Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Tuesday Intro: They May Not Mean To, But They Do

Molly Bergman moved to California, and it broke her mother's heart. There are daughters who spend their lives trying to escape their mothers, who move to their particular California the minute they're able to, who never stop moving to California. Molly was decidedly not one of those daughters. It was a painful move even before her parents got, so suddenly, so old.
They May Not Mean To, But They Do
by Cathleen Schine

This novel is at the top of my very modest library stack. It came in just before we left on vacation, but I didn't want to take a library hardcover along on the trip. Now it's due on Saturday. I plan to finish Dear Committee Members  today, and hopefully get started on this tonight.

Schine's earlier novel, The Three Weissman's of Wesport (a modern retelling of Sense and Sensibility) was just plain fun and I requested this book from the library immediately after reading Audrey's review. I have a feeling it will strike a chord with me, as well.

Here's the Goodreads summary:
The Bergman clan has always stuck together, growing as it incorporated in-laws, ex-in-laws, and same-sex spouses. But families don’t just grow, they grow old, and the clan’s matriarch, Joy, is not slipping into old age with the quiet grace her children, Molly and Daniel, would have wished. When Joy’s beloved husband dies, Molly and Daniel have no shortage of solutions for their mother’s loneliness and despair, but there is one challenge they did not count on: the reappearance of an ardent suitor from Joy’s college days. And they didn’t count on Joy herself, a mother suddenly as willful and rebellious as their own kids. 
The New York Times–bestselling author Cathleen Schine has been called “full of invention, wit, and wisdom that can bear comparison to [ Jane] Austen’s own” (The New York Review of Books), and she is at her best in this intensely human, profound, and honest novel about the intrusion of old age into the relationships of one loving but complicated family. They May Not Mean To, But They Do is a radiantly compassionate look at three generations, all coming of age together.
What do you think? Would you keep reading?


Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she decided to read based on the opening. Feel free to grab the banner and play along.

39 comments:

  1. This one is on my wish list after hearing an interview with the author on NPR's Fresh Air. Enjoy!

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    1. Catherine - Thanks for mentioning that... will see if I can find the interview online.

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  2. Ah, I like the beginning of this. Hope it's a good one for you.

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  3. This book sounds lovely. I like the role-reversal and may read it for that alone.

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    1. Margot - I like the role-reversal, too. Have feeling I'll like this book.

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  4. Interesting. I like the beginning and the blurb intrigues me though I don't understand keeping exes around! I'll be curious to see what you think of this one and Dear Committee Members.

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    1. Katherine - Yeah, we're not big on keeping exes around here either ;-)

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  5. I think (I hope) you'll love it. I think I would have enjoyed it no matter what, but there were parts that resonated very closely to my life (or my parents', even more so).

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    1. Audrey - I finished Dear Committee Members over lunch. Can't wait to start this one tonight.... have a feeling it will resonate with me, as well.

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  6. This sounds like a winner! I think I'll look for it on audio.

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    1. Les - The audio has very high ratings on audible!

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  7. That's a great beginning. I like spunky older characters like Joy, so I'd enjoy reading this book for that reason alone. It has been added to my TBR list.
    Thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment.
    Sandy @ TEXAS TWANG

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    1. Sandra - Can't wait to get to know Joy and the rest of the family!

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  8. What a turn of tables! I'm interested to see where this goes.

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    1. Charlie - So am I! Will be starting tonight :)

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  9. I hadn't heard of this one before, but I enjoy inter-generational stories and this sounds like it will be fun.

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    1. Literary Feline - I enjoy that kind of story, too. I've enjoyed this author before, so my hopes are high.

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  10. I haven't heard of this book, or the author's previous book before but this does sound very interesting indeed. I like the way the family grew before old age... sounds as though you may be going through the whole spectrum of emotions!

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    1. Cleo - Yes, I can definitely see both laughing and crying with this book.

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  11. I think I'd keep reading: if there's fun and humor involved which I think I've heard about with this author -- then it sounds good to me. Please let us know if it's good?!

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    1. Thecuecard - I read the first 50 or so pages last night and am hoping there will be humor involved. Otherwise it may get depressing...

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    1. Diane - I've enjoyed this author in the past. Hope this is good, too.

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  13. This looks like a good one. I would keep reading. Enjoy!

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  14. Are you liking Dear Committee Members? I had mixed feelings about it...I liked it, but I didn't love it. And I guess I really wanted to love it.

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    1. Lark - I just finished Dear Committee Members yesterday and thought it was quite funny... though in a passive-aggressive kind of way. The length was just right, too. Much more of it and I would have gotten sick of it. Overall good, but nor great. Maybe 3.5/5 stars.

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  15. I haven't heard about this book, but it really sounds like a good one.

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    1. Yvonne - I ended up starting the book last night and it is good so far.

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  16. Yes, I'd read it. Let's see what you think.

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    1. Deb - Very good... but maybe not if you're going through it right now.

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  17. I read a book by this author a long time ago and remember enjoying so yes, I'd definitely would read this one! Great teaser!

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    1. Iliana - This is the second book I've read by this author... I like her work.

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  18. This does sound like a fun read--I would have to be in the right mood, but I think I would like it.

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    1. JaneGS - You definitely need to be in the right mood (or stage of life) to enjoy this book.

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  19. I'd read it. Adult children just don't understand that we, as their parents, we're young once too and have interests other than sitting in statis waiting for them to call or visit. Haha I think I'd like this book,

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    1. Tina - I finished yesterday and liked it a lot. It showed how everyone was feeling and how expectations of parents and children are quite different.

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  20. I'm sorry I wasn't around for the Tuesday Intros....I recently downloaded this book and can't wait to read it.

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