This book is close to being fantastic, but instead is just very good. It's a compelling story of the women in one family and their various struggles and pain - alcoholism, anorexia, prostitution, estranged relatives, loneliness, poverty, and a whole lot more. It can be grim but also has a lot of heart and, at times, hope. Lots of wonderful parallels between the characters. I loved the recurring bath tub scenes. It was interesting to read this after "The Empathy Exams," because now I knew the author's own experiences - which I often wonder about when I read fiction. Some terrible editing in the first twenty pages (inconsistency of simple facts, unreliable narrator) but the book got a lot better. There were also a few gaps in the characters' lives (I'll avoid spoilers) that would have enhanced their stories. Overall, definitely worth reading. Makes me want to reread (already!) the author's essay on how female pain is portrayed. I'm looking forward to a lot more from Leslie Jamison. Three things this novel does that I wish more contemporary novels did:Renders the way people stammer at each other Juxtaposes of families and lovers being awkward and conflict-avoidant with each other with super-dramatic sex and death scenesMakes me like the characters best when they're messing other people's shit up for no rational reason and messing up their own livesOtherwise it's hard to quantify what makes it so good except that each sentence is beautifully written and each character feels whole and painfully real.
What do You think about The Gin Closet (2010)?
Interesting, but kind of felt like parts were missing. I do love that there is no happy ending.
—Cacas
I dunno, alcohol is not my drug of choice, I can't relate.
—polly
I hoped this would be like her essays; it wasn't.
—Cas
