Joshua Henkin
Fiction
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I mean, the entire plot revolves around family, so it should’ve been a really good book. But it wasn’t. And I can’t put my finger on why.
The World Without You is about the Frankel family. A year after youngest child Leo is killed in Iraq, his remaining family members gather for a memorial in his honor. Parents Marilyn and David are on the verge of divorce because Leo’s death has sent them spiraling in different directions, daughter-in-law Thisbe is ready to move on with her life, daughter Clarissa is getting older every day and desperately wants to conceive, other daughter Lily isn’t quite sure what she wants out of life, and other daughter Noelle drags her husband and four sons all the way from Jerusalem to attend the memorial. But tempers flare and secrets come out when Marilyn announces her and David’s separation, and the whole family begins to realize they need to stop thinking about what could’ve been for Leo and start looking ahead.
This book just wasn’t that interesting. You’d think with all the drama going on it would’ve been, but I grew bored quite often and found myself skimming a lot. There were way too many descriptions of things I didn’t give a crap about: boring household items, as an example. And I didn’t really grow to like any single character. Everyone was just kind of there. Not much happened, either: just people gathering, the memorial, and then everyone going home.
If you really need something to read and this is the only book around, I’d pick it up. Otherwise? Skip it.
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