- “A
- lively
- and
- energetic
- account
- of
- growing
- up
- in
- the
- Midwest
- in
- the
- last
- century,
- in
- a
- variegated
- family
- assailed
- by
- disasters
- great
- and
- small.”
- —Lynne
- Sharon
- Schwartz,
- author
- of
- TruthtellingIn
- the
- tradition
- of
- Mad
- Men
- and
- Rick
- Moody’s
- The
- Ice
- Storm,
- Little
- Miseries
- captures
- an
- era
- of
- parental
- indifference,
- in
- which
- children
- were
- left
- to
- grow
- up
- on
- their
- own
- through
- tiny
- moments
- that
- both
- chipped
- away
- at
- their
- innocence
- and
- added
- to
- their
- resilience.In
- 1960s
- Iowa,
- Kimmy
- Castle
- and
- her
- siblings
- are
- often
- left
- to
- their
- own
- devices,
- catching
- provocative
- glimpses
- of
- adulthood
- during
- cocktail
- parties,
- in
- school,
- and
- on
- the
- news.
- There
- are
- whispers
- of
- sex,
- a
- gym
- coach’s
- bullying
- of
- her
- classmates,
- and
- horrific
- reports
- of
- local
- abductions
- and
- massacres.
- On
- the
- periphery
- of
- grown-up
- lives,
- Kimmy
- must
- try
- to
- make
- sense
- of
- her
- feelings
- as
- she
- navigates
- the
- so-called
- rules
- of
- their
- intoxicating—yet
- terrifying—world
- .
- .
- .“Shows
- how
- catastrophic
- the
- secret
- world
- of
- grown-ups
- can
- truly
- be
- on
- the
- delicate
- web
- that
- is
- a
- family.
- Fakih’s
- book,
- her
- first
- for
- adults,
- will
- appeal
- to
- anyone
- who
- looks
- back
- on
- their
- own
- childhood
- with
- a
- mixture
- of
- nostalgia
- and
- horror.
- Despite
- the
- book’s
- unwieldy
- structure,
- it
- shows
- Fakih
- as
- a
- gifted
- chronicler
- of
- children’s
- helplessness
- and
- familial
- angst.”
- —Kirkus
- Reviews“Little
- Miseries**,
- indeed.
- But
- first
- there’s
- joy,
- wonder
- and
- resiliency.
- Fakih
- lovingly
- captures
- the
- rapture
- and
- mysteries
- of
- childhood
- en
- reroute
- to
- a
- loss
- of
- innocence
- that
- is
- heartbreaking
- yet
- triumphant.”
- —Michael
- H.
- Weber,
- Oscar-nominated
- screenwriter
- and
- co-writer
- of
- 500
- Days
- of Summer**
pro-mbooks3 : libris
