Invercargill City Libraries

An excellent debut novel : The descendants

Posted by Donna on 3 February 2012 | 0 Comments

Tags: movie tie-in, donnas reviews

The descendants : a novel Kaui Hart Hemmings

The movie is currently receiving much publicity, as is the fact that it is not to screen locally, here in Invercargill.  The book has received rave reviews, with comments such as "a remarkable feat" from Kirkus Reviews, and according to The guardian (London), it "manages to be both shockingly irreverent and funny while exerting that all-important emotional tug." 

It is the story of a family forced to deal, not just with turning off life-support for a deeply loved mother and wife, but to also cope with the sudden discovery that there is one significant person who has not been told: the man with whom Joanie had been having an affair. 

I have to admit to being forced to place a hold ahead of you.  The first pages pulled me in with excellent writing, and I am reassured by all the reviews that the author never resorts to melodrama.  Feel free to join me in the reading queue.  And maybe if we keep exerting pressure, the local cinema will come to the party, and we can share a box of tissues one evening, soon.