Grief in Contemporary Literature: Background information when reading Did You Ever Have A Family

Grief in Contemporary Literature

This article relates to Did You Ever Have A Family

Bill Clegg's Did You Ever Have A Family tells the story of different characters whose lives intersect as they deal with the struggles (and few successes) of life. One character stands out among the large cast: June Reid, a middle-aged woman, who is dealing with the loss of her entire family from a tragic fire.

As you might guess by June's situation, Clegg's novel does not hold back from covering the unpleasant aspects of life. This is a work that touches on a lot of big, and often dark, themes. We see struggle and guilt and loneliness. The most prevalent feeling throughout the book, though, is the intense sensation of profound grief. How might we recover from such a deep, tough place? And, even then, are we ever able to really return to a sense of normalcy?

While Clegg's work is fiction, it often feels very true. Grief is certainly not an uncommon feature in fiction and in non-fiction. In 2011, Joyce Carol Oates and Meghan O'Rourke discussed the importance of this very feeling in "Why We Write About Grief" in The New York Times. In the article, O'Rourke makes a telling observation about why writers talk so openly about sadness in their art. She states that they "create a public space where we can talk safely about grief." There is certainly comfort in seeing our own grief mirrored in a story, whether those words are fictional or not. Perhaps there is comfort, too, in reading about the inevitable darkness we will one day experience.

And so maybe we really do need to read grief-filled narratives. These six contemporary titles are among the most affecting in their exploration of profound grief:


Fiction

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra

Anthony Marra's debut novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, is a haunting piece of fiction. There are moments of pain and grief that sting. The novel follows eight-year-old Havaa, who lives in a small village in Chechnya. She watches as soldiers take away her father. As if watching her parent being escorted to his probable death isn't enough, the soldiers then set Havaa's home on fire. Havaa struggles to survive in the often cruel world; however, compassion soon appears and Marra's novel finds its hope.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Aren't all post-apocalyptic novels about grief? Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road might just be the best of all of them. The Road follows a nameless father and son as they navigate a burned American landscape. The coldness stings them, and the ashen snow falling from the sky creates an even darker world than the one in which they already exist. Oh, and there are cannibals running rampant. The man and his boy struggle to find food, and they can only vaguely remember all the things that once made them smile. They fight to keep hope alive.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Lydia Lee is the star character in Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You. There's something unusual, though, about the protagonist: she's dead. The opening sentence tells us her fate. What follows is a story about immigration, isolation, identity, and grief. Pain oozes from the pages. Lydia's death rocks her parents' world, and readers will be left in a similar condition.


Non-fiction

I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldin Abuelaish

Izzeldin Abuelaish's memoir I Shall Not Hate will jar your very being. Abuelaish is a Palestinian doctor who was born in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. His book discusses how, in 2009, three of his daughters and a niece were killed by Israeli fire. After experiencing such a loss, it might be expected that Dr. Abuelaish would want retaliation. Instead, I Shall Not Hate looks at how a broken man finds peace in trying to assist others – both those like him and those like the ones who took his family away from him.

Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward

Jesmyn Ward's Men We Reaped is among the most gut-wrenching memoirs to ever be published. Her book is both thoughtful and deeply personal. In it, she describes the deaths of five black men, who were family members and close friends, within a four-year period. Ward discusses how these five men died from various causes, including accidents, drugs, and suicide. The common link is that the environment in which the men lived was a critical factor in their deaths. Ward examines the racial injustices and economic disadvantages that exists in the rural American South, and her observations will take your breath away.

Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala

Sonali Deraniyagala's devastating Wave recounts her own experience with the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka that forever changed her, and so many others', lives. Deraniyagala and her entire family – her sons, her husband, and her parents – were at a beach resort, when the storm struck. All, except her, died. What follows is her story of recovery. It is sure to bring tears to your eyes, but it's one that'll also inspire you to make the most of each and every day.

Filed under Reading Lists

This "beyond the book article" relates to Did You Ever Have A Family. It originally ran in October 2015 and has been updated for the May 2016 paperback edition. Go to magazine.