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Anita S.
Dysfunction at its best
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was funny, crazy, sad, and much more. Every character had their own chapter where they related their thoughts which revealed the type of person they were. Except for Ollie, all were very insecure and misguided in their judgements of each other. The siblings had a dysfunctional relationship with each other and their mother but really loved each other. I particularly liked Alice who could spot all the phonies and even recognized it in herself. I like reading a book that's different and interesting and has characters with faults, just like the rest of us.
Nan G. (Cross Plains, WI)
Weddings & Families: Perfect Combination
Grant Grinder has written a book that is much like one of the cocktails that appear throughout: frothy on the surface but packing a punch underneath. The siblings Paul, Alice and Eloise are likable and "dislikable" in equal quantities, the secrets bubbling beneath the surface kept me coming back for more as did the bitingly spot on descriptions of the excesses of wealth.
At its core, The People We Hate at the Wedding, is about how family dysfunction can be the glue that holds a family together and how love truly does keep people together. I highly recommend this funny, heart breaking, complicated novel.
Linda Z. (Melville, NY)
Love and Marriage
I would like to thank BookBrowse and Flatiron Books for the Advanced Reading Edition of "The People We Hate at the Wedding" by Grant Ginder for my honest review.
The genres of this book are Contemporary Adult Fiction, and Humor and Satire.
I find that the author describes his complex and complicated characters as completely dysfunctional as a family unit. Their relationships with others and their relationships at work are also dysfunctional.
This novel is witty and there is satire surrounding one of the half-siblings weddings. There are three siblings in total. Two have the same mother and a different father and
…more live in a comfortable home in America. Their father has just died and there is anger and resentment towards their mother.
The other sibling lives in England, and is getting married. She shares the same mother, but her father, who is still living, is very wealthy so she has had many opportunities in education and travel that her siblings have not. There is a tremendous amount of jealousy.
There is going to be an elegant wedding and the family from America has RSVP'd. There are mixed feels of resentment, jealousy, and confusion. Don't ask about their significant others, please don't.
Grant Tinder describes family dynamics, with love and hate, encouragement and support,emotional feelings and hope, learning self worth, and learning to communicate.
Is it possible that one can love and hate at the same time? The author discusses many modern issues such as being gay, adultery,and abuse in relationships.
I would highly recommend this intriguing and humorous book. (less)Not knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised to find I was reading a comedic look at a supremely dysfunctional family as they prepare for a wedding of one of their own. I thought the characters were perfect satires of self-absorbed millennials and the author did a great job switching the narration between each of them. I already have a couple of friends in mind who would love for me to pass this one along to them!
Lesley F.
Siblings at Their Worst(Best)
This isn't I Love Lucy funny nor is it Bob Hope funny. Maybe it's George Carlin funny or Richard Prior funny. If you get THAT reference and are interested, then you will likely enjoy this seriously dysfunctional family. Anyone from Gen-X through the Millennials will appreciate the humor. The language is often crude and the situations exaggerated but the feelings are true to the life of siblings (at least in North America) . I hardly laughed out loud (ok, maybe once or twice) but, boy, did I snigger a lot at these geniuses of the sibling back-stab that Grant Ginder created. A quote from a character stood out for
…more me as well: "Relationships are awful. They'll kill you, right up to the point where they start saving your life". Paul and Alice's half-sister, Eloise, who has always been well-off, is getting married in London, England. Fancy hotels, smart restaurants, a reception at a country estate: they couldn't hate it more. The estranged clan gathers together as Eloise's walk down the aisle approaches...The author plainly knows that there can be no happy ending here, but it is clearly a hopeful one, in a twenty-first century way. In hindsight, the publicity on the covers of this book suggest raucous but good humor, and plans to publish with a lot of "wedding" language. It fooled many reviewers. Perhaps it needs a bit of re-thinking unless the marketing is exclusively aimed at people under 50. I intend to buy copies for my remaining brother and sister and both son and daughter in the hopes that they get all that sibling stuff still! (less)I disagree with the majority of reviews, as I found the book very humorous. Humanity, when not at war, or suffering a chronic condition, is ripe for humor. What other species would crawl around in garbage, wanting TO GET BETTER emotionally....Is it not humorous that an aging woman could RUIN HER ENTIRE DAY, wishing she was still young and wrinkle free? Sexual "threesomes" are hysterical; considering most participants are either chemically altered or analyzing why this should be considered perfectly normal..Oh sure!
Life is funny, and this book reminds us that most families do not send honest Christmas or Holiday
…more letters. We are desperate to sound so normal, and yet normal is hardly very interesting. This book delivers honestly... (less)Loved the title --- and couldn't wait to jump in! But, I picked up and started and restarted this book at least four times...I just couldn't connect with the characters and really didn't find it funny but more "sad" about the dysfunction of the family. Perhaps would appeal more to younger readers who could relate better to the scenarios. Gave it a good try, but just can't get into it.
Sarah
Like a train wreck - you can't look away!
With the title "The People We Hate at Weddings" you are not going to read this book to root for the underdog or see yourself (hopefully) in the characters. Rather, you will read it for the same reason you watch The Real Housewives or a public break up. It's horrible to watch, horrible to enjoy but you keep coming back because it is so good. For every time I put the book down because it got too uncomfortable or I couldn't take any more of how insufferable the characters were, I had to pick it up to see how it all ended. I hope I don't scare you off of reading the book, because it does offer a wonderful insight
…more into the people we meet in public and wonder how the hell they ended up that way. It may make an attempt at humanizing the more annoying of the characters that show up in life, but it doesn't excuse their actions or behavior. A good read if you find yourself watching House Hunters to judge how unrealistic the couples budget is or place bets on if they stay together or not. (less)
