47. The Birthdays

This one was good, but very serious and complex. The change in narration took some major focusing at times, but overall I did like this book. I wish the ending provided a bit more closure... usually I'm all about closure, but this time I would have been ok with things so up in the air but the ending made me really wonder if there were some pages missing from my copy of the book. Yup... it was that bad. Not the book, just the random ending. Anyway, I own this one as well, just an FYI...

Here's a recap from B&N:

On an island off the coast of Maine, the Miller family reunites to celebrate the father's seventy-fifth birthday. Each of the adult children is expecting a first child, and at the same time each is at a major crossroads in life. The eldest, Daniel, still reeling from a car accident that has left him a paraplegic, is also grappling with the fact that his wife had to be artificially inseminated. Jake, the middle child, discovers that his wife is carrying twins after many trying years of fertility treatments. Hilary—the free-spirited youngest daughter—arrives in Maine five months pregnant with no identifiable father in sight. As the family gathers, something shattering happens from which no one will emerge the same. The Birthdays deftly explores the myriad ways of seeking sustenance after disappointment or loss and announces the arrival of a poignant new voice in fiction.