite sitcom and introduces Alexandra Borowitz as an outstanding new voice in humorous fiction.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Family and Other Catastrophes is a zany, heartfelt, and laugh-out-loud funny debut."-HelloGiggles

"Hilarity and dysfunction ensues."-New York Post

"Alexandra Borowitz paints a quirky picture of what it means to 'honor thy father and mother.'"-The Associated Press

"Family and Other Catastrophes is the perfect book for anyone with a calamity of a family who wants to laugh along in knowing hilarity. Alexandra Borowitz has written characters who we hate to love but yet we do (love them) because we know these people intimately, they are our own family."-Ann Garvin, USA TODAY bestselling author of I Like You Just Fine When You're Not Around

"Family and Other Catastrophes is, hands down, one of the funniest novels I've read this year. The members of the Glass clan are as hilarious as they are cringe-worthy, and Alexandra Borowitz's rendering of family dysfunction is charming, insightful, and wickedly smart. Honestly, the only real catastrophe here is that this wonderful book had to end."-Grant Ginder, author of The People We Hate at the Wedding

"Humor and heart mix in Borowitz's debut novel, which will resonate with anyone who loves their family despite said family's best efforts."-Kirkus

"Debut author Borowitz comes on strong in this feisty, laugh-out-loud comedy....The laughs just keep coming. Hats off to Borowitz for bringing to light the comedy of what happens before 'I do.' An excellent read for anyone who has been part of a wedding."-Library Journal

"A laugh-out-loud funny debut that portrays a very real depth of emotion about the complex web that is family, set against one of life's most stressful events: a wedding. Borowitz treats her characters with the kind of compassion and heart that will have you cheering for them-despite their flaws-until the very last page. A must read!" -Kristy Woodson Harvey, bestselling author of Slightly South of Simple

"The plot is fast paced and laugh-out-loud moments are throughout the book. Alexandra Borowitz writes her novel with humor and it shines brightly."-Romantic Times Book Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

2018-01-23
A wedding weekend tests an eccentric family's bonds.Emily Glass, a woman in her late 20s with a handsome fiance and a whole lot of anxiety in tow, flies back to the family home in Westchester for her wedding. The youngest of three, she quickly finds herself mixed back up in the dysfunctional ways of her family. Her older sister, Lauren, a progressive so far to the left she may as well be in a different country, and her brother, Jason, a recently divorced dad aggressively putting himself back on the market, provide surprising comfort to the bride as the three face guilt trips from their psychologist mother and family secrets unraveling as the wedding week marches on. With a fast pace and constantly shifting point of view, the book adeptly weaves between the characters, making them all feel real and three-dimensional without losing track of the narrative. Beyond just the members of the Glass family, Emily's fiance David's family, including his Renaissance Faire-loving, fedora-wearing little brother and eternally bored teenage stepsister, and various members of the wedding party fill out a cast that showcases many different perspectives while not seeming overrun with characters. It's brimming with humor and pop-culture references that will make older millennials smile but never seems too on-the-nose or cheekily self-aware. There are moments where the tone feels slightly off, and sometimes it punches down with its humor, especially when it comes to Lauren and her social justice ideals, but ultimately, it presents a sympathetic picture of a family with issues it doesn't want to face and the ties that bind them together anyway.Humor and heart mix in Borowitz's debut novel, which will resonate with anyone who loves their family despite said family's best efforts.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940173688934
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 04/10/2018
Edition description: Unabridged
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